Acharya S

Acharya S

D. M. Murdock, better known[1][2] by her pen name Acharya S., is an author and proponent of the Christ myth theory.[3] She has authored six books and operates a website named Truth be Known. She believes Christianity is founded on earlier myths and the characters depicted in Christianity are based upon Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and other myths.[4]

Contents

Early life

According to her website, Murdock received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Classics, Greek Civilization, from Franklin and Marshall College, after which, she spent a year in Greece at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in Greece.[5]

Career

As a writer she publishes under the title of acharya, a term from Hinduism usually denoting the formal head of a monastery, sect, or subsect, or a teacher who initiates a disciple into a movement.[6] Acharya S. does not declare what the S. stands for.

In 1999, as Acharya S. she published her first book, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, arguing the concept of Jesus Christ as myth. She states the Christ story is a fabrication.[3]

In 2001, Acharya S. wrote the Foreword to a new edition of Kersey Graves's The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviours: Christianity Before Christ.

A follow-up book, Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled, was published in 2004. Acharya comments on the Hindu story of the life of Krishna, as well as the life of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama). She claims parallels to the Christian stories of the life of Jesus as evidence that the story of Jesus was written based on existing stories, and not the life of a real man. Suns of God (with a foreword by author and theologian W. Sumner Davis) also seeks to address some of the criticisms leveled at Christ Conspiracy.[7]

Acharya S. founded Seattle based Stellar House Publishing in 2005 through which she self-publishes a number of her books. According to the website, they claim to specialise in "Archaeology, History, Astrotheology, Mythology and Religion".[8]

In 2005-06 she was one of fifty Fellows of The Council for Secular Humanism's Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER).[9]

Her 2007 book, Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ continues the theme of The Christ Conspiracy by expanding her theory questioning the historical validity of Jesus Christ alleging "early Christian history to be largely mythical, by sorting through available historical and archaeological data."[10]

In 2009 she released Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection and The Gospel According to Acharya S.[11]

Her work was used extensively in part 1 of the original movie Zeitgeist. She also acted as consultant only for part 1 of the movie.[12]

In her various books, Acharya S. describes the New Testament as a work of mythic fiction within a historical setting. She claims that the story of Jesus Christ is a retelling of various pagan myths, representing "astrotheology," or the story of the Sun, and also incorporates the science of archaeoastronomy. She asserts the pagans understood the stories to be myths, but Christians obliterated evidence to the contrary by destroying and controlling literature when they attained control of the Roman Empire, which led to widespread illiteracy in the ancient world, ensuring the mythical nature of Christ's story was hidden.[13]

Acharya S. compares Jesus' history to other "Saviour gods" such as Mithra, Horus, Adonis, Krishna, Quetzalcoatl, and Odin, claiming the similarities result from a common source: the myth of the sun-god or solar deity.[14]

Mixed popular reception

Acharya S.'s positions have received criticism by Christian apologists, notably Mike Licona[15] and James Patrick Holding,[16] to whom she published a rejoinder.[17] She was also attacked by Joel McDurmon,[18] as well as atheist activist and fellow Christ mythicist Richard Carrier.[19] Acharya S likewise produced a rejoinder to Carrier's critique.[20] Glenn Peoples critiqued ideas and claims found in Zeitgeist: The Movie which were largely influenced by Acharya S's writings as unscholarly and demonstrably historically inaccurate.[21] Theologian Robert M. Price, who is sympathetic to the Christ myth hypothesis, wrote a critical review of Murdock's first book.[22] He has, however, retracted it previously from his website, for reasons unknown currently. He has been supportive of her subsequent work, promoting Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled in a recommended reading list[23] along with promoting the same book in The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-Four Formative Texts,[24] penning the foreword to Who Was Jesus: Fingerprints of the Christ and writing a positive review of Christ in Egypt.[25] The Christ Conspiracy received a favourable review from author Earl Doherty.[26]

Acharya S's presentation of Christianity as a "conspiracy" has drawn positive attention from other conspiracy theorists and critics of Christianity. In his book You Are Being Lied To, Russ Kick describes The Christ Conspiracy as "an essential book for anyone who wants to know the reality behind the world's dominant religion."[27] In a book on American conspiracy theorists, Kenn Thomas calls her a "great chronicler of the conspiracy known as Christianity."[28]

Acharya has been interviewed on a variety of radio stations,[29] including the Alan Colmes Show. She also appears on less well known podcasts, such as Black Op Radio,[30] and Coffee, Cigarettes and Gnosis.[31] She has been interviewed in Paranoia magazine[14] and by The Progressive Observer.[32]

In his book In Search of Jesus, Baptist comparative religion scholar Clinton Bennett describes her views as being similar to those of radical freethinker Robert Taylor (nicknamed "the Devil's chaplain"), secularist MP and fellow Christ mythicist John M. Robertson, and American mythographer Joseph Campbell.[33]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Murdock, D. M.. "Who is Acharya S?". Truth Be Known. http://truthbeknown.com/author.htm. Retrieved 1 Jan 2010. 
  2. ^ Robert M. Price in Murdock (2007) p. v.
  3. ^ a b Adventure Unlimited Press, rear cover of Murdock (1999)
  4. ^ "The Christ Conspiracy – Home". http://www.truthbeknown.com/christ.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 
  5. ^ Acharya S. "What Are Acharya's Credentials?". http://www.truthbeknown.com/credentials.html. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  6. ^ Vasudha Narayanan Hinduism 2009 p50 "The term acharya usually denotes the formal head of a monastery, sect, or subsect, or a teacher who initiates a disciple into a movement"
  7. ^ "IG: Acharya S – 2nd Appearance – Suns of God". The Infidel Guy. 2001. http://www.fluctu8.com/podcast-episode/ig-acharya-s-2nd-appearance-suns-of-god-25807-21891.html. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 
  8. ^ "About Us". Stellar House Publishing. http://www.stellarhousepublishing.com/about.html. Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
  9. ^ "CSER Home / CSER's Mission / JSER / Conference 2005–06". http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=main&page=CSER. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  10. ^ "Stellar House Publishing Releases 'Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ' for Worldwide Distribution". December 27, 2007. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/12/prweb591641.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 
  11. ^ "The Gospel According to Acharya S". Stellar House Publishing. http://stellarhousepublishing.com/gospel.html. Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
  12. ^ "The New Zeitgeist Part 1 Sourcebook (2010)". http://freethoughtnation.com/contributing-writers/63-acharya-s/376-zeitgeist-sourcebook-part-1-the-greatest-story-ever-told.html. 
  13. ^ Murdock (1999) ch 22, The Making of a Myth
  14. ^ a b Fox, Storm. "Man's Inhumanity to Man: An Interview with Acharya S". Paranoia. http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/acharayas.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  15. ^ Licona, Mike (2001). "A Refutation of Acharya S's book, The Christ Conspiracy". http://www.answeringinfidels.com/answering-skeptics/answering-acharya-s/a-refutation-of-archary-ss-book-the-christ-conspiracy-pt-1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  16. ^ Holding, James Patrick. "Gospel Gossip: A Refutation to Acharya S on the Gospels". http://www.tektonics.org/af/achygosp.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  17. ^ Murdock, D.M. "Prove Jesus Existed, Please!". http://www.truthbeknown.com/holding.htm. Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
  18. ^ McDurmon, Joel (2008). Zeitgeist: The Movie Exposed: Is Jesus an Astrological Myth?. Powder Springs, Georgia: American Vision. pp. 17–20. ISBN 978-0-915815-92-0. 
  19. ^ Carrier, Richard C. (2004). "Brunner's Gottkoenigs & the Nativity of Jesus: A Brief Communication". Frontline Apologetics. http://www.frontline-apologetics.com/Luxor_Inscription.html. Retrieved 2009-12-30. 
  20. ^ Murdock, D.M. "The Nativity Scene of Amenhotep III at Luxor". http://www.stellarhousepublishing.com/luxor.html. Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
  21. ^ Peoples, Glenn. "Say Hello to my little friend". http://www.beretta-online.com/wordpress/2010/episode-038-zeitgeist/. Retrieved 2011-05-29. 
  22. ^ Price, Robert M. (Summer 2001). "Aquarian Skeptic". Free Inquiry 21 (3): 66–67. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-10515613_ITM. 
  23. ^ Price, Robert M. "Recommended Reading List". http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/study_list.htm. Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
  24. ^ p. 1179
  25. ^ Price, Robert M. "Review: D.M. Murdock (Acharya S.), Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection". http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/reviews/murdock_christ_egypt.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-30. 
  26. ^ Doherty, Earl. "THE CHRIST CONSPIRACY" Jesus Puzzle
  27. ^ Kick, Russ (2001). You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths. New York: The Disinformation Company. p. 272. ISBN 0-9664100-7-6. 
  28. ^ Thomas, Kenn (2006). Parapolitics: Conspiracy in Contemporary America. Adventures Unlimited Press. pp. 15, 127. ISBN 1-931882-55-X. 
  29. ^ "Acharya S in the Media". http://truthbeknown.com/radio.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  30. ^ "Black Op Radio, Show #351 Part 3 – Acharya S Episode". 2007-12-07. http://www.trumix.com/podshows/2174976. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  31. ^ Abraxas (2006). "Coffee, Cigarettes and Gnosis podcast episodes #5 & 6" (audio (mp3)). The God above God. http://www.thegodabovegod.com/index_files/Shows%201-20.htm. Retrieved 2 April 2011. 
  32. ^ "The Good Shepherd Part II: Revelations". http://www.progressiveobserver.com/arts/theobservation/. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  33. ^ Bennett, Clinton (2001). In Search of Jesus: Insider and Outsider Images. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 339. ISBN 0-8264-4916-6. 

References

  • Murdock, D.M. (as Acharya S) (1999). The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold. Kempton, Illinois: Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 0-932813-74-7. 
  • Murdock, D.M. (as Acharya S) (2004). Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled. Kempton, Illinois: Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 1-931882-31-2. 
  • Murdock, D.M. (2007). Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-0-0. 
  • Murdock, D.M. (2009). Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-1-7. 
  • Murdock, D.M. (2009). The Gospel According to Acharya S. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-2-4. 

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