Christianity Without Christ

Researching Christian Mythicists

Authors

  • Christopher M Hansen Saginaw Valley State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.24385

Keywords:

mythicism, Christianity, historicity of Jesus, Thomas Brodie, Eliza Sharples

Abstract

As a result of the poor historiographical research that has been done on mythicism (the position that there was no historical Jesus), a particular phenomenon has been somewhat overlooked, that of mythicist Christians. Mythicist Christians occupy a strange space as both being conceptualized as heretics to Christians, and oddities to non-Christians, and their space within mythicist research is, as a result, entirely understudied. This article seeks to provide a starting point for such research by discussing two case examples of mythicist Christians: Eliza Sharples and Thomas L. Brodie. The article then provides a list of other figures and potential starting places for further research on historical Christian mythicists and calls for further study of this phenomenon among contemporary Christian populations.

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Author Biography

  • Christopher M Hansen, Saginaw Valley State University

    Christopher (chosen name: Chrissy) M. Hansen is a student at Saginaw Valley State University, studying English Writing and Philosophy. She is particularly interested in historical Jesus studies, early Christianity, and the reception of Jesus in modern literature.

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Published

2023-03-15

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Hansen, C. M. (2023). Christianity Without Christ: Researching Christian Mythicists. Fieldwork in Religion, 18(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.24385