Given the testimony of Jesus himself to the authenticity of the Bible and the numerous evidence for that from history and archaeology, I do wonder if the author is actually aware of these things. The author seems to be trying to hold together two irreconcilable things, the myth of many events in the Bible and the reality of Christ manifest as love. I'm afraid if you strip away the heart of the Christian message as Scott does you are actually stripping away the foundation for anything to be real or meaningful at all. Christian detractors with love it. I can't recommend. Sorry.

Chris Scott provides a quick, interesting read with The Jesus Myth. He manages to cover a lot of ground in a mere 80 pages, starting by laying the groundwork for myths with Jungian psychology. He then takes the biblical narrative of Jesus and applies those same principles bringing a challenging perspective to the Gospel and showing many layers of meaning within them.

Giving Jesus the mythic treatment doesn’t sink his faith, it just redirects it to the basic concept of what faith is and raises the question of whether faith best serves us and others centered on verifiable fact or the very message of the Gospel.

Joseph Campbell’s quote is very fitting: “Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Christian Alternative for an ARC of this book.

I am honestly not sure why I requested this book as it is not really a topic I care that much about (or at all) but it was definitely an interesting read!

I should have know I'd be on the opposite end of this author's views by the mere word "Myth" in the title. On the plus side, this is a quick easy read, where the author tries to draw on the positive nature and teachings of Jesus to make the reader and the world a better place. There are questions after each short chapter to ask the reader to become interactive in their thoughts. As a Jesus follower who believes what I read in His word, I have a hard time wrapping my head around thinking that many stories are pure myth. It is opposed to my belief that God has breathed His word into men to capture what He is saying - providing it to us through inspiration and saving it over many centuries, with so many actual archeological finds of early manuscripts to confirm it. Its hard for me to hear that someone consider themselves a Christian but denies the actual physical resurrection and virgin birth. That's where we differ, so while I cannot endorse this work, I also realize it is because of the paradigm and lens through which I am reading it. I was provided an advance copy of the book content through NetGalley without any commitment for a positive review.

A book that explains how one can be the type of Christian that is a follower of the Christ without believing the literal writing of the Bible. The Christ archetype that is a manifestation of love transcends the fallible interpretation of the Bible story of Jesus told the the lens of that time period. Makes so much sense. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review..

Chris Scott's "The Jesus Myth" is short read that packs a powerful spiritual punch! I highly recommend this book to any spiritual seeker!