Harmonic Atheist - Dr. Steve Mason addresses Jesus Mythicism

Today I was honored again to speak with Dr. Steve Mason, Distinguished Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Religions and Cultures at the University of Groningen.

Dr. Mason and I addressed several aspects of Jesus Mythicism, which I deeply appreciated. We touched on the absence of historical information about Jesus in the letters of Paul, and whether Paul is anticipating the first, or second, coming of Jesus, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.

We praised the voices in the Mythicist-Historicist conversation that are bringing valuable and insightful information to the forefront. We also agreed that we all need to focus on mutual respect as we find points where we disagree, or areas where each of us chooses to focus our research.

Ultimately, we agree that whether there was "a guy" at the start of Christianity, it is heavily built up with legend and mythology that needs to be studied and understood, in its proper context, in order to understand the origins of Christianity.

We also discussed Josephus, but saved a discussion on the Testimonium Flavinium for another time. During today's conversation about Josephus, we focused on:

--James the brother of Jesus
--The ways that the author of the Gospel of Luke knew and used two of Josephus' books: Jewish War, and Jewish Antiquities.

Dr. Mason's expertise and insights regarding the Bible, Josephus, Jesus, and the cultures of that time are enlightening, and his desire to bring balance to these discussions shines through. He always does an excellent job at explaining the role of a historian when investigating early Christianity.

Thanks again to Dr. Mason for his time. I excitedly look forward to a discussion on the Testimonium Flavinium in the future!

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Dr. Mason's books may be purchased here:
https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Mason/e/B01HVVIDJK

Dr. Mason's page on the University of Groningen website is:
https://www.rug.nl/staff/s.mason/

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Our prior interview may be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKcMlufpieA

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Your support for my channel, Harmonic Atheist, is very appreciated.
https://www.patreon.com/harmonicatheist

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--Tim

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