Featured Theory — the Greek “mystery religion” version of Christianity was already widespread at the time of Paul’s travels.

[Scooter]

Theory — As a teenager or young man, Paul was exposed to different religions. Questions nagged at him, such as “Is it really right for a person to miss out on heaven because he or she believes in the wrong religion?”

Your theory is dead wrong. Paul was born in Tarsus, but grew up in Jerusalem studying Judaism: Acts 22:3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Your theory has no support no matter how many maps you post and no matter how many times you repeat it. It is simply untrue.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

But from what I can tell, the theory that Christians borrowed from Mithraism is fringe.

Jesus Is an Extraterrestrial • Richard Carrier Blogs

There are two new books assessing the intersection of religion and astrophysics. Both are fantastic reads. First is Aliens and Religion: Where Two Worlds Collide, by Jonathan MS Pearce and Aaron Adair (Onus 2023), which explores the philosophical problems that “outer space” and the prospect of...

www.richardcarrier.info

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Richard Carrier is long-winded. Plus, he includes long quotes from others. It’s the academic disease!

But, I think he believes that the earliest Christians believed the death, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus took place in the heavens!

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

I believe that from the death of Jesus around 33 CE to the start of Paul’s travels around 50 CE, Wow, that’s a pretty short period of time.

Most likely, Christianity was already rolling along in some fashion. Especially since Paul was motivated to bring his new message all the way to Greece.

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Most likely, Jesus was an end-time preacher and a rabble-rouser in the best sense, and a champion of the common man and the common woman. Sadly, a champion of the common woman only to a somewhat lesser degree.

The Romans killed him when they didn’t really need to. It was a tragedy, and of course it was remembered.

 

[Scooter]

Richard Carrier is long-winded. Plus, he includes long quotes from others. It’s the academic disease!

But, I think he believes that the earliest Christians believed the death, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus took place in the heavens!

Hahaha….Richard Carrier? Richard Carrier is no expert on the Bible. So what he believes is totally irrelevant…hahaha

 

[Scooter]

Most likely, Jesus was an end-time preacher and a rabble-rouser in the best sense, and a champion of the common man and the common woman.

Fake news. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh; the Creator of everything; the Savior of all mankind.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Map of Roman Empire at the Time of Jesus & at its greatest extent

This Map of the Roman Empire shows its extent at the Time of Jesus in the New Testament era and also at its greatest height in 116 A.D. under Emperor Trajan.

www.conformingtojesus.com

The Roman Empire at the time of Jesus is shown by the BIG DOTTED LINE, and then, the Empire continued to expand to the east over the years. At least till 116 AD.

I’ve read that Rome was a pretty legit republic and representative democracy in Italy, but not so much in the provinces!

This website gives a definite date, “The dictatorship of Julius Caesar starting in 49 B.C. marked the end of the Republic.”

I ask, How much were the different caesars hemmed in by the Senate?

And that I think was a more gradual process.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

And really, if I don’t believe Jesus walked on water or healed a blind man with mud and spit,

of course I’m going to be open to the question, How did the Christian religion get started?

or, how might it have started?

 

[Scooter]

And really, if I don’t believe Jesus walked on water or healed a blind man with mud and spit,

of course I’m going to be open to the question, How did the Christian religion get started?

or, how might it have started?

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Acts of the Apostles detail the beginning of the Christian faith. The Bible provides more details than maps do.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

I still think it’s a lot of traveling for a brand-new religion,

but in fairness,

once you travel north from Israel to the “elbow” at Paul’s home-city of Tarsus, you kind of have to continue east if you’re going to stay in the Roman Empire.

 

[Scooter]

I still think it’s a lot of traveling for a brand-new religion,

It was a lot of traveling. But there was a huge motivation behind it. Jesus had commissioned Paul and all believers to spread the Gospel. Jesus has given us a great commission to tell all people how to avoid eternal separation from God.