(In Chronological Order)
Syntagma Of The Evidences Of The Christian Religion
by Robert Taylor.
Year: 1828.
The Preface reads, “Thou hast in this Pamphlet all the
sufficient evidence, that can be adduced for any piece of history a thousand years old,
or to prove an error of a thousand years standing, that such a person as Jesus
Christ never existed; but that the earliest Christians meant the words to be nothing
more than a personification of the principle of reason, of goodness, or that principle,
be it what it may, which may most benefit mankind in the passage through life.”
(Syntagma is Greek for Constitution.)
Also available from Ballantrae Reprints
(here #28 for only $13.75)
The Truth About Jesus — Is He a Myth? By: Mangasar Magurditch Mangasarian Year: 1909 Availabe for download from POWELLS.COM for only $1.99 in Adobe Acrobat Reader format.
Available for download from Project Gutenberg Availabe online at http://englishatheist.org/indexpg1.shtml See also 31 Sermons by M.M. Mangasarian on the CD-ROM Atheism - The Struggle Against Superstition from BANK OF WISDOM - Rare Books on CD-ROM.
and see The Bible Unveiled by M.M. Mangasarian on the CD-ROM Freethought and the Bible from BANK OF WISDOM - Rare Books on CD-ROM.
The Christ Myth (Westminster College-Oxford Classics in the Study of Religion)
by Arthur Drews, C. Deslisle Burns (Translator).
Year: 1910.
Drews argues that no basis exists for seeking a historical figure behind the Christ myth.
Through a comparative study of ancient religions, Drews shows that Christianity is a
syncretism of various pagan and Jewish beliefs, and that a strong pre-Christian cult of
Jesus as son of God and messiah existed.
Jesus—God, Man or Myth : An Examination of the Evidence
by Herbert Cutner. Year: 1950.
A thorough examination of all the 'evidence' any Christian apologist has ever cited to
support the existence of a historical Jesus, along with an exhaustive search of all the
other places we would expect to find some mention of Jesus had he existed. It's actually
a boring book because it's so thorough. It's quite obvious from the evidence that the
Jesus Story did not originate as the biography of a man named Jesus.
The Jesus Myth By: George Albert Wells
Year: 1998 THE CHRIST CONSPIRACY: The Greatest Story Ever Sold
by Acharya S.
Year: 1999.
An excellent book examining the Jesus Story and the myths surrounding it, and the
inexplicable dearth of historical evidence where there should be an immense plethora of
evidence to support it. It combines together the research of everyone else. Highly
recommended.
Detailed Table of Contents | More on this book at Acharya S website THE JESUS PUZZLE. Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ?: Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus By: Earl Doherty
Year: 1999.
Paul in his epistles never talks about a human Jesus here on earth. Paul's Jesus is
always a spiritual Jesus in heaven. Strange that Paul would never mention Jesus' ministry
here on earth if in fact it recently happened. Also discusses the hypothetical Q document
which preceded the Gospels, of which the Q1 and Q2 strata never discuss a historical
Jesus. Concludes with an examination of early church father's writing, who are often
silent when it would have been natural to include quotes from the Gospels had they
existed at the time.
Excerpts can be read at http://humanists.net/jesuspuzzle/ The Fabrication of the Christ Myth By: Harold Leidner
Year: 2000.
An alternative explanation can be provided for Christian origins and early
Christianity—one that does not require a "historical Jesus". All contemporary
writers of the time seem to be completely unaware of Jesus and his crucifixion.
Traces the origin of the passion narrative to Philo.
Who Was Jesus? by Acharya S
Year: 2006.
Succinct 39 page eBook for donation of $5.
(284 page book now available below.)
Ethiopian Jesus
Blond Jesus
Native Jesus
Who was Jesus? Fingerprints of the Christ By: Acharya S (D.M. Murdock)
Year: 2007.
Pages: 284
On those CSI TV shows they're always dusting for fingerprints, trying to
figure out “Who was here?” and “What happened?” Their
motto is, “Follow the evidence.” and “The evidence will tell us.” The
evidence often contradicts their original assumption, pointing them in a new
direction, where they eventually find the truth.
In this book Acharya examines all the evidence regarding Jesus. Every scrap
of historical evidence we have, every metaphorical “fingerprint”
left behind. Acharya follows the evidence, letting the evidence tell it's
story. When we put it all together we get the best possible picture of Jesus
and where the story came from.
More web sites and essays on the non-historical Jesus OTHER BOOKS ON THE NON-HISTORICAL JESUS:
Bruno Bauer, 1841, Criticism of the Gospel History of the Synoptics
Solar Mythology shows how many of the stories found in the Bible,
including the Jesus Story, originated as allegories for natural phenomena, such as
the Sun's annual circular journey along the ecliptic through the twelve constellations
of the Zodiac and the corresponding passage of the seasons of the year.
(In Chronological Order)
The Origin of All Religious Worship
by Charles François Dupuis.
Year: 1798.
An early classic. See
chapter IX,
starting on page 214, titled,
"An Explanation of the Fable, in which the Sun is worshipped under the name of Christ"
Also see
chapter XII,
starting on page 408, which gives the
Astral Mythology explanation of the Book of Revelation [The Apocalypse].
The Book of Revelation is just Solar Mythology, and makes sense as such, and doesn't make
any sense in any other way.
The entire book is available online click here.
Note they offer to make a reprint of the book for you. Click on Reprint Information for this collection at the bottom of their page.
(You also might find this book at a university library. Library of Congress Classification System BL75.D75213)
Sermon #25 — "The Resurrection of Lazarus" (Lazarus is the year which dies each Autumn and gets resurrected each Spring)
Fairy Tales: Their Origin and Meaning by John Thackray Bunce. Year: 1878.
Shows how many of our common fairy tales are derived from Solar Mythology.
Reprints available from Ballantrae Reprints (here #1 for $18.00)
Read the entire book online here [this site]
Often a used copy can be purchased from abebooks.com Available for download from Project GutenbergThe Gospel In The Stars by Joseph A. Seiss. Year: 1882.
Shows how elements of the Gospel story can be found in the constellations.
Written by a devout Christian. Rather than conclude astronomy provides the origin of
these stories, the author concludes, "Instead of proving Christianity a mere revival of
old mythologies, they give powerful inpulse toward the conclusion that the constellations
and their associated myths and traditions are themselves, in their original, from the
very same prophetic Spirit whence the Sacred Scriptures have come."
(See Vertical vs. Horizontal thinking)
However, after reading the book I think Seiss is the kind of person who would find the
Gospels in a random ink blot. I don't recommend buying this book. Seiss also
completely misses the story of the Sun's annual journey through the Zodiac. Other authors
have since written their own version of this book using Seiss as a reference.
Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy or the Origin and Meaning of Ancient and Modern Mysteries Explained By: Robert Hewitt Brown
Year: unknown. Probably early 1900's.
Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Stronomy of Lost Civilizations By: E. C. Krupp
Year: 1983.
Christianity, Astrology and Myth By: Larry M. Wright
Year: 2002.
Also available from Amazon.co.uk here SOLAR MYTHOLOGY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: The Cosmic Myth of the Bible By: Michael Ledo
Year: 2007.
Most of the book concentrates on the Old Testament. The Old Testament is a
cosmic myth which starts with creation and runs through the crowning of
Solomon. This book details that myth as the foundation for the Old Testament.
When the author uses the word "myth" he don't always mean fictional, but
rather a blend of real people, places, combined with the astrological aspects
of the stars and constellations.
Also see Solar Mythology and the Jesus Story [this site]
Also see Astrotheology And The "Jesus Story" Of The New Testament: Does It Originate With The Stars? [offsite]
For software see Starry Night Complete Space & Astronomy Packhttp://store.starrynightstore.com/cpack2006.html $50.)
The Ruins or Meditations on the Revolutions of Empires
by Constantin François de Volney.
(Originally published in 1791, updates were apparently made until his death in 1820.
Volney does draw from the works of Dupuis (above)).
The 1890 publication referenced here also contains Volney's book The Law of Nature.)
Recommended Reading: Chapter XXII Origin and Filiation of Religious Ideas.
Download the book from Project Gutenberg Availabe for download from POWELLS.COM for only $1.99
The Childhood of Religions: Embracing a Simple Account of the Birth and Growth of
Myths and Legends. By: Edward Clodd.
Year: 1878.
Lectures on the Origin & Growth of the Conception
of God as Illustrated by Anthropology & History (The Hibbert Lectures 1891)
by Count Goblet D'Alviella.
Year: 1891.
In 1891 the University of Brussels had an excellent History of Religion department,
judging by this book written by the chair of the department back then. It does an
excellent job tracing the evolution of religion, religious practices, and beliefs, from
ancient times to the then present day (1891). It has good insight into how religion has
evolved from the dawn of man to the present day (which was then 1891). By drawing on his
extensive knowledge of how religion has evolved over time up to the then present day, the
author predicts what society's future religion might be like. It's interesting to
see a century later that back in 1891 he pretty much predicted the future of religion
correctly.
Astral Worship
by J.H. Hill.
Year: 1895.
This little gem of a book gives a succinct overview of the evolution of religion from
ancient worship of personified nature to Christianity today. It's a beautiful roadmap
that puts all the pieces together, though if you're not familiar with all the pieces
you might get lost.
Available from Amazon.com Also available from Ballantrae Reprints (here #6 for $10.50)
Read the entire book online here [this site]
Available for download from Project Gutenberg Pagan and Christian Creeds By: Edward Carpenter
Year: Shortly after 1919. Around 1920-1922.
This book covers the origins of
1) Solar and astronomical mythology.
2) Food and vegetation mythology.
3) Life and fertility mythology.
Availabe for download from POWELLS.COM for only $1.99
Download the book from Project Gutenberg Available online at many places including http://www.edwardcarpenter.net/#pagchrist Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 1998.
The believers in exile are people who want to believe but can not deny the reality
of modern day science which contradicts the Bible. Christianity must change its outdated
interpretation of the Bible or Christianity will die because the next generation will
dismiss the old outdated interpretation as hopelessly antiquated and incompatible with
today's scientific knowledge.
(View an excellent entertaining lecture by Bishop John Shelby Spong) [offsite. UCTV show #9117]
A New Christianity for a New World:
Why Traditional Faith is Dying & How a New Faith is Being Born
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 2002.
Recommended Reading: Chapter 3, which is
an excellent summary of the evolution of religion, from the dawn of human
consciousness to the present day.
Drawing upon his lifetime of experience as a Bishop and his knowledge of the past
evolution of religion, John Shelby Spong predicts what the religion of our future might
look like. Only time will tell if he is correct, but my guess is he got it right, just as
Count Goblet D'Alviella (above) pretty much got it right when he predicted the future of
religion back in 1891.
(View an excellent entertaining lecture by Bishop John Shelby Spong) [offsite. UCTV show #9117]
Also see the essay Towards A New World Religious Philosophy
by Scott Bidstrup. Explores the failures of existing religions, the need for a new world religion, and the
characteristics that religion should have.
A Short History of the Bible by Bronson C. Keeler. Year: 1881.
"The Protestants, finding themselves
confronted with an infallible [Catholic] church, had to oppose it with an
infallible book. And they made a book infallible, which before
had not been considered so."
Also available from Kessinger Publishing History of the Christian Religion to the Year Two Hundred By: Charles B. Waite.
Year: 1900 Also available from Kessinger Publishing Forgery in Christianity
A documented Record of the Foundations of the Christian Religion.
by Joseph Wheless.
Year: 1930.
Examines the disgraceful history of the Catholic Church. For hundreds of years the
Catholic Church forged religious documents for political purposes. The religious document
would be claimed authentic, written by one of the apostles or sometimes by Jesus himself.
The document would invariably imply that the Catholic Church had been given supreme God
ordained authority to rule the world. Hundreds of years later, after the Church had
firmly established itself as the God ordained supreme infallible authority and a very
powerful political ruler, the forged documents were exposed as frauds, but by then it
didn't matter; the Catholic Church had firmly established itself as the supreme authority,
and no longer needed the framework of forged documents to keep it standing.
Read the entire book online at http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/forgery_in_christianity/ Also available on the CD-ROM Atheism - The Struggle Against Superstition from BANK OF WISDOM - Rare Books on CD-ROM.
Misquoting Jesus By: Bart D. Ehrman
Year: 2005
We have no original documents. All we have are copies of copies of copies... As the scribes
made copies they introduced alterations both intentional and unintentional. Some of these
alterations significantly changed the meaning of the text. The author started as
a born-again Christian who believed the inerrancy of the Bible, until he investigated the
sources for himself. Apparently every generation of scholars must relearn what scholars
like Robert Taylor knew two centuries ago.
Also see the essay The Bible And Christianity — The Historical Origins by Scott Bidstrup.
Even though the following books were written over a time span of 200 years, the arguments
within are essentially the same, showing nothing much has changed in the past 200 years.
Christianity is still falling apart but not falling down.
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. Year: 1795.
Thomas Paine was a political philosopher whose writings had great
influence during the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution
(1789-1799). He boldly states his anti-Christian pro-Science Deist view, dissecting
the Bible exposing how it falls apart under scrutiny. Should be required reading for all
high school students, but the schools won't touch it because it's about religion.
Schools think "Separation of Church and State" means they
shouldn't talk about religion, leaving that topic to the Churches. This is unfortunate as
students are not taught about our founding father's strong Anti-Christian Pro-Science
Deist beliefs, allowing fundamentalist churches to make the absurd claim that our
fathers were Christians who wanted the United States to be a Christian nation, when
actually the opposite is true.
The Declaration of Independence
mentions in the first sentence, "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." The "Laws of
Nature" is what we today call Science, and "Nature's God" is a reference to the
God of Deism, not the God of Christianity. The first amendment to the
Constitution ensures that our government will not be a Christian Government. To
the extent that we today are free to pursue Science we are fulfilling our founding father's
American Dream. To the extent that religion interferes with our pursuit of Science our
founding father's American Dream is thwarted.
Available online at The Secular Web Available online at University of Adelaide Library E-Books Available online at Positive Atheism Download the book from Project Gutenberg Bible of Bibles
by Kersey Graves.
Year: circa 1881?
The Hindoo Bibles; the Egyptian Bible; the Persian Bibles; the Chinese Bibles;
the Jews' Bible (the Talmud); the Christian Bible; the Mahomedan's Bible (The Koran);
and a few others. Shows many parallels between the Old Testament stories and Hindoo, Egyptian,
and Persian stories which predate them. Also takes a close look at the many Christian
Biblical errors in science, history, morals, religion, and general events.
Bible Unmasked by Joseph Lewis. Year: 1926 Examines all the shocking sex stories in the Bible. See Sex in the Bible Also availabe for download in two formats from POWELLS.COM for only $4.79
1. Adobe Acrobat Reader format 2. Microsoft Reader format This plus 4 other books by Joseph Lewis are available on the CD-ROM Atheism - The Struggle Against Superstition from BANK OF WISDOM - Rare Books on CD-ROM.
Is It God's Word?
An Exposition of the Fables and Mythology of the Bible and the Fallacies of Theology.
by Joseph Wheless
Year: 1926.
A brutal look at the Bible, walking through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation
(except it doesn't cover the Book of Revelation). Similar to Thomas Paine's Age of Reason, so not much had changed in 131 years.
Read the entire book online at http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/is_it_gods_word/ Also available on the CD-ROM Atheism - The Struggle Against Superstition from BANK OF WISDOM - Rare Books on CD-ROM.
Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman. Year: 1987.
The best general reference on the Documentary Hypothesis. The book goes into the history
and evolution of the J, E, P, and D sources, and shows how they influenced the writing
of the first five books of the Bible. The appendix has a useful chart that separates the
biblical verses by source (click here).
Also available from: Barns&Noble.com Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 1991.
The Bible can not be interpreted literally. It is not without error. It does
contradict itself. A deeper understanding is achieved when we accept this.
(View an excellent entertaining lecture by Bishop John Shelby Spong) [offsite. UCTV show #9117]
Is The Bible The Word Of God?
by Emmett F. Fields.
Year: 1995. (38 pages).
Succinct and well written. The God of the Old Testament commands murder, rape, slavery,
incest, and all that is repulsive to our nature. He is cruel, jealous, violent,
vindictive, and vengeful. The Catholic Church promotes fear and even reaches beyond the
grave with fear of a hell eternal and never ending.
The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 2005. Examines the "terrible texts" of the Bible which promote overbreeding,
denigration of women, hostility towards homosexuals, corporal punishment of children,
and anti-semitism. View an excellent lecture by John Shelby Spong on this topic at
http://www.uctv.tv/library-test.asp?showID=9117
“Osama Bin Laden hurled his suicide airplanes into the World Trade
Center and into the Pentagon, invoking God. George W. Bush invoked
God when he began the Iraq war, hurling his missiles and his
bombers on the people of Iraq. Palistinians in the name of God
strap dynamite around their waste and go into Jewish restaraunts or
Jewish busses killing themselves and anyone else who is hapless
enough to be in that location. And not to be outdone, Jewish people
invoke God when they send their tanks into the Gaza strip or into
the West Banks smashing the homes of would-be terrorists. One has
only to go to Ireland where you can find Catholics who invoke God
while they kill Protestants. And not to be outdone Protestants
invoke God when they kill Catholics. Have you ever wondered what
kind of religion it is that produces this kind of behavior?”
(See Spong's synopsis of The Book of Hosea, which concludes this
lecture, to understand why Spong remains a Christian.)
(Bishop John Shelby Spong is a true NF "Idealist" all the way. They are rare and special people.)
(View an excellent entertaining lecture by Bishop John Shelby Spong) [offsite. UCTV show #9117]
(See also Bishop Spong Speaks Out: Sept. 11 and Death of God, the Father / the Bishop & the Cosmologist)
Whichever side you're on, it's hard to comprehend how the other side
thinks differently. The following essay and books illuminates the different thought
processes.
RED FAMILY, BLUE FAMILY:
Making Sense of the Values Issue. This 12 page essay by Doug Muder succinctly
summarizes the different thought processes conservatives and progressives use.
COGNITIVE SCIENCE MORAL POLITICS: How Liberals and Conservatives Think
by George Lakoff.
Year: 1996 (2nd edition 2002). “Contemporary American Politics is about worldview. Conservatives
simply see the world differently than do progressives, and both often have a difficult time
understanding accurately what the other’s worldview is.” Lakoff explains
that Conservatives and Progressives have two very different concepts of Morality. This is
an excellent book for anyone wanting to understand the other side's point of view.
Since this book takes work to understand, I've made an outline of the main points.
Click here for outline.
See a lecture given by George Lakoff at
http://www.uctv.tv/library-popup.asp?showID=11194
Also see RED vs. BLUE:
The Difference Between the Conservative and Progressive Thought Process
Don't Think of an Elephant
by George Lakoff.
Year: 2004.
This book summarizes the results of
Moral Politics (above). However, if you are not familiar with the foundation
that
Moral Politics
builds, you won't possess the right categories to place the results in. You'll think Lakoff
is just talking about "Spin", as that will be the closest category you can put the results
in. But it's not "Spin". It goes much deeper than that.
Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea
by George Lakoff.
Year: 2006.
Tremendous insight starting with chapter 7! Chapters 1-6 review the ground covered in
Moral Politics.
Then Lakoff goes on to explain how conservatives argue on the basis of direct causation,
whereas progressives argue on the basis of systemic causation. Here's an example he gives:
“Suppose you own the mineral rights to a mountain in West
Virginia and you want to blow the top off it and start mining coal. Suppose you don't
have the money for equipment and can get the money only by stealing it. Stealing money
causes financial harm and is thus an imposition on the victim's freedom. According to
simple freedom, you are not free to cause harm by stealing the money and then mining
the coal. Stealing money is directly causing harm, and conservatives as well as
progressives would recognize this as a prohibition.
“Now suppose you have the mineral rights and the
money for the equipment. You intend to blow off the top of the mountain and start mining
coal, sending large amounts of pollution into nearby streams. That pollution would
contain mercury, which poisons the water, poisons fish, builds up in the environment, and
ultimately winds up in people's bodies, including the bodies of pregnant women. Right
now, one woman out of six in America of childbearing age has so much mercury in her body
that it threatens the viability of the fetus and can contribute to serious birth defects.
Your coal mine would be contributing systemically to causing mercury poisoning, infant
death, and lifelong illness. Should you be free to contribute systemically to causing
such harm?
Conservatives tend to argue that your coal mine would
not directly cause any known particular deaths or illness, and so
you—and others—should be free to mine your coal.”
Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision
by George Lakoff.
Year: 2006.
The Rockridge Institute. A think tank dedicated to strengthening our democracy by
providing intellectual support to the progressive community. Headed by Senior Fellow George Lakoff.
TEMPERAMENT THEORY Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence
by David Keirsey.
Year: 1998.
A classic book on the 16 different personality types identified by Myers-Briggs.
Myers-Briggs divides personality types into four major categories, with each category
having four subcategories, for a total of 16 different personality types. Understanding
that other people actually think in different ways from you is initially a hard concept
to learn, but eventually you'll understand why most other people seem to be different
from you—it's because they are. Again, there is no "right" personality type, there
are just different personalities. Also see www.keirsey.com where
you can order the book direct.
There appears to be a connection between conservative thought and the SJ 'Guardian'
personality type described in this book. Not that all Guardians are conservative,
but possibly many conservatives are Guardians who don't understand there are other
personality types. Conservatives classify all these other people as immoral.
Presidential Temperament: The Unfolding of Character in the Forty Presidents of the United States by Ray Choiniere, David Keirsey.
Year: 1992.
A good companion to
Please Understand Me II.
Gives real life examples of the various character and temperament types.
LINGUISTICS
Linguistics is a subset of Cognitive Science, which is what Prof. George Lakoff studies
and uses to disect the progressive and conservative thought process.
Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking,
Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving,
Left-Wing Freak Show
by Geoffrey Nunberg.
Year: 2006.
Lakoff talks a lot about language and how the conservatives have taken control of our
language defining the words and phrases we use. Here's a book by a linguist explaining the same thing.
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language
by Steven Pinker
Year: 1994.
No politics in this book, but a good precursor to
Moral Minds
below which uses the recent scientific study of language as explained in this book as an
example of how to scientifically study our inborn natural instinct of morality. This is a
well written easy to read book which makes a complicated subject easily accessible to the
layperson.
SOCIOBIOLOGY EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
I have yet to find a book that explains why
humans adopt children. Darwin gave us the idea that animals should naturally evolve to
care for their children, since those that don't shouldn't prosper as well in the long
run. So it should be natural for us to deeply care for the survival of our own children.
Dawkin's "Selfish Gene" theory of evolution advances this idea to include caring for our
close relatives, since close relatives share at least some of our genes, and it's
the survival of the genes that counts.
But we still haven't a decent explanation of why humans
adopt children. Evolutionary Biology says adoption is a burden that doesn't help spread
one's own genes, and hence shouldn't be logical. Dawkins just brushes aside the adoption
issue saying it's a "misfiring" of the selfish gene rule which evolution hasn't bothered
to weed out.
But it's obvious why people adopt children. It gives
them great joy. Joy is a reward not yet factored in. Why do people have sex? To propagate
their genes? No, people have sex because it feels good. Propagating one's genes just
happens to be a side effect. If propagating one's genes were paramount, then no one would
have bothered inventing birth control. Yet birth control is heavily used all around the
world. Adoption and birth control seem to contradict the "Selfish Gene" version of
evolution.
The difference between progressives and conservatives
seems to be partially based on whether one believes people are generally altruistic or
generally hedonistic. Of course one can make the argument that people are altruistic
because it makes them feel good, hence they are basically hedonistic. But why should it
make us feel good to be altruistic? Why did that evolve? And why are we outraged if
someone starts taking advantage of our altruism? Why are we outraged if some young
teenager riding their bicycle to school is hit by a car and killed (as happened here
recently)? We are outraged, and demand justice. Their must be a balancing of the moral
books. If the driver is to blame the driver must be severely punished and forced to pay
retribution. But if the child is to blame then it's just another
Darwin Award
— sad, but that teen got what he deserved. These are all deeply established
emotional responses we have. But why has evolution endowed us all with this set of
emotional responses? Can we say we have naturally evolved to be altruistic? Are people
naturally virtuous or selfish?
The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation by Matt Ridley
Year: 1996.
The first ¾ of this book introduces the concept of Evolutionary Psychology,
though it is riddled with faulty logic throughout.
The last ¼ uses faulty logic to conclude we should all be conservatives.
So there's your choice. Faulty logic to conclude we should all be
progressives, or faulty logic to conclude we should all be conservatives.
Syntagma Of The Evidences Of The Christian Religion
by Robert Taylor.
Year: 1828.
The Truth About Jesus — Is He a Myth?
The Christ Myth (Westminster College-Oxford Classics in the Study of Religion)
by Arthur Drews, C. Deslisle Burns (Translator).
Year: 1910.
Drews argues that no basis exists for seeking a historical figure behind the Christ myth.
Through a comparative study of ancient religions, Drews shows that Christianity is a
syncretism of various pagan and Jewish beliefs, and that a strong pre-Christian cult of
Jesus as son of God and messiah existed.
Jesus—God, Man or Myth : An Examination of the Evidence
by Herbert Cutner. Year: 1950.
A thorough examination of all the 'evidence' any Christian apologist has ever cited to
support the existence of a historical Jesus, along with an exhaustive search of all the
other places we would expect to find some mention of Jesus had he existed. It's actually
a boring book because it's so thorough. It's quite obvious from the evidence that the
Jesus Story did not originate as the biography of a man named Jesus.
The Jesus Myth
THE CHRIST CONSPIRACY: The Greatest Story Ever Sold
by Acharya S.
Year: 1999.
An excellent book examining the Jesus Story and the myths surrounding it, and the
inexplicable dearth of historical evidence where there should be an immense plethora of
evidence to support it. It combines together the research of everyone else. Highly
recommended.
THE JESUS PUZZLE. Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ?: Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus
The Fabrication of the Christ Myth
Who was Jesus? Fingerprints of the Christ
DIEGESIS: Being a Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, and Early History of Christianity
The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviours
by Kersey Graves.
Year 1875.
Biography of Satan: Exposing the Origins of the Devil
by Kersey Graves.
Year: circa 1877?
Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions
The Non-Christian Cross: An enquiry into the origin and history of the symbol eventually adopted as that of our religion
by John Denham Parsons. Year: 1896.
Aryan Sun-Myths the Origin of Religion
Historical Jesus and the Mythical Christ: or Natural Genesis and Typology of Equinoctial Christolatry
Gerald Massey's Lectures by Gerald Massey. Year: 1900.
The paganism in our Christianity by Arthur Weigall. Year: 1928.
Christianity Before Christ
THE JESUS MYSTERIES: Was the original Jesus a Pagan God?
101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History
Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled
The Ruins or Meditations on the Revolutions of Empires and the Law of Nature
THE DEVIL'S PULPIT: Astro-theological Sermons
Fairy Tales: Their Origin and Meaning by John Thackray Bunce. Year: 1878.
The Gospel In The Stars by Joseph A. Seiss. Year: 1882.
Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy or the Origin and Meaning of Ancient and Modern Mysteries Explained
Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Stronomy of Lost Civilizations
Christianity, Astrology and Myth
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: The Cosmic Myth of the Bible
The Childhood of Religions: Embracing a Simple Account of the Birth and Growth of
Myths and Legends.
Lectures on the Origin & Growth of the Conception
of God as Illustrated by Anthropology & History (The Hibbert Lectures 1891)
by Count Goblet D'Alviella.
Year: 1891.
In 1891 the University of Brussels had an excellent History of Religion department,
judging by this book written by the chair of the department back then. It does an
excellent job tracing the evolution of religion, religious practices, and beliefs, from
ancient times to the then present day (1891). It has good insight into how religion has
evolved from the dawn of man to the present day (which was then 1891). By drawing on his
extensive knowledge of how religion has evolved over time up to the then present day, the
author predicts what society's future religion might be like. It's interesting to
see a century later that back in 1891 he pretty much predicted the future of religion
correctly.
Astral Worship
by J.H. Hill.
Year: 1895.
Pagan and Christian Creeds
Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 1998.
The believers in exile are people who want to believe but can not deny the reality
of modern day science which contradicts the Bible. Christianity must change its outdated
interpretation of the Bible or Christianity will die because the next generation will
dismiss the old outdated interpretation as hopelessly antiquated and incompatible with
today's scientific knowledge.
A New Christianity for a New World:
Why Traditional Faith is Dying & How a New Faith is Being Born
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 2002.
Recommended Reading: Chapter 3, which is
an excellent summary of the evolution of religion, from the dawn of human
consciousness to the present day.
Drawing upon his lifetime of experience as a Bishop and his knowledge of the past
evolution of religion, John Shelby Spong predicts what the religion of our future might
look like. Only time will tell if he is correct, but my guess is he got it right, just as
Count Goblet D'Alviella (above) pretty much got it right when he predicted the future of
religion back in 1891.
(View an excellent entertaining lecture by Bishop John Shelby Spong) [offsite. UCTV show #9117]
Celsus, on the True Doctrine : A Discourse Against the Christians
A Short History of the Bible by Bronson C. Keeler. Year: 1881.
History of the Christian Religion to the Year Two Hundred
Forgery in Christianity
A documented Record of the Foundations of the Christian Religion.
by Joseph Wheless.
Year: 1930.
Examines the disgraceful history of the Catholic Church. For hundreds of years the
Catholic Church forged religious documents for political purposes. The religious document
would be claimed authentic, written by one of the apostles or sometimes by Jesus himself.
The document would invariably imply that the Catholic Church had been given supreme God
ordained authority to rule the world. Hundreds of years later, after the Church had
firmly established itself as the God ordained supreme infallible authority and a very
powerful political ruler, the forged documents were exposed as frauds, but by then it
didn't matter; the Catholic Church had firmly established itself as the supreme authority,
and no longer needed the framework of forged documents to keep it standing.
Misquoting Jesus
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. Year: 1795.
Bible of Bibles
by Kersey Graves.
Year: circa 1881?
Bible Unmasked by Joseph Lewis. Year: 1926
Is It God's Word?
An Exposition of the Fables and Mythology of the Bible and the Fallacies of Theology.
by Joseph Wheless
Year: 1926.
A brutal look at the Bible, walking through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation
(except it doesn't cover the Book of Revelation). Similar to Thomas Paine's Age of Reason, so not much had changed in 131 years.
Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman. Year: 1987.
The best general reference on the Documentary Hypothesis. The book goes into the history
and evolution of the J, E, P, and D sources, and shows how they influenced the writing
of the first five books of the Bible. The appendix has a useful chart that separates the
biblical verses by source (click here).
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 1991.
The Bible can not be interpreted literally. It is not without error. It does
contradict itself. A deeper understanding is achieved when we accept this.
Is The Bible The Word Of God?
by Emmett F. Fields.
Year: 1995. (38 pages).
Succinct and well written. The God of the Old Testament commands murder, rape, slavery,
incest, and all that is repulsive to our nature. He is cruel, jealous, violent,
vindictive, and vengeful. The Catholic Church promotes fear and even reaches beyond the
grave with fear of a hell eternal and never ending.
The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 2005. Examines the "terrible texts" of the Bible which promote overbreeding,
denigration of women, hostility towards homosexuals, corporal punishment of children,
and anti-semitism. View an excellent lecture by John Shelby Spong on this topic at
http://www.uctv.tv/library-test.asp?showID=9117
“Osama Bin Laden hurled his suicide airplanes into the World Trade
Center and into the Pentagon, invoking God. George W. Bush invoked
God when he began the Iraq war, hurling his missiles and his
bombers on the people of Iraq. Palistinians in the name of God
strap dynamite around their waste and go into Jewish restaraunts or
Jewish busses killing themselves and anyone else who is hapless
enough to be in that location. And not to be outdone, Jewish people
invoke God when they send their tanks into the Gaza strip or into
the West Banks smashing the homes of would-be terrorists. One has
only to go to Ireland where you can find Catholics who invoke God
while they kill Protestants. And not to be outdone Protestants
invoke God when they kill Catholics. Have you ever wondered what
kind of religion it is that produces this kind of behavior?”
(See Spong's synopsis of The Book of Hosea, which concludes this
lecture, to understand why Spong remains a Christian.)
MORAL POLITICS: How Liberals and Conservatives Think
by George Lakoff.
Year: 1996 (2nd edition 2002). “Contemporary American Politics is about worldview. Conservatives
simply see the world differently than do progressives, and both often have a difficult time
understanding accurately what the other’s worldview is.” Lakoff explains
that Conservatives and Progressives have two very different concepts of Morality. This is
an excellent book for anyone wanting to understand the other side's point of view.
Since this book takes work to understand, I've made an outline of the main points.
Click here for outline.
See a lecture given by George Lakoff at
http://www.uctv.tv/library-popup.asp?showID=11194
Also see
RED vs. BLUE:
The Difference Between the Conservative and Progressive Thought Process
Don't Think of an Elephant
by George Lakoff.
Year: 2004.
This book summarizes the results of
Moral Politics (above). However, if you are not familiar with the foundation
that
Moral Politics
builds, you won't possess the right categories to place the results in. You'll think Lakoff
is just talking about "Spin", as that will be the closest category you can put the results
in. But it's not "Spin". It goes much deeper than that.
Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea
by George Lakoff.
Year: 2006.
Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision
by George Lakoff.
Year: 2006.
The Rockridge Institute. A think tank dedicated to strengthening our democracy by
providing intellectual support to the progressive community. Headed by Senior Fellow George Lakoff.
Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence
by David Keirsey.
Year: 1998.
A classic book on the 16 different personality types identified by Myers-Briggs.
Myers-Briggs divides personality types into four major categories, with each category
having four subcategories, for a total of 16 different personality types. Understanding
that other people actually think in different ways from you is initially a hard concept
to learn, but eventually you'll understand why most other people seem to be different
from you—it's because they are. Again, there is no "right" personality type, there
are just different personalities. Also see www.keirsey.com where
you can order the book direct.
Presidential Temperament: The Unfolding of Character in the Forty Presidents of the United States
Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking,
Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving,
Left-Wing Freak Show
by Geoffrey Nunberg.
Year: 2006.
Lakoff talks a lot about language and how the conservatives have taken control of our
language defining the words and phrases we use. Here's a book by a linguist explaining the same thing.
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language
by Steven Pinker
Year: 1994.
No politics in this book, but a good precursor to
Moral Minds
below which uses the recent scientific study of language as explained in this book as an
example of how to scientifically study our inborn natural instinct of morality. This is a
well written easy to read book which makes a complicated subject easily accessible to the
layperson.
Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong
THE BIBLE UNEARTHED: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts
by Israel Finkelstein, Neil Asher Silberman
Year: 2001.
"We will reconstruct the history of ancient Israel on the basis of archaeological
evidence—the only source of information on the biblical period that was not extensively
emended, edited, or censored by many generations of biblical scribes."
An excellent book detailing what really happened in Old Testament times.
The evidence clearly shows the Biblical version of history is wrong. Highly recommended.
Christian Mythology Unveiled by Mitchell Logan(?), 1842(?). This wonderful book has
a little bit of everything, making it a very interesting book to read. It also contains
The Humble Petition of The Spinsters to the Legislature of
Great Britain and Ireland on why divorce should be legal.
Available from Ballantrae Reprints (here #6 for $21.00).
[NOTE: The authorship and date of this book is not certain, as the book itself was
published anonymously with no date.]
This Hebrew Lord: A Bishop's Search for the Authentic Jesus
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 1988.
Living in Sin?: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality
by Bishop John Shelby Spong.
Year: 1990.
The Fallen Star: or the History of a False Religion
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love
The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe
Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction
