Audiobook · read by volunteers
Truth About Jesus. Is He a Myth?
M. M. Mangasarian (1859–1943)
Read by Steven Collins, Joanne Pauwels · 18 chapters · 5 h 40
About the book
Did Jesus really exist, or is he a figure of myth? In 1909, M. M. Mangasarian put this question to audiences in Chicago, and answered it in a series of lectures given before the Independent Religious Society. The studies collected in this book weigh the evidence, or the lack of it, and examine how the Gospels, the early church and the historical record bear on the question.
The lectures were not rewritten for print, and they keep the manner of the spoken word: direct, argumentative and aimed at a listening audience. In eighteen sections and just under six hours, the recording presents a rationalist’s case on a subject that has stirred debate for generations. Whether you share the author’s conclusions or not, you will meet a clear and forceful voice from the freethought movement of the early twentieth century.
Introduction
Mangasar Mugurditch Mangasarian (1859–1943) was a lecturer and writer on religion and philosophy who spent much of his career in the United States, where he led the Independent Religious Society in Chicago. The Truth About Jesus: Is He a Myth? was published in 1909 and gathers a series of lectures delivered at Orchestra Hall in that city. The editor decided not to change the style of the spoken talks into a more conventional written form, so the book keeps the rhythms of a speaker addressing an audience.
The book belongs to a long tradition of historical and rationalist inquiry into the origins of Christianity. It poses a question that was already much discussed at the time, whether the Jesus of the Gospels can be established as a historical person, and it argues for a sceptical answer. Readers will find it useful to know that this is a position that most professional historians of antiquity today do not share, as the great majority accept that Jesus lived, even when they disagree about much else. The book is therefore of interest chiefly as a document of its time and of one strand of free thought.
The recording has 18 sections and runs for about five hours and forty minutes. It is read by volunteers for LibriVox.
Why listen today? If you are interested in the history of religious controversy, or in how public lecturers addressed large audiences a century ago, this book gives a lively example. It rewards a critical ear: listen to the arguments, weigh them, and compare them with the best modern scholarship. Disagreement is part of the experience.
Public domain
M. M. Mangasarian died in 1943: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text