Jesus: Myth or Messiah?

Every once in a while, it comes back.  This whole idea that the story of Jesus was actually a conglomeration of pagan beliefs from the time.

 You know, this-or-that religion had a belief in a god that rose from the dead, so that was incorporated into Christianity.  This-or-that religion had a belief that their god was virgin-born, so that was added into the Christmas story.

Christians have answered these claims, but – speaking of rising from the dead – these ideas pop up again with a new generation which hasn’t heard of (or doesn’t care to hear) the Christian response.

As you may guess, I feel these claims are pretty unconvincing.  But just in case you’ve heard such things, or you’ve gotten into a discussion about such things, I thought I’d point you to a debate that was done in 2009 between Christian apologist (Alpha and Omega Ministries) Dr James White, and Dan Barker, atheist from the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

Sometimes things are a little clearer when you can hear two sides of the story.  So if this is something you’ve been hearing about, spend a few dollars (I think it’s US$4) and download this debate on MP3.

Here it is – James White vs Dan Barker… Jesus: Myth or Messiah