J. P. Hannah - A Skeptics Investigation Into Jesus

J. P. Hannah

A s a skeptical agnostic with a passionate interest in the human condition, I spent many years exploring a fundamental question: do our lives have any meaning or are they random events that end with death? I searched for answers in a wide range of sciences, philosophies, and faiths and was prepared to reach any reasonable conclusion from the evidence. Modern physics provides insights that are paradoxical and exhilarating, but no philosophy or faith system seemed ultimately convincing or satisfying. I initially ignored Christianity as an implausible story, but I often encountered references to the Cosmic Christ and finally decided that to be truly objective, I would have to develop an understanding of this enigmatic figure. So with the aim of identifying flaws in Christian doctrine, I listened critically to the New Testament while negotiating traffic on the way to deliver mathematics lectures.

But instead of hearing, as I had expected, a random collection of miracles, parables, and moralistic instructions to love one another, something else became increasingly apparenta consistent voice of authority and wisdom that was strikingly different from anything I had yet encountered. So for the next few years, I thoroughly researched Old and New Testament Scripture, theological commentaries, and atheist critiques. The more I read, the more I realized that my initial view of Christianity was like judging the entire culture of a country from a few holiday snapshots.

The outcome of my extensive investigation was totally unexpectedthe findings shook the foundations of my opinions and challenged many confident assumptions that have become an unquestioned part of our Western worldview. Having undertaken this research in the spirit of academic impartiality, I now offer these carefully verified facts to anyone who is interested in the universe and our place in it, whether atheist, agnostic, or follower of any faith. I have provided sources and additional information in footnotes, but these can be ignored for smoother reading without affecting the main arguments.

This book does not defend the Christian church, its creeds, or organized religion in general, which has undoubtedly been wielded as a tool of power. Rather, it invites you on a journey of independent investigation into the latest relevant scholarship in science, mythology, history, archaeology, theology, and Judeo-Christian Scripture, in order to unearth and analyze facts relevant to the ongoing debate between atheism and faith in general, and Christianity in particular.

M y thanks go to family and friends who encouraged this project and helped shape the final product.

I would also like to express my profound gratitude to the community of scientists, theologians, and historians whose valuable work has made this book possible. I am not an expert in these fields but have striven to represent their opinions correctly, and I apologize for any misrepresentations, which I would hope to correct in any reprint should I receive suggestions.

In particular, I thank the following professors for generously providing invaluable feedback on certain chapters (which does not imply that they necessarily endorse all the opinions in this book): George Ellis (mathematician, cosmologist, and co-author with Stephen Hawking), Simon Conway Morris (who holds the Cambridge Chair of Evolutionary Paleobiology), and biblical scholars Michael Licona, Daniel Wallace and Larry Hurtado.

. Professor Hurtado kindly provided this feedback shortly before his tragic death from cancer.

: section

QIsa: Great Isaiah Scroll of Qumran

QS: Community Rule

Ant .: Antiquities of the Jews

b . : Babylonian Talmud

BZAW: Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fr die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

ca.: circa (dated around)

CD: Damascus Document

CJB: Complete Jewish Bible

col.: column

COQG: Christian Origins and the Question of God