Editing Pseudohistory (section)

==== Anti-religious pseudohistory ====
{{see also|Bible conspiracy theory|Christ myth theory}}

The [[Christ myth theory]] claims that [[Jesus]] of Nazareth never existed as a historical figure and was imagined by early Christians or arose from earlier beliefs such as [[Worship of heavenly bodies|star worship]]. This argument currently finds very little support among scholars and historians of all faiths and has been described as pseudohistorical.<ref name="Ehrman285">In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, [[Bart Ehrman]] (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B. Ehrman, 2011 ''Forged : writing in the name of God'' {{ISBN|978-0-06-207863-6}}. p. 285</ref><ref>[[Robert M. Price]] (an atheist who denies the existence of Jesus) agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the majority of scholars: Robert M. Price "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in ''The Historical Jesus: Five Views'' edited by James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, 2009 InterVarsity, {{ISBN|028106329X}} p. 61</ref><ref name="GrantMajority">[[Michael Grant (author)|Michael Grant]] (a [[classicist]]) states that "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." in ''Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels'' by Michael Grant 2004 {{ISBN|1898799881}} p. 200</ref><ref name="Burridge34">[[Richard A. Burridge]] states: "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that anymore." in ''Jesus Now and Then'' by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (2004) {{ISBN|0802809774}} p. 34</ref><ref>[[Did Jesus Exist? (Ehrman)|Did Jesus exist?]], [[Bart Ehrman]], 2012, Chapter 1</ref><ref>Sykes, Stephen W. (2007). "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus". Sacrifice and Redemption. Cambridge University Press. pp. 35–36. {{ISBN|978-0-521-04460-8}}.</ref><ref name="Powell1998">{{cite book |author=Mark Allan Powell |url=https://archive.org/details/jesusasfigureinh0000powe |title=Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-664-25703-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/jesusasfigureinh0000powe/page/168 168] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Houlden2003">{{cite book |author=James L. Houlden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjvmQgAACAAJ |title=Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: Entries A–J |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57607-856-3}}</ref><ref name="VVoorst14">{{cite book |author=Robert E. Van Voorst |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC |title=Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8028-4368-5 |pages=14–16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dickson |first1=John |date=24 December 2012 |title=Best of 2012: The irreligious assault on the historicity of Jesus |url=http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/12/24/3660194.htm |access-date=17 June 2014 |website=Abc.net.au}}</ref>

Likewise, some minority historian views assert that [[Muhammad]] either did not exist or was [[Historicity of Muhammad#Minority views (Muhammad as mythical figure)|not central to founding Islam]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Review of: Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State |url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2004/2004.02.33 |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |issn=1055-7660}}</ref>