Acharya S
Dorothy Milne Murdock | |
---|---|
History of religions | |
Years active | 1995–2014 |
Notable works | The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (1999), Did Moses Exist? The Myth of the Israelite Lawgiver (2014) |
Website | |
truthbeknown |
Dorothy Milne Murdock
She wrote and operated a website focused on history, religion and spirituality, and
Life
Murdock was born to James Milne Murdock and Beatrice Murdock in
She died of cancers in her immune system and liver on December 25, 2015. She was known as "Dori" to her loved ones.[4][11][12]
Writing career
Murdock began her website, Truth Be Known, in 1995.[13] 1999, as Acharya S, she published her first book, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, arguing the Jesus Christ story is a fabrication.[14] Her 2007 book, Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ continues the theme of The Christ Conspiracy by expanding her theory questioning the historicity of Jesus, alleging "early Christian history to be largely myth, by sorting through available historical and archaeological data." In 2009, she released Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection and The Gospel According to Acharya S.[15]
Murdock wrote refutations of ancient astronauts theories, asserting they "may be prompted by the same type of motivation that produced the Bible, a chronicle largely-consisting of the plagiarized myths of other cultures" re-fashioned as 'fact' concerning purported legend-based characterizations, and may be driven by the attempt to validate biblical myth as historical under a different 'interpretation'."[16]
Reception
Murdock's work received strong criticism from New Testament scholars and historians of early Christians. Agnostic
Emeritus Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature at the University of Nottingham Maurice Casey criticized her work for "her anti-Christian outlook, a lack of any proper sense of reality, failure to give adequate references, inability to interpret primary sources correctly, and dependence on inaccurate out-of-date secondary sources rather than primary evidence."[18]
Baptist comparative religion scholar
The book received mixed reviews among conspiracy theorists and supporters of the Christ myth theory. Writer Russ Kick, in his book You Are Being Lied To, describes The Christ Conspiracy as "an essential book for anyone who wants to know the reality behind the world's dominant religion".[21] Conspiracy theorist and publisher Kenn Thomas calls her a "great chronicler of the conspiracy known as Christianity".[22]
Atheist activist and Christ mythicist Richard Carrier criticized her use of the inscriptions at Luxor to make the claim that the story of Jesus' birth was inspired by the Luxor story of the birth of Horus.[23] Theologian and Christ-mythicist Robert M. Price also criticized Murdock's first book,[24] while promoting her Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled in The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-Four Formative Texts,[25] and writing the foreword to her Who Was Jesus?: Fingerprints of the Christ.[6]
Publications
- Murdock, D.M. (as Acharya S) (1999). The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold. Kempton, Illinois: ISBN 0-932813-74-7.
- Murdock, D.M. (as Acharya S) (2004). Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled. Kempton, Illinois: Adventures Unlimited Press. ISBN 1-931882-31-2.
- Murdock, D.M. (2007). Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-0-0.
- Murdock, D.M. (2009). Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-1-7.
- Murdock, D.M. (2009). The Gospel According to Acharya S. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-2-4.
- Murdock, D.M.; Joseph, Peter (2011). The Zeitgeist Sourcebook - Part 1: The Greatest Story Ever Told (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
- Murdock, D.M. (2014). Did Moses Exist? The Myth of the Israelite Lawgiver. Stellar House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9799631-8-6.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-4165-9446-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4336-7220-0.
- ^ "Participants-Other Schools". campus.lakeforest.edu. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Dorothy Murdock". Hartford Courant. January 24, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
- ^ Murdock, D. M. "Who is Acharya S?". Truth Be Known. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9799631-0-0.
- ISBN 0-8264-4916-6.
- ^ "The Christ Conspiracy – Home". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
- ^ ExChristian.Net (January 10, 2016). "Tribute to Mythicist D.M. Murdock, 1961-2015". Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Acharya S. "What Are Acharya's Credentials?". Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ^ Barker, N.W. (December 27, 2015). "December 27th update". GiveForward. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ Barker, N.W. (January 16, 2016). "Acharya S/D.M. Murdock Memoriam". Freethought Nation. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ "Welcome to the world of Acharya S/D.M. Murdock!". Truth Be Known. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- ^ Adventure Unlimited Press, rear cover of Murdock (1999)
- ^ "The Gospel According to Acharya S". Stellar House Publishing. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ Murdock, Dorothy Milne (January 6, 2014). "Who are the Anunnaki?". Truth Be Known. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- OCLC 808490374.
- ISBN 978-0567447623.
- ISBN 0-8264-4916-6.
- ^ McGrath, James F. (November 15, 2011). "Fringe View: The World of Jesus Mythicism". The Christian Century. Vol. 128, no. 123. p. 12.
- ISBN 0-9664100-7-6.
- ISBN 1-931882-55-X.
- ^ Carrier, Richard C. (2004). "Brunner's Gottkoenigs & the Nativity of Jesus: A Brief Communication". Frontline Apologetics. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
- ^ Price, Robert M. (Summer 2001). "Aquarian Skeptic". Free Inquiry. 21 (3): 66–67.
- ^ p. 1179