(Last updated Nov. 28, 2025)
My primary intention for this website is to present my findings about what Jesus taught during his life on earth. These findings will be based on a careful re-reading of early Christian literature and an assessment of research by modern scholars on the topic. I hope through my efforts to be better equipped to discuss Jesus’ teachings, as I think they are being distorted in our time, especially in contemporary U.S. politics. As a secondary aim I also hope to clarify for myself whether I can honestly consider myself a follower of Jesus, which is how I have thought of myself for many years now.
My position on “mythicism”
To clear the ground for my presentation, I first need to address the contemporary “mythicist” position that Jesus was a purely mythological figure and not a real human being. I first encountered mythicist arguments about fifteen years ago. After reading several books on the topic I was persuaded that the widespread assumption that Jesus was a real human being was doubtful at best. At the time this did not affect me very much, as I was already doubtful about Christian dogmas and felt I could still value the stories and sayings of Jesus whether he was real or just a fictional character.
In the intervening years I didn’t give a lot of attention to the issue, but by the time I took up the project of this website I had reverted to the assumption of an historical Jesus. On reflection I think that was for three reasons: my memory of the mythicist arguments had faded, my mind easily returned to an assumption I had held since I was a child many decades ago, and I was once again delving into the writings of modern scholars who hold that assumption. Note that I do not claim my assumption was based on intellectual conviction.
One of the most prominent mythicist scholars, Richard Carrier, recently published a new book, “The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus,” which I finished reading less than a week before rewriting this page. Originally this page held a few bullet points about why I rejected the mythicist theories, not enough to cover the topic in anything like the space it deserved. Carrier’s book convinced me that my bullet point arguments were either weak or problematic–thus the need for this rewrite.
I am not ready to take a firm position on the topic of Jesus’ historicity yet, but as I pursue this project I will be paying attention to any findings that bear on it one way or the other. Eventually I should be able to render a more informed judgment. I’ll give an accounting of that on this website when I arrive there.
Moving forward
In the meantime, I am going to proceed without taking a stance on that issue. Either way, the evidence for what Jesus taught is important to examine for the reasons I outlined as my primary intention above. A careful examination of what the early Christian sources present as Jesus’ teaching should be worthwhile simply because so many people put faith in his teachings or try to use them to justify their actions and their political causes.
I want to be open to changing my views as I learn of new evidence or better arguments, so in concluding this page let me remind you that I welcome challenges to my views in the comments section of my blog posts. I especially welcome referrals to any sources for your comments, such as books, articles or websites, as that allows me the opportunity to examine the original source as well as considering what you have to say about it.
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Jesus Reconstructed 