A thorough, good-faith response that takes each chapter on its own terms, weighs the evidence, and shows where the argument holds and where it breaks down.
Christ Before Jesus is a novel approach to the idea of Jesus mythicism, the concept that Jesus didn't exist. What makes it novel is that it attempts to use stylometry, the study of style, in order to prove that Jesus, and Paul, didn't exitst, and that the New Testament texts were written in the Second Century. These are big claims, and I examine each one thorougly, and transparently. To accomplish this, I do a deep dive into stylometry, so we can see what it can and cannot reveal. In doing this, I examine the results these authors present, and showcase why they just don't work. With that information in hand, I then move into the rest of the book, where we look at a variety of common claims mythicists tend to make.
With this book, it was necessary to first examine the topic of stylometry, and the authors arguments there. From there, we move back to the beginning of the book, and break it down one topic at a time. Each chapter below contains one section, which I cover thoroughly.
Can stylometry prove Jesus, or even Paul, didn’t exist? Short answer, no. Yet, that is a main focus in the book, Christ Before Jesus, a work that tries to further the Jesus Myth case. As a former mythicist, someone who accepted the conclusion that Jesus was a mythical figure, the argument was rather intriguing as...
What makes a good methodology? Well, the first step is to have a clear methodology. And it probably pays to understand the topic. For Matthew Britt and Jaaron Wingo, authors’ of “Christ Before Jesus,” they lack in both departments. This is part two of my critique their work. One of the things that gave some...
If you’re making things up in your study, it’s probably not wise to bring that to attention. Yet, that’s exactly what Matthew Britt and Jaaron Wingo do in their book, “Christ Before Jesus.” This is the third part of my critique of their book, and in this article, we examine some additional potential concerns they...
When I decide to study a subject, I get a bit obsessive. Part of the reason for that is because I once was a Jesus myth theorist, and I fell for many of the conspiracies that surrounded that. I was burned before by subscribing to an idea that I was ignorant about. I don’t want...
Chapter 8 is where we finally get into the data, and the supposed evidence for many of the claims that are made throughout Christ Before Jesus. Since many of the claims made through the book rely on these results, it becomes important to see if they check out. And as a note, there are claims...
I don’t want to suggest that Britt and Wingo are being dishonest in their research, or at least I didn’t when I started this critique. Just like I wouldn’t say most modern apologists are doing such. But regardless of their intention here, the outcome is the same. On page 232, I think this really comes...
One of the arguments that Britt and Wingo frequently come back to is the argument from silence. We’ve already discussed this previously, but another point we have to take into consideration is that we have few early Christian writers in general. Dealing with Acts specifically, Britt and Wingo attempt to build an argument that maybe...
At this point in the critique of Britt’s and Wingo’s argument in “Christ Before Jesus,” I think it should be clear that we can generally ignore their stylometric analysis for a host of reasons, starting with the methodology being inherently flawed, to the actual results lacking the necessary data we need to fully analyze them....
If I am to be honest, it was with this section that I lost all hope in this book. One of the things I’ve tried to do with this work, and these authors, is to err on the side of being as fair as possible. I’ve attempted to give the authors the benefit of the...
At this point, it’s been demonstrated thoroughly that the stylometric analysis within “Christ Before Jesus” is rather worthless. Not only is it based on flawed methodology, and virtually impossible to replicate (in fact, even running Stylo with their settings, and with the texts they suggest, their results could not be replicated), the readings and interpretations...
One thing Britt and Wingo have managed to do consistently is show that they don’t know much about stylometry. Whether that is in regard to what constitutes proper methodology, or even how to read the dendrogram correctly. I realize that is blunt, but it’s what has been seen time and time again, and the discussion...
Based on everything we’ve discussed this far in regards to “Christ Before Jesus,” it is probably no surprise that Britt and Wingo once again make the claim that the book of Revelation is a compilation, that it’s written by multiple authors. What may be surprising is their claim that Revelation is not originally a Christian...
Britt’s and Wingo’s finale is lackluster. After having built their arguments on extremely faulty ground, they begin their finale by saying that “this section will contain some of our most revealing finds and help us date a number of early Christian text.” They won’t fulfill those claims. They begin off by reviewing some of the...
Mark 13 is sometimes known as the “Little Apocalypse.” It’s the chapter in Mark, as well as paralleled in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, that speaks about the destruction of the temple. Because of that, it has become an anchor point when looking at a possible dating for the Gospel of Mark. The question here...
The final work that “Christ Before Jesus” looks at is the Epistle of James. As with previous texts, Britt and Wingo again claim that it’s a second-century work, yet they don’t have evidence for that. As we’ve already seen, their stylometry evidence holds no actual water. Before we even get to the text though, we...
In my first reading of “Christ Before Jesus,” I initially ignored Britt’s and Wingo’s summary. Initially, I contemplated doing so here as well, because honestly, after getting to this point, having gone over the text thoroughly, it was just a lot and I wanted to be done with it. But to be as thorough as...
Britt and Wingo finish off their chapter on their results by discussing a few extra findings that came across. The first had to deal with the concept of a proto-Mark. The idea that there is a proto-Mark is a fringe idea. It’s one that has largely died out. Britt and Wingo bring it up quite...
A while back, I decided to dive into Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ.” Currently, that book is sitting on a shelf above my computer along with a notebook. The book is filled with hundreds of little tabs, which are associated with a note in that notebook. Each note details an issue with Strobel’s case....
As I finished off chapter 8, I drew attention to a view that Maurice Casey had presented about other mythicists: “They have had a conversion experience away from Christianity, and they are no more sympathetic to critical scholarship now than they were before.” In chapter 1, Britt and Wingo tell us that yes, they had...
When it comes to Jesus, virtually all scholars agree that he existed. This is a point that Britt and Wingo agree on. More importantly, they acknowledge that they are going up against the consensus here. There are a couple of scholars who stick out that do argue that Jesus most likely didn’t exist though. Quite...
If you’re looking to summarize the mainstream view, you don’t look at Christian apologists or fundamentalist arguments. They aren’t part of the mainstream view. You also don’t look at fringe groups and act like they define what the mainstream is. And you definitely don’t make up arbitrary rules about what evidence you can accept. Honestly,...
Citing sources is important. It helps a reader verify some information. For instance, when Britt and Wingo claim that “one of the ideas put forth by historicists is the idea that Jesus could have been multiple first-century teachers rolled into one,” by providing a citation, or even naming one of these individuals, would go a...
If one shows a clear unfamiliarity with what the mainstream scholarship states, one should be very wary when those individuals make claims about the mainstream. When those same people build up arguments based on that unfamiliarity, we have major issues. Those issues appear right away in chapter 2. Britt and Wingo begin their chapter on...
Most scholars argue that Mark was the first Gospel to be written. This seems rather obvious as it’s clear that both Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark. It’s no surprise that a late date for Mark then is important for Britt and Wingo. If Mark were to be shown to be a product of the...
Before moving too far on, there is a point that I have to address, as it’s one that Britt and Wingo bring up multiple times, and is one that is all too common among mythicists. Why did no one write about Jesus earlier? Britt and Wingo put it like this: “This is one of the...
When you lie about a person, its best to not lie about something when the proof to the contrary is so easily accessible. This is the situation that Jaaron Wingo, of Christ Before Jesus, has found himself in. In a recent TikTok Live, Wingo attacked me personally and made the claim that I was asking...