Having entered the Christmas season, we ask those who find the work of the Mystagogy Resource Center beneficial to them to help us continue our work with a generous financial gift as you are able. As an incentive, we are offering the following booklet.

In 1909 the German philosopher Arthur Drews wrote a book called "The Myth of Christ", which New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman has called "arguably the most influential mythicist book ever produced," arguing that Jesus Christ never existed and was simply a myth influenced by more ancient myths. The reason this book was so influential was because Vladimir Lenin read it and was convinced that Jesus never existed, thus justifying his actions in promoting atheism and suppressing the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union. Moreover, the ideologues of the Third Reich would go on to implement the views of Drews to create a new "Aryan religion," viewing Jesus as an Aryan figure fighting against Jewish materialism. 

Due to the tremendous influence of this book in his time, George Florovsky viewed the arguments presented therein as very weak and easily refutable, which led him to write a refutation of this text which was published in Russian by the YMCA Press in Paris in 1929. This apologetic brochure titled "Did Christ Live? Historical Evidence of Christ" was one of the first texts of his published to promote his Neopatristic Synthesis, bringing the patristic heritage to modern historical and cultural conditions. With the revival of these views among some in our time, this text is as relevant today as it was when it was written. 

Never before published in English, it is now available for anyone who donates at least $20 to the Mystagogy Resource Center upon request (please specify in your donation that you want the book). Thank you.



January 2, 2014

The Top 25 Most Popular Mystagogy Posts of 2013


Below is a list of The Top 25 Most Popular Mystagogy Posts of 2013. These were posts from 2013 only, and do not reflect posts of previous years. Personally I find it to be an interesting list filled with surprises, and it shows what drove most people to my website and reflects their interests. Like last year, the first three received more than double the page views of all the rest. The list certainly reflects a high interest in controversial and topical issues, as well as stories of miracles, but it is a bit disappointing how little there is here of Orthodox spirituality and the lives of the Saints, which is a primary focus of this site, though I am aware those have always been among my least popular posts. Maybe this year we can resolve to make topics like these more popular than the rest. Thank you all for visiting over the past year and for your support, and I hope to provide even better more compelling material for the coming new year. A blessed and joyous New Year to all!


























Labels:

BECOME A PATREON OR PAYPAL SUBSCRIBER


Patreon!