Rabbi or Messiah? Prophet or the Son of God? People have debated the identityof Jesus of Nazareth since the first century. But what if there was no Jesus? Whatif there was no Mary or Joseph, no twelve apostles? What if the story of Jesuswas no more than a myth to convey spiritual truth? These claims have beenaround for hundreds of years and have become more prominent with well-knownreligion columnist Tom Harpur's recent book, The Pagan Christ. Harpur claimsthat Jesus was not a historical figure, but was one version of an ancient myth thatcan be traced from ancient Egyptian religion to the Roman mystery cults.Stanley Porter and Stephen Bedard tackle this radical claim by looking at theroots of the "pagan Christ idea," examining the supposed pagan parallels andpresenting the evidence for the historical Jesus. The authors demonstrate thatthe suggestion of pagan origins for the Gospel story is not based on historicalor textual evidence, but rather on a desire to create a universalistic spiritualityrevolving around a "Cosmic Christ" within each person.A fair examination of both the mythological and biblical texts reveal that thetraditional understanding of an actual historical figure known as Jesus of Nazarethappearing two thousand years ago is indeed the only logical conclusion.Stanley E. Porter is President and Dean, and Professor of New Testamentat McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Porter has M.A.degrees from Claremont Graduate School and Trinity Evangelical DivinitySchool, and the Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield. He has written widely onissues of concern in study of the New Testament, such as Jesus, Paul, the book ofActs, and John. He has a passion for education in the church, and preaches andteaches regularly.Stephen J. Bedard is the pastor of Woodford Baptist Church and FirstBaptist Church, Meaford, Ontario, Canada. He holds the M.Div. and M.Th.degrees from McMaster Divinity College, and is actively engaged in furthergraduate study. Bedard is an advocate of informed preaching and teaching, andis devoted to the ministry of the local church.