Truth About Jesus. Is He a Myth?

M.M. Mangasarian was a leading voice in early 20th-century American rationalism, and this volume collects lectures delivered in Chicago in 1909. Here he takes up one of the most audacious questions in religious scholarship: Did Jesus of Nazareth actually exist as a historical figure, or is the Gospel narrative a synthesis of older mythological traditions? Mangasarian approaches the question with the tools of historical criticism available at the time, examining textual inconsistencies, comparing Christian narratives to prior mythologies, and challenging the documentary evidence. His arguments reflect the heated debates of the era, when biblical criticism was becoming increasingly sophisticated and the conflict between science and religion dominated intellectual life. This isn't merely a historical curiosity. The question Mangasarian poses continues to animate scholarship and popular discourse today. For readers interested in the history of religious thought, the evolution of biblical criticism, or the intellectual origins of modern secularism, these lectures offer a window into how our predecessors wrestled with faith's most fundamental claims.