Classic Replay: The historical Jesus – Philip Pullman, Anthony McRoy and Martin Saunders

In prominent atheist author Philip Pullman’s ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’, he re-imagines the story of Jesus as the story of two twins - one called Jesus, the other Christ. It is the twin Christ who writes the history of Jesus, turning him into the God-man of the Gospels.

Philip Pullman joins Justin Brierley to discuss whether we should believe the biblical stories of Jesus as historical fact or whether myth and invention are inevitable in the 2,000 year old Gospel accounts.

Christian journalist Martin Saunders engages Pullman on his view of the Church and his scepticism of the miraculous, while Bible Scholar Anthony McRoy challenges Pullman's view that the Gospels are the product of the mythologising and interpretation of its historical core. He particularly takes issue with Pullman's recasting of the resurrection as a fabricated trick to create the foundation of the future church.

For ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’ see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Jesus-Scoundrel-Christ-Myths/dp/1847678254

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