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The notion that Zoroastrian monotheism influenced the Old Testament authors is a very widespread idea. It is an attractive idea because it fits so well with the theory that the Torah was compiled during the Persian period. It is also evident that Jews held the most famous Achaemenid kings, Cyrus and Darius, in high regard and there is a lot of evidence of Persian influences in Judaism; so,…

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My "man" just came home from a business trip in Kurdistan. Because he knows that I am obsessed with ancient history, he took lots of pictures and video of the Erbil citadel, one of the oldest cities in the world. I put together some videos on my youtube channel. Here is my favorite:…

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I always think it is funny when I post a spoof article and some people say: "That's not true!" and post a Snope's link, debunking the story. I tend to think that some stories are obviously jokes. So, I thought it would be fun to show you how some spoof articles, like those of the Onion, are written. They take a real article, like this one: … Continue

Here is one example of pagan myth and Babylonian star lore in the New Testament from my book. This excerpt describes the action in Mark chapter 5:





“As Jesus continued his trip in this quadrant of the zodiac, he drove a herd of demon possessed swine into the sea. Jesus and his apostles crossed the sea from Pisces and headed for Gadara (or Gerasa,) deep in the lower left quadrant of the sky chart. They found a man possessed with demons in a graveyard. Jesus casts his legion… Continue

I am surprised by the heat in discussions about the Bible, even amongst atheists. Questions about myth and history in the Old Testament and Jesus as a historical or mythical character resulted in people slinging references from their favorite experts, back and forth. I could see the weaknesses of these arguments; but, it took awhile for me to formulate an explanation for why everyone was a…

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The following is not my typical style of writing because it amounts to little more than appeals to authority. Citing sources is essential in scholarly writing because the author must give credit for the source of information. However, simply citing authorities to back up one’s own claim reflects a dogmatic frame of mind. Decorating one’s writing with citations…

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Mythicists (people who claim Jesus is a mythical character) are regularly derided for relying on parallelism for explaining the Jesus story. They compare the…

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Does anyone have a count on how many books and other media materials purport to describe the “real” Jesus? There are so many theories describing a human Jesus that the most important fact about Jesus is lost: the gospel stories about him are mostly myth, if not completely myth.…

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A priest, a rabbi, an archaeologist, and A historian, are sitting together on a train.

The historian asks the archaeologist: “Is there really no evidence of the city of Nazareth from the 1st century CE?"

The priest pipes up: “Of course there was a 1st century CE Nazareth because Jesus lived in Nazareth.”

The rabbi cuts off the archaeologist with: “Jesus was a Jew which…

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It would be really strange if the Old Testament didn’t contain any astrology. For a modern reader to appreciate ancient books, it is necessary to put oneself in an ancient person’s environment. West Asia is very much “big sky” country. Also, without electricity, ancient people had no light pollution obscuring their view of the sky. During the warm season (which is most of the year) it was customary to sleep on the flat roof of the home. The stars were ancient people’s nightly TV before…

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Review by: Brian Bigelow on Sep. 11, 2010 :

"Sex Rites" is a must read for anyone interested in the origins of Christianity. Diana goes to great lengths to separate fact from myth, using archeological evidence as oppose to theories and conjecture. Included are her personal journeys of discovery while seeking the truth behind…

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Yesterday, a self-described “spiritualist” claimed that I had psychological problems and that I selected sources for my book by scholars who were out to destroy Christianity. I admit that I must be a little crazy to spend so much time exploring ancient religions; but, my sources run the gamut of religious belief and I really doubt that any of them are as anti-theist as I am. Regardless, the charge that my book represents a radical view deserves some explanation. Here is an…

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984610006/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_jdp…

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It seems that every day there is another case of child abuse exposed within religious organizations. Religious leaders try to capitalize on the cases, as evidence of evil in the world and pass off the blame on the Devil. They even point to increasing secularism in Western society as the reason for so many cases. And, they are right. It is because…

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I sympathize with US scientists who are frustrated with the level of ignorance in our country regarding Evolution. However, they need to be aware that Evangelical preachers and conservatives are not their only problem. A number of liberals, particularly secular professors and teachers, are contributing to the problem with their presentation of ancient history.

I was dumbfounded when one of my favorite professors presented…

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In the early 5th century BCE, an Ionian Greek called Hecateaus of Miletus travelled extensively within the Persian Empire and wrote what was probably the first history book. As he travelled to places like Egypt, he realized there was a problem with his divine ancestry. Egyptian priests showed him statues of hereditary high priests, stretching back to the twelfth millennium. Hecateaus' pedigree of sixteen generations to a god seemed like recent history, compared to Egyptian… Continue