Here's something I found over at the Nazareth Myth website:
The Mythicists’ Forum, a consortium of New Testament scholars, together with American Atheists, Inc.,are pleased to announce the 2010 Mythicist Prize.
THE PRIZE:The sum of $1,000 (U.S.) will be awarded to the author of a submitted essay which, in the opinion of the judges, sheds light on the origins of Christianity and, at the same time, supports the proposition that Jesus of Nazareth did not exist.
ELIGIBILITY:Anyone is eligible to submit an essay.The prizewinning contribution will be published in 2010, along with submissions of distinction which merit an Honorable Mention.The publisher will be announced at the time of the award.
SUBMISSION:Contestants are limited to one essay each. Three copies of the work should be mailed in one package to:
2010 Mythicist Prize
386 E. 29th AvenueEugene,
OR 97405U.S.A.
DEADLINES FOR RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS:From the U.S.A.: Dec. 1, 2009.From other countries: Dec. 15, 2009.
LANGUAGE OF SUBMISSION:Essays must be written in one of the following languages:English, German, French, Italian, Spanish.
JUDGES:René Salm, Robert M. Price, Frank R. Zindler, Earl Doherty.The decision of the judges is final.The prizewinner will be announced at the 2010 American Atheist National Convention.(Note: If no submission is deemed worthy of receiving the Mythicist Prize, then the prize will not be awarded.)
FORMAT:Essays must be 30–100 pages in length and double-spaced. Submissions should preferably be printed (or typed) on both sides of the paper. Footnotes or endnotes are permissible and a bibliography is required. Pages are to be numbered, with the author’s name and the title of the essay on each page. Also, the author’s name, address, as well as email should appear on the first or cover page. Submissions via email and digital files on computer disk are not permitted, but contributors should be prepared to supply a digital copy of their essay if requested.
For further information, please write to “2010 Mythicist Prize” at the address above,or email Mr. René Salm at rjs@epud.net.
1 comment:
I thought this was topical
I am an atheist and I have grown very disheartened by our self-defeatist culture. I was corresponding with one of the biggest atheist bloggers – the guy who guys by the name of ‘Sabio Lantz’ (he acknowledges that this is not his real name) over at http://triangulations.wordpress.com
I told him that he should read this new book called the Real Messiah by Stephan Huller which I had been turned on to by Robert Price. I wanted to reach out to every atheist blogger to tell them that we can finally disprove the entire rationale of Christianity at one fell swoop.
He send me back a nasty email and then proceeds to slam the book in a manner which is worse than anything ever said about the Real Messiah by religious nutbars:
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Messiah-Throne-Origins-Christianity/dp/1906787123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246919916&sr=8-1
His negative review of this book is a depressing demonstration of the selfishness and self-defeatism that often pervades individuals on our side of the debate:
“My site and many others were spammed for the sale of this book. That alone is enough to stop me purchasing it until I hear amazing reviews from those I trust.”
The point is that I actually sent him links to positive reviews for the book in Publishers Weekly:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6640240.html&
And a list of New Testament scholars who support the book:
http://plainview.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/jesus-was-not-the-messiah/
The aforementioned site was from a CHRISTIAN BLOG for God’s sake!!! Look at the objectivity even with these people when compared to us.
Now I am not against someone having their own opinion about a book. ‘Sabio’ or whatever his fake name is can say whatever he wants about the Real Messiah IF HE READ THE BOOK. Yet it seems entirely self-defeatist to me for we atheists to deliberately sabotage a work whose specific intention is to destroy the Christian paradigm.
Unlike our enemies in the Religious Right we are rarely united, politically naïve and basically content to sit around engaging in intellectual masturbation while our rights are systematically stripped away from us. My intention was not to spam anyone. I was simply trying to find a way for our side to go on the offense for once. We are always on the defensive while they (the religious folks) take shots at us.
I thought the Real Messiah was special because it is centered around a physical object which the author found in the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. It is universally understood to have been taken there by Italian sailors stole from the most ancient Church of St. Mark in Alexandria in the ninth century. Huller demonstrates that the throne goes back much further than that - i.e. all the way to the beginning of Christianity in Egypt.
In any event this throne is the real deal. It has an inscription written out in Hebrew letters and symbols which prove that Jesus was not the messiah of Christianity. Here are pictures of the throne:
http://www.therealmessiahbook.blogspot.com
We have to defeat the myth of Jesus Christ with another myth – a ‘rational myth’ to coin the language of Robert Price.
I am not asking you to ‘join my cause.’ I just want to defeat the oppressive ideas of Christianity with freedom and rational discourse.
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