Malachi151

I have personally read The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man and The Jesus Puzzle. I like both, I like ISSOM better, and I'm not sure I fully buy, or think that there is even a need for, the Paul hypothysis put forward in Doherty. I've also read The Homeric Traditions and the Gospel of Mark, which has useful info, and I think has some correct hits, but it overstated I now agree.

So, what are other good, recommendable books on this subject?

gstafleu

Price's other book, Deconstructing Jesus, immediately comes to mind.

Although I haven't read it yet, I suspect that Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus is also a good candidate. Not so much because Ehrman is an MJer (he isn't), but because the book gives insight in to how the bible was put together. My suspicion is that any book that sheds realistic light on how Xianity developed will also show that Jesus was just another one of the many mythical figures.

You might, a bit more tangentially, also consider The Corruption of Reality by John Schumaker. It investigates, from a perspective of clinical psychology, how religion "works." I found it quite helpful for understanding how and why religious people can hold beliefs of which it is fairly clear they are nonsensical. It also helps one understand a bit better the "secular religious" beliefs, like free will, or even the more or less reflexive belief of many atheists that there must have been a HJ.

Oh, and then there is of course Sam Harris' The End of Faith, a well-reasoned rant against religion in general. Well worth reading, even if sometimes a bit misguided. It is the book that argues that moderate religionists are more dangerous than fanatics because, while they look more reasonable, they at the same time "enable" the fanatics. An interesting point, but as the road from fanatic to atheist in all likelyhood leads via moderation at least for some time, not a very realistic point. Nevertheless, an interesting book.

Ted Hoffman

Most books by NT scholars are good for Jesus Myth. In reading them, one gets to appreciate the JM better and is able to see through their arguments and assumptions.