User:Radath

AWAY ON VACATION

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Wiki pages I created

• The Pagan Christ
• Alvin Boyd Kuhn
• Kurt Noll
• Thomas L. Brodie
• Sheffield Phoenix Press

Wiki sections I added

• Christ myth theory: Introduction (Collaborative effort)
• Christ myth theory: Key arguments
• Christ myth theory: Christopher Hitchens
• Christ myth theory: Richard Dawkins
• Christ myth theory: Alvin Boyd Kuhn
• Christ myth theory: Tom Harpur
• Christ myth theory: Thomas L. Thompson
• Christ myth theory: David Strauss
• Christ myth theory: Books
• Christ myth theory: Documentaries
• Christ myth theory: 20th century (Intro paragraphs)
• Philip R. Davies: Christ myth debate
• Historical Jesus: Jesus as myth (Greatly expanded)
• The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors: Summary
• The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors: Criticism
• Thomas L. Thompson: New testament scholarship
• Euhemerism: Christ myth theory
• Apollonius of Tyana: Comparisons with Jesus
• Erik Hornung: Egyptian roots of Christianity
• Hero: Mythic hero archetype
• Jesus Christ in comparative mythology: Films and documentaries

Images I added

• https://commons.wikimedia.orgview_image.php?q=User:Radath&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Photo_of_Tom_Harpur_by_Hugh_Wesley.jpg
• https://en.wikipedia.orgview_image.php?q=User:Radath&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Photo_of_Tom_Harpur_by_Hugh_Wesley.jpg
• https://en.wikipedia.orgview_image.php?q=User:Radath&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Alvin_Boyd_Kuhn_Columbia_Graduation_Photo.jpg

I'm a liberal-minded atheist, and although I have lots of interests (writing, travel, television, equality issues), my current focus is the Christ myth theory. I joined Wikipedia in January 2014 with the resolve of regaining good article status for CMT.

My approach to Wikipedia

Despite my biases, I like to think I go much further than many contibutors in maintaining NPOV. For example, I often include counter-arguments or criticisms to any subject I promote, even when I don't agree, and will quickly self edit if someone points out a weakness in something I have written. I am also very critical of anyone who uses ad hominem attacks against published authors, other contributors, or their views. For example, I tend to think that contributors who words like "foolish" or "fringe theory" are resorting to insults because they do not have better arguments themselves.

My views on religion

I was baptized and confirmed a Protestant, went to church every week as a child (except in summer), attended youth group, taught Sunday school, and eventually became a church elder. I considered a career in the ministry, and for a very short time in my teenage years, I even dabbled in creationism until my minister informed me the Bible was not meant to be taken literally. By my 30's, I thought of myself an agnostic, and after watching Zeitgeist: The Movie in 2007, I saw the possibility that Jesus was a fictional character, and at that moment, I realized I was really an atheist. I am intolerant of religious intolerance and fundamentally opposed to religious fundamentalism.

Books recently read

• Did Jesus Exist? by Bart D. Ehrman
• The Christ-Myth Theory and its Problems by Robert M. Price
• The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur
• The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (re-read)
• God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens (re-read)

Travels

Bahamas, Canada (including Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island), Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, The Netherlands, Spain, Turks & Caicos, United Kingdom (including England, Gibraltar, Scotland and Wales), United States (including California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New York, Puerto Rico, Vermont and the U.S. Virgin Islands), and Vatican City so far

Quotes

"Use Occam's razor: Which is more likely: that a man fed 5,000 with a handful of loaves and fish, or that a gospel writer rewrote an already ancient myth about Elisha doing the same darn thing? Bob Price, The Christ-Myth Theory and its Problems, 2011

"I am the way, the truth, the life" Horus, The Book of the Dead, 3000 B.C.E.

"And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus ... will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, 1823

"'Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, 1978

Licensing rights granted to Wikimedia Foundation

I grant non-exclusive permission for the Wikimedia Foundation Inc. to relicense my text and media contributions, including any images, audio clips, or video clips, under any copyleft license that it chooses, provided it maintains the free and open spirit of the GFDL. This permission acknowledges that future licensing needs of the Wikimedia projects may need adapting in unforeseen fashions to facilitate other uses, formats, and locations. It is given for as long as this banner remains.