Does Church Father Papias Prove the Gospels Existed in the First Century?

Does Church Father Papias Prove the Gospels Existed in the First Century?


Hot off the presses! A brand-new article on the value of Church father Papias, adapted from "Who Was Jesus?" Enjoy!

As always, feel free to like, share and comment - and to post wherever you see a discussion of Papias as providing evidence for the gospels in the first century.

The Mythicist Position | What is Mythicism?

Brand new, hot-off-the-presses video by me, FTL and Vega! Enjoy! And please comment and like there, on Youtube, and pass it around!

Victims of the Christian Faith

Victims of the Christian Faith

How many people have been killed by Christians since Biblical times? "WONDERFUL EVENTS THAT TESTIFY TO GOD'S DIVINE GLORY" What your church does not want you to know.

Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled

Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled

I've given my web page a new facelift. If you don't have this book, you're missing out on some fascinating info. Check out the search engine on this page - you can search the book!

Posted using ShareThis

'You are headed for a Devil's hell'

Haven't had one of these in a while - it appears the Christ-insanity is being spread around to more sites these days.

I have little doubt that this well wisher hasn't read a word of my writing. He obviously has no clue about history if he thinks "there is [sic] no remaining 'pagan' writings to support your own writings." I have never said such a thing, and I have demonstrated in Christ in Egypt in particular that there are THOUSANDS of pages of "remaining 'pagan' writings" to support my contentions.

Talk about lies.

Nice hate speech from a loving Christian.

--- On Wed, 11/4/09, J. T. Tomlinson wrote:

> From: J. T. Tomlinson
> Subject: You are headed to a Devil's Hell
> To: acharya_s@yahoo.com
> Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 5:59 PM
> You
> are a foolish woman that is on her way to a Devil's
> Hell. You speak in lies and have no idea of the truth of
> Jesus Christ. You should do real research and find out who
> Jesus really is, not this falsified research you claim to
> have done and print said lies in books. How can you have
> researched these things when you yourself say there is no
> remaining 'pagan' writings to support your own
> writings. You really need to get with the truth and stop
> printing these lies you write.
>
>

Was Horus Crucified?

Here's a sneak peak just for my blog subscribers of a new article hot off the presses. I created this illustrated article in order to clear up the widespread confusion regarding the claim that the Egyptian god Horus was "crucified."

As you can see from the article, there is much more to the story than what the average encyclopedia entry reveals. Indeed, there is much more to the world's religious and spiritual ideologies than meets the eye.

"There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Was Horus Crucified?

Enjoy!

Jesus as the Sun throughout History

Surprise! Surprise!

I've just created a new 37-page ebook for your enjoyment that explores the history of Jesus Christ as the sun in art and literature. The ebook is linked here:

Jesus as the Sun throughout History ebook

I have also included a long excerpt from the ebook that you can read online here:

Jesus as the Sun throughout History excerpt

I hope people will enjoy both the ebook and excerpt for their own edification and for that of others around the net, where much disinfo abounds.

Note that the ebook will help me to create a planned paperback on the same subject, so if you can afford it, please donate to the cause by getting it! In these tough times, I need all the help I can get to keep my work going. If you feel there is value in my work, come help out! I greatly appreciate it, and you can be assured that your assistance will help me to continue providing quality material on subjects about which very few others are giving you the lowdown.

You just can't get this material in this concisely presented manner anywhere else, which is why I continue to work so hard to bring it to you!

Thank you for your ongoing support of my work!



Was Jesus the Sun God?

Jesus in India?

With the creation of a new movie, there is increased interest in the old tale that Jesus Christ traveled to India, where he lived to a ripe old age.

While this story may be fascinating, when examined scientifically it fails to hold water. This legend has been spread in recent years largely by an Islamic sect that wishes to claim the hereditary inheritance of the famed Jewish godman.

For more information about this story, as well as the equally implausible tale about Jesus having been in Great Britain, see my essay:

Jesus in India? The Myth of the Lost Years

As has been demonstrated repeatedly in scientific and scholarly books on the subject, the character called "Jesus Christ" is a mythical entity based on other mythical figures dating back into the hoary mists of time.

The fact of Christianity essentially representing a contrived rehash of sun worship is clearly shown in my latest book Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection.

The "lost years" of Jesus are in fact atrotheological, representing part of solar mythology. In the story of the sun god, the solar hero is a "child teacher" at the "age" of 12 noon, when he reaches the "temple" of his "father" - Re or Ra in the Egyptian myth. When the sun transits from one month of the 360-day year or 1/12th or the zodiacal circle, he attains the age of 28 or 30. And here was have the 18 "lost years."

Fortunately, there are those who have actually studied the subject, read my work and who realize that by denying the facts presented therein we are robbing the world of the real history of religious ideology and mythology.

Easter: The Resurrection of Spring

I have posted an illustrated article entitled "Easter: The Resurrection of Spring" that you may enjoy! This article is an excerpt from my new book Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection.

Easter: The Resurrection of Spring
by Acharya S/D.M. Murdock

Although it is believed to represent the time of Jesus Christ's resurrection, the festival of Easter existed in pre-Christian times and, according to the famous Christian saint Venerable Bede (672-735 AD/CE), was named for the Teutonic or German goddess Eôstre, who was the "goddess of dawn" and who symbolized the fertility found abundantly during the springtime of the year....

The "Christos" is not only the sun triumphing over the darkness as the day becomes longer than the night, but it is also the sun's light in the moon, as the moon waxes and wanes monthly.... In any event, the deity reborn or raised up at the vernal equinox or springtime is a recurring theme not representing a "historical" personage but, rather, a natural phenomenon, i.e., Spring.

For the complete article, see:

http://stellarhousepublishing.com/easter-resurrection.html

Enjoy!

Also, be sure to check out my "Easter special" at the following link!

http://stellarhousepublishing.com/special.html

Don't miss it!

Acharya/D.M. Murdock

P.S. The special is for U.S. only, but Christ in Egypt is now available internationally through Amazon!

Christmas: The REAL Reason for the Season

Once again it's time to raise this great debate, as we hear from our pious Christian leaders that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season." Interestingly, over the past year and a half since the release of "ZEITGEIST," in objecting to the comparison of the sun gods with Jesus based on the winter-solstice birthday of December 25th, Christian fundamentalist critics have been very vocal that Jesus is NOT the reason for the season, proving our point in the first place.

Most of us in Christian lands who were raised Christian, as I was, were never told about the winter solstice, which begins at midnight on December 21st, i.e., the morning of the 22nd, and ends at midnight on December 24th or "Christmas Eve," which is essentially the same thing as the morning of December 25th. Without getting too complicated or technical, for three days during that period in the northern hemisphere the sun appears to "stand still" on a sundial, as its shadow moves neither north nor south. Hence, the word "solstice" means sun stands still. On the 25th of December, the sun appears to be moving north again, representing the birth of the sun!

Since very ancient times in many cultures around the globe, the sun's birth at the winter solstice has been celebrated with great festivities. This celebration of the sun's return after the darkest days of the year occurred especially in the regions farther away from the equator, such as Northern Europe, where Yuletide festivals are understandably quite pronounced.

"Christmas" as the birth of Jesus Christ was not officially adopted until the edict of Julius I in the fifth century, usurping this Pagan holiday so effectively that even in this day and age millions of people are unaware of the facts of the winter solstice and its celebration dating back thousands of years.

Moreover, despite the fracas from the fundamentalists over the comparison of Jesus with other sun gods based on the winter-solstice birth, sincere Christians such as Rev. Dr. Billy Graham remain completely oblivious to this debate.

For more information on this subject, check out my article:

The Christmas Hoax: Jesus is NOT the "Reason for the Season"

Be sure to watch my videos there too!

Bill Maher Raises Horus from the Dead

Imagine my surprise when I heard that Bill Maher, plugging his new movie "Religulous," was on the highly popular show "The View" discussing the Egyptian god Horus!

In the segment provided below of the brave Maher's appearance among "The View's" she-wolves, he says that the story of the virgin-born savior who rose from the dead was popular around the Mediterranean for a "thousands years" before Christianity. Bill then relates that Horus raised "Lazarus" from the dead. Maher next attempts to raise "the Indian god Krishna," but he's cut off.

Now, Maher could only have gotten that information about Horus from a few places, one of which is my work. The only sources prior to my book The Christ Conspiracy that discuss the Horus-Lazarus connection to any extent are Alvin Boyd Kuhn and Gerald Massey. There are a few places since the publication of Christ Con, including Tom Harpur's The Pagan Christ, which has gotten some notoriety. It would be nice to know, of course, if Maher has been exposed to my work, whether directly or through the hit movie "ZEITGEIST." Since the bit about Lazarus is not in ZG, it's possible someone along the way during his movie project steered Maher towards my work.

In any event, in my work I address the correspondences between the biblical character Lazarus, whom Jesus raises from the dead, and the Egyptian story of Horus raising El-Azarus or Osiris from the dead, which was a central theme in the Egyptian religion. While I discuss the raising of Lazarus as an Egyptian motif in The Christ Conspiracy and Suns of God, I go into greater detail concerning this pericope in my book Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ. In that book, I provide an entire section called "The Raising of Lazarus," including a discussion of the name as related to "El-Azarus" or "El-Osiris." Indeed, we discover that in the general area where Christ supposedly lived emerged an ancient stela with an inscription called "the Carpentras" in which appears the epithet "Osiris-Eloh," a combination of the Egyptian god with the biblical "El," as in Elohim. More on the subject of this Lazarus-Osiris story will be found in my forthcoming book Christ in Egypt, where I examine the primary sources to show that the biblical Lazarus tale appears to have been lifted almost whole cloth from the Egyptian funerary literature.

It would be fantastic, of course, if the great Bill Maher were to have me on his HBO show to discuss all these issues. (Hint, hint! I would be more than happy to discuss these issues in the major media, as I have already so many times elsewhere since 1995. Please see "Acharya S in the Media." Be sure also to see my online videos.)

Ancient Tablet Evidence of Jesus Myth?

An ancient Hebrew tablet is creating a stir after certain scholars identified it as containing a pre-Christian account of the awaited Jewish messiah's death and resurrection after three days. If this artifact is genuine, from the era claimed, and actually says what is asserted, the discovery clearly demonstrates that the idea of a messiah, savior or divine redeemer dying and rising after three days existed decades before the alleged advent of Jesus Christ. This dying-and-resurrecting motif is one of a number that various writers and scholars have claimed demonstrate Jesus to represent not a "historical" personage but a mythical concept found in religious ideologies and mythologies long prior to the so-called Christian era.

A recent article in the New York Times expresses caution concerning the find, as it has not been conclusively proved to be from the era in question, some years to decades prior to the common era, or to discuss what it is alleged to relate. However, the article also concludes that if the tablet is truly what it is purported to be, then:

"Resurrection after three days becomes a motif developed before Jesus, which runs contrary to nearly all scholarship."

The idea of this motif existing before Christ "runs contrary to nearly all scholarship," except for that of "Jesus mythicists," including in my books, The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who Was Jesus? and Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection.

In fact, if genuine, this tablet would constitute not "prophecy" of Christ's alleged advent but a primary source for a BLUEPRINT used in the creation of the fictional Jesus character - a theme I repeatedly address in my work. Indeed, the educated Jews of the Diaspora, including the very important Egyptian city of Alexandria, were undoubtedly well aware of the ubiquitous story of the god Osiris, "Lord of Resurrections," who was said to have died and been resurrected after three days, as stated in ancient Egyptian texts that predate the alleged time of Jesus by hundreds to thousands of years. It may well be that the Jewish priesthood in Judea - a mere stone's throw from their many brethren in Egypt - were also quite knowledgeable of this highly important god and his resurrection, which promised hope to hundreds of millions of Egyptians over a period of several thousand years, long prior to the purported time of Jesus Christ. If so, we would logically expect from their own religion-making efforts just such writings as are alleged to be found on this extraordinary tablet.

New York Times
July 6, 2008

Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection
By ETHAN BRONNER

JERUSALEM — A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era — in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

It is written, not engraved, across two neat columns, similar to columns in a Torah. But the stone is broken, and some of the text is faded, meaning that much of what it says is open to debate.

Still, its authenticity has so far faced no challenge, so its role in helping to understand the roots of Christianity in the devastating political crisis faced by the Jews of the time seems likely to increase....

Given the highly charged atmosphere surrounding all Jesus-era artifacts and writings, both in the general public and in the fractured and fiercely competitive scholarly community, as well as the concern over forgery and charlatanism, it will probably be some time before the tablet’s contribution is fully assessed....

Ms. Yardeni, who analyzed the stone along with Binyamin Elitzur, is an expert on Hebrew script, especially of the era of King Herod, who died in 4 B.C. The two of them published a long analysis of the stone more than a year ago in Cathedra, a Hebrew-language quarterly devoted to the history and archaeology of Israel, and said that, based on the shape of the script and the language, the text dated from the late first century B.C....

"This should shake our basic view of Christianity," [Knohl] said as he sat in his office of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem where he is a senior fellow in addition to being the Yehezkel Kaufman Professor of Biblical Studies at Hebrew University. "Resurrection after three days becomes a motif developed before Jesus, which runs contrary to nearly all scholarship. What happens in the New Testament was adopted by Jesus and his followers based on an earlier messiah story."...

Mr. Knohl said...[the tablet] strongly suggested that a savior who died and rose after three days was an established concept at the time of Jesus....

"Who Was Jesus?" Controversial Book!

Just in time for Christmas is the release of my new paperback Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ, published through my company Stellar House Publishing.

In this highly controversial book I demonstrate that the gospel accounts cannot be taken as "reliable history." Instead they constitute propaganda created by the priesthoods of the time for a variety of purposes, including usurping the other gods of the Roman Empire. In this CSI-style investigation, it becomes clear that there simply is no credible and scientifically valid evidence that Jesus Christ even existed, much less did or said the things in the New Testament, which aren't always very "godly" or moral.

Check it out!

Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ

Jesus Tomb - Not!

This post concerns the article on the Discovery Channel website regarding the current "Jesus Tomb" brouhaha. In the final analysis, it's amazing how Discovery, et al., can continue putting out such malarkey over the years without any damage to their credibility.

If you read that article closely, you will see a perfect example of intellectual legerdemain in action. Firstly, they say there's DNA evidence "suggesting" the tombs are those of Jesus, et al. What is this evidence? They took the DNA of the bones and compared it to what? Did they have some DNA evidence that had already been scientifically determined to be that of Jesus? Wow! That IS big news!

From this article, what this so-called evidence appears to be is that the bones in two of the ossuaries - one reading "Jesus" and one "Mary" - are not related. Therefore, goes this incredibly specious argument, they are the bones of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene! The guy who is making all these definitive connections, Jacobovici, was involved in the Jame ossuary hoax - how credible is he? In his declarations, he is already assuming a priori that these tombs are proved to have been those of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Considering that Jacobovici is now trying to prove that the James ossuary came from the same tomb, my suspicion is that all of this sleight-of-hand is an attempt on his part to resurrect his own reputation.

I find it interesting that there is no mention of the work of James Tabor called The Jesus Dynasty, which, not having read, I am assuming is based on the same tomb and which was widely touted on all the talk shows some years ago. Why is he not being mentioned now? Could it be because his work has been discredited since then, and the producers don't want anyone to realize the connection? (This is speculation on my part, obviously, since I haven't followed that debate.)

Furthermore, what about the Jesus tomb found in 1945 in the same Talpiot Quarter of Jerusalem, as I mention in my article on the James ossuary? It had charcoal crosses on it - so why couldn't THAT be the tomb of the "real Jesus of Nazareth?" Perhaps because, as the archaeologists themselves have repeatedly stated about this "new" find (from 1980), there is no real, solid and scientific evidence to that effect? I.e., the archaeologists on neither tomb have made these definitive connections - and that's an important point. Nowhere does Discovery even mention the 1980 tomb's archaeologist Amos Kloner, who pointedly stated, ""It's a beautiful story but without any proof whatsoever."

If the inscriptions are from the Herodian period (1 BC to 1 AD), per Frank Moore Cross, how the heck are they relevant to Jesus and his family? Even if Jesus himself had been born and named by then, did someone predict his marriage to Mary and the name of their son, born decades later, such that these inscriptions were made before either event had occurred, in anticipation that both would be buried there? What nonsense!

As to the conclusion by "Jodi Magness" that the New Testament writings demonstrate Jesus "likely" lived during the 1st century AD/CE - wow! I'd never heard that before. What stellar reportage.

And what is "Matthew" doing in this family tomb? Say, now, that's why the book of Matthew is so "accurate" - because Matthew was in reality one of Jesus's lost siblings! (FYI, that's sarcasm, because the book of Matthew and the other gospels reveal the writers did NOT have familiarity with the topography and geography of Palestine at the time, proving they could not have lived there and been eyewitnesses to the events. For more on the problems with the New Testament, please see my book Who Was Jesus?)

Discovery reports that a scholar has stated that the name "Mary," as in "Mary Magdalene," was probably "Mariamene" or "Mariamne." Well, that's good enough for Discovery, apparently, to conclude that these bones belonged to Mary Magdalene! Never mind that the name "Mary" was common in Jerusalem at the time - and has been found on numerous tombs and ossuaries, including two in this so-called Jesus Tomb itself.

As concerns the silly statistic regarding the names (600 to 1), again, the fact is that the names Jesus, Mary and Joseph were VERY common at that time. The name Mary, in reality, was apparently SO common that there are THREE Marys mentioned in the gospel tale! Indeed, there are few other named females in the gospel tale, such as Anna and Salome, and these are relatively minor characters. Hence, for the major female characters in the gospel drama, we are faced almost exclusively with Marys! What are the odds for that? Could it be that the gospel writers hit upon the names Jesus, Mary and Joseph PRECISELY because they WERE so common? It would be much easier to place them into history because of this commonality - the results of such efforts being that here we are some 2,000 years later squabbling about which "historical" Jesus, Joseph and Mary these characters were!

Based on this sketch at Discovery, what it comes down to here, apparently, is that, because the two sets of bones in the 1980 Talpiot tomb discovery are not related, they are THE Jesus and Mary of New Testament myth. From there, we have the set of bones belonging to a "Judah son of Jesus" that must be those of the son of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene! (As an aside, would Jesus and Mary - had they actually been married and parented a child together - really name their son after the person [Judas] who betrayed Jesus to the authorities?!)

Discovery Channel is obviously the World Weekly News of television. I'd say the National Enquirer, but that august publication is actually far more accurate in its reportage.

Jesus's Tomb Found - Really?

Those of us who have been studying the Jesus myth for long enough not only have seen this coming, but we've already addressed it, because the "Jesus's tomb found!" crowing is as old as the hills. This latest load of hooey pops up, of course, right in time for Easter, when we will be bludgeoned with the hideous tale of the gentle Lord and Savior of the cosmos being brutally beaten and sacrificed - to himself, in an expiatory ritual somehow designed to remove the sins of the weak and beggarly creatures this all-powerful Lord created in the first place.

As outlined in my books The Christ Conspiracy and Suns of God, the creation of holy relics to bolster a flagging faith constitutes ancient priestcraft of the first order. No self-respecting priesthood could be without such fabrication, and this latest bit of legerdemain is hardly anything outstanding within this long line of chicanery and treachery.

Let us look more closely at the sleight-of-hand being foisted upon us in this newest attempt at anchoring the mythical into history. First, some years ago when another such piece of priestcraft, the so-called James ossuary, was being touted as the missing "proof" for the existence of Jesus Christ, I wrote a long rebuttal called "Bone Box No Proof of Jesus," which was published in a three-part series in Secular Nation at the suggestion of Dr. Robert Price. In this article - written in 2002 - I discuss the fact that ossuaries of this type were not uncommon and that inscriptions with the names of "Jesus" and "Mary" were likewise to be found abundantly. I even addressed this latest purported "tomb of Jesus":

... as [archaeologist] Avi-Yonah states regarding the numerous bone-boxes found in the Tombs at Dominus Flevit, which contained "122 ossuaries of the usual type [square]," common names included Jeshua or Yeshua (Jesus) and Maria (Mary). (EAEHL, II, 636.) In one of the surviving family tombs in Jerusalem are 18 ossuaries with Greek inscriptions, one of which contains the names "Joseph" (twice) and "Maria." (EAEHL, II, 635.) By the typical media and religious standards this tomb should have been exalted as that of Jesus's family.

In another example, in the "Tomb Cave in the Talpiot Quarter, discovered in 1945," are found large charcoal crosses on one of the ossuaries, while "two other ossuaries had Greek inscriptions reading IhsouV iou. IhsouV alwq," a phrase that contains the name Jesus twice. "The excavator interpreted the crosses and the inscriptions as expressions of sorrow at the crucifixion of Jesus, an interpretation not accepted by other scholars." The tomb itself dates to the beginning of the first century and demonstrates the commonality of the name Jesus before the purported time of the Christian messiah. (EAEHL, II, 635.) If this Jesus tomb had dated to a few decades later, no doubt the media and faithful would have had a field day in presenting it as the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, thus "proving" the biblical fable, although these two tombs mentioned herein would certainly infuriate the keepers and believers in the "Holy Sepulchre," yet another profitable tourist attraction. It would be surprising that no such incautious and mirthful rush to judgment has occurred concerning this particular Jesus tomb. In reality, at least one sloppy sensationalist author has claimed this tomb to be that of "Jesus of Nazareth," asserting that the tomb also contained the ossuaries of not only a Jesus, but also a Joseph, two Marys and a Jude. The excavation report, however, does not mention these other burials, leaving the question as to whether or not this particular author is prone to fiction, as is suggested by his other writings as well. As is evident, looks can be deceiving, such that caution should be utilized in regard to artifacts.

In Jerusalem there is even a "Tomb of Jason," complete with an ossuary and a scratched image of a warship, which could lead to the conclusion that this is the tomb of the Jason of Greek mythology. "On the walls of the porch are charcoal drawings of ships, a Greek inscription, and several Aramaic inscriptions, the longest of which consists of three lines lamenting Jason, the deceased." (EAEHL, II, 630) Using coins and pottery, the tomb is dated to having been used between the Hasmonean (2nd-1st cent. BCE) and the Herodian eras (37 BCE-70 CE). Although it is evidently the tomb of a real person of that era, true believers in the demigod Jason of Argonaut fame could attempt in the same manner as Christians to "prove" the existence of Jason and his Argonauts, such as Hercules, as "real people."

Indeed, the creation and/or discovery of the tombs of various gods has been a mainstay throughout the world for millennia and centuries, with the Egyptian god Osiris, for example, purportedly buried in dozens of places. The same has occurred with Jesus, as his remains are alleged to be found in Kashmir and Japan, to name a couple of tourist traps. I further explore this issue in my article "Jesus in India?"

Moreover, one of the individuals in this newest scandal happens to have been involved in the James ossuary hoax. Hence, we could hardly consider this find to be any more credible than that one. We also must make note of the fact that the senior archaeologist on the pertinent excavation, Professor Amos Kloner, says of this fictionalized tale - the new "documentary" of which astoundingly includes famed director James Cameron - "It's a beautiful story but without any proof whatsoever."

As an aside and postscript, if Ray Santilli can be busted for the "Alien Autopsy" hoax, then James Cameron should likewise be found culpable for foisting this fraud upon an unsuspecting public. It rankles me to no end that, when it comes to religious tomfoolery, no one is held accountable for their fraudulent behavior.

Benny Hinn: Used Religion Salesman

I recently watched a video expose of the superevangelist Benny Hinn, whose tax-free enterprise rakes in some $250 million a year. It is apparent that Hinn is a showman, but he is also quite evidently a conman who is dishonest in his presentation of the "miracles" that fuel his enormous organization.

If the fruits of the labors of telephone psychics are taxable, it makes NO sense to allow the circus run by Benny Hinn to exist tax-free. In fact, it makes little sense not to tax religious organizations, other than because of their charitable occupations. Does God really need the tax break? Why does the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God need money in the first place to spread His Word and Gospel? Hinn, it should be noted, is evidently very stingy with his hundreds of millions when it comes to charitable activity.

Oddly enough, I like Hinn's show, as much as I liked Steve Martin's "Leap of Faith" movie about a conman who fakes miracles in order to make a living. Obviously, in the name of honesty and ETHICS, Hinn's gig should be presented as a SHOW, not reality, because THE FACT IS THAT BENNY HINN IS HURTING PEOPLE with his bogus antics. The offenses that Hinn commits would be VERY scandalous if a medical doctor engaged in them. But, because Hinn invokes God and rants on about the Lord and Savior, etc., ad nauseam, he gets away with such atrocious behavior. Perhaps all conmen and criminals should invoke God - they could then get away with it too! Hinn has obviously gotten help from powerful people as well, so it seems clear that the powermongers gleefully encourage this type of fleecing of the sheeple.

While watching this Benny Hinn expose, I was struck by a few other things. At one point while "healing" someone, Hinn shouts out, "Cancer cannot stand in the presence of the Holy Ghost." So, why does cancer exist in the first place? Is the Holy Spirit not omnipresent? Where is the Holy Spirit not? Does the Devil cause cancer? Maybe the Devil is the cancer? So the Holy Spirit cannot go where the Devil is - until Benny Hinn steps in? Benny Hinn is necessary before the Holy Spirit can work? Or is willing to work? Is the Holy Spirit impotent without Benny Hinn? If not, why can't anyone anywhere access the Holy Spirit to heal themselves? Why are people diseased in the first place, if the Holy Spirit can heal everything? Why isn't the healing Holy Spirit already present to prevent disease?

After Hinn's quarter-of-a-billion-dollar yearly income was revealed, and his lavish lifestyle exposed, one of his naive supporters stated, "It costs money to travel, to bring the gospel of Christ around the world." Again, why would it cost money for human beings to spread the Word of God? Isn't God omnipotent? Can't God spread His Word without making poor people give up all their money? It is astounding that everyone is so eager to give up their money to the most powerful force in the universe, who, if real, surely would not need money.

Wow! What a racket!

At one point Hinn acted out a "miracle" of curing a blind boy, during which the boy was pronounced "healed" and promised a trust fund to take care of him through college. When confronted with the fact that none of this occurred and that the boy was not healed at all, in his reply Hinn referred to his non-medical advisors who tell him someone is "cured":

"When he comes up on the platform, I'm only able to know what happens because they tell me so."

So what happened to the Lord, who was supposedly speaking to Hinn the whole time? How come Hinn has to rely on his staff with no medical credentials?

It is so obvious that Benny Hinn is not speaking to or for "the Lord" and that he is not doing miraculous healings. It is a shame that Hinn is scamming not only himself but so many others. But, alas, it is not unexpected, as such scams and schemes have been going on for millennia with too many used-religion salesmen to count.

Dr. Robert Price's Review of "Suns of God"

I am delighted to announce that I have just now posted online the review by Dr. Robert Price of my book Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled. This review is long awaited, and the hard copy of it, appearing in Price's "Journal of Higher Criticism," is going to press as I write. Bob has kindly allowed me to post this preview copy online. As one can see, after the previous debacle with my book "The Christ Conspiracy," Bob has come forth to prove himself a real mensch.

Dr. Robert Price's Review of Suns of God

Enjoy!

The Reason for the Season - AGAIN?

A belated "Christmas" present - a new video based on a conversation between "Infidel Guy" Reg Finley and me:

"The Reason for the Season"

In this long but worthy video, I go into detail about exactly whence the Christmas holiday originates and what it really means, including the following:

--What is the winter solstice?
--When was Jesus's birthday traditionally placed?
--Why are the two intertwined now?
--Who else was born on December 25th?



My vids have been watched by tens of thousands of people. Here is a partial list of Acharya's Online Videos.

Enjoy!