The Myth of Nazareth

A New Account of Christian Origins

A New Account of Christian Origins is a multi-volume work that reflects recent scholarly scepticism concerning traditional views of Jesus, the gospels, and early Christianity.

In this new millennium the historical basis of Christian belief is being investigated in ways unimagined only a few generations ago. Based on a non-doctrinal view of the primary sources, René Salm considers the disparate views of so-called “heretical” Christian writings on a par with those in the New Testament canon. He uses the scientific tools developed by modern theological research to arrive at a holistic and historically accurate portrait of early Christianity.

The first volume of A New Account of Christian Origins is The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus.

Volume Two

A second volume is scheduled for publication in 2009. It will consider problems raised in the first volume: if Nazareth did not exist in the time of Jesus, why was the town invented by the evangelists? How was this maneuver carried out in the texts? What is the meaning of “Jesus the Nazarene/Nazoraean”? What was the role of Paul in the formation of the canonical gospels? What relation did the first Jesus-followers have to that which became known as Christian Gnosticism and Jewish Christianity?

These questions are directly impacted by the new revelations regarding ‘Nazareth’ and ‘Nazarene.’ They must be satisfactorily answered if one is to arrive at a correct understanding of the diverse evolution of Christianity in the first century of our era.