New Atheist Low: Mythical “Jesus” Like Charles Manson?

Last updated on: April 27, 2017 at 11:37 am by Dave Armstrong

New Atheist Low: Mythical “Jesus” Like Charles Manson? 2017-04-27T11:37:12-04:00 Dave Armstrong

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Charles Manson [Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 license]

In a ridiculous piece at the Patheos Atheist Channel, this is one of the “arguments” made:

If Manson lived 2,000 years ago, we might have churches worshiping him now. So it was easy for me to imagine a completely fraudulent scamming huckster named Jesus.

. . . along with the following charming observation:

[T]here are only two possibilities: Jesus was either an ignorant 1st century charlatan and cult leader heavily exaggerated like Robin Hood, or he’s a completely imaginary legendary figure like Hercules.

Atheists obviously have a strong internal network and are simultaneously reading a lot of the same garbage. The numbers for this post, which went up just a week ago, are astronomical: 17,000 likes and 53,400 Facebook shares. On my page, I am fortunate if I get over 1,000 likes (only a few times in three months). So were talkin’ over 15 times the exposure of my best piece, and I have been online, writing away for 19 years.

This seeming exponential growth can’t help but be of great concern to Christians who are concerned for souls and for our culture. Atheism is trendy and fashionable, and spreading like wildfire. It’s with us for good now, as the fruit of the ever-creeping secularism that has dominated our culture these past 50 years.

Atheists now are more confident, zealous, and ready to proselytize than they have ever been. They get together with back-slapping comrades (greatly facilitated by the Internet), confirming each others’ skeptical beliefs, and think their numbers are larger than they actually are. In any event, unbelief is growing rapidly.

I’ve estimated (from long personal experience) that 85-90% of online atheists are of the ultra-insulting, snarky, obnoxious type. I don’t bother with them, and ban them from my page as soon as these traits are manifest. I’ve written about this.

I’ve also acknowledged that atheists are often treated atrociously by Christians as well, and have cause for legitimate complaint.

The minority faction are cool, and stimulating to talk to, and I count several of them as my friends. I know them in real life, and I see that in real life, behavior is vastly different (which is true of Christians as well). As in all areas, the online types are significantly lower quality than the same group “in real life.” Nevertheless, the image projected by most online atheists is atrocious and scandalous. That can hardly be disputed. A ludicrous article like this confirms that far better than any observation I might make. The folly is evident to one and all (i.e., except for those foolish enough to believe such inanities and fathomless imbecilities).

The atheist ascendancy should come as no surprise. Christians have failed in our task to spread our faith and to communicate why we believe what we believe (my field: apologetics). We’ve yielded our formerly at least nominally Christian culture up to the forces of relative morality, non-belief, and secularism. These dominate education and academia, the media, entertainment, even half or more of the churches. So why would anyone be surprised at the fruit that we now see more and more, all around us?

The sad (and also humorous and ironic) thing is that a good proportion of these supposedly superior, super-smart individuals (so they always tell us ignorant Christians) believe in a bigger, more ludicrous myth and legend and fairy tale (that Jesus never existed) than anything they chide us for being gullible in believing. There are few people in history as well-attested (or influential) as Jesus of Nazareth. Of all persons to deny existence to . . .

But if you repeat a lie or a myth enough times, folks will believe it. It’s a sort of Groupthink thing. People are sheep and clones. They don’t think for themselves. I’ve done my part to counter it, though it will have but a small effect (since unreason and propaganda and mere sloganism are scarcely affected by reasonable argument). I’ve collected many scholarly resources that blow this nonsense out of the water. Hence I wrote on the thread for this pathetic post:

This is a ridiculous position; intellectual suicide; held by virtually no scholars who would be in a position to know. I never bother arguing it with anyone (just as I don’t waste time on equally silly geocentrist or flat-earth arguments), but I have collected many refutations of the position from scholars:

“God: Historical Arguments (Copious Resources)”

[second section: “Jesus: Historical Support”]

It was obviously a timely thing to collect these resources, so I could give the thousands who eat up this nonsense the “other side of the coin” (should they be open-minded enough to examine it).

Speaking of resources, I have also compiled several hundred good scholarly articles related to philosophy of religion and skepticism / atheism, regarding science and Christianity, Theistic Arguments, and Atheism and Atheology.

Atheism & Agnosticism

Trinitarianism & Christology

Previous Post

November 10, 2015

St. Augustine Was Thoroughly CATHOLIC: 135 Proofs

Next Post

November 10, 2015 Dialogue with an Atheist Concerning Analogical Arguments

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category & Last Things About Me Anti-Catholicism Atheism & Agnosticism Baptism and Sacramentalism Bible and Tradition Blessed Virgin Mary Books by Dave Armstrong C. S. Lewis Calvinism & General Protestantism Catholic Apologetics Catholic Apologists Catholic conversion Catholic converts Christmas Church (Ecclesiology) Church History Conversion and Converts Development of Doctrine Eastern Orthodoxy Ecumenism & Christian Unity Eucharist & Liturgy Fathers of the Church French Translations G. K. Chesterton Hell Hell & Satan Hell & Satan & Last Things Heresies & Comparative Religion Holistic Health Inquisition & Crusades & Scandals James White Jews & Judaism & Old Testament John Calvin John Henry Newman Liberal / Modernist Theology Life Issues Literary Resume Lutheranism Mariology Martin Luther Music Orthodoxy Papacy & Infallibility Personal Page Philosophy & Science Political & Ethical & Moral Issues Protestant Persecution & Intolerance Protestantism Purgatory Purgatory & Penance Romantic & Imaginative Theology Saints & Purgatory & Penance Salvation Salvation & Justification Satan & Last Things Sexuality and Gender Issues Spanish Translations Traditionalism vs. Radical Catholic Reactionaries Traducciones al español / tradução para português Trinitarianism & Christology Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 April 2010 March 2010 December 2009 October 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 March 2009 February 2009 October 2008 September 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 October 2005 June 2005 April 2005 February 2005 July 2004 May 2004 April 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz