Claud Dennis McKinsey (March 5, 1940 – June 23, 2009 in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

) was an American

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and author of works on the subject of biblical inerrancy from a critical perspective.

Biography

McKinsey obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in 1962 and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in the

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

in 1964 from the University of Indiana. He taught social studies full-time at the secondary level for ten years. He was a community college instructor in sociology and a secondary guidance counselor for the London City School District. For brief periods he was a civil rights investigator, a truant officer, and a government researcher. McKinsey was highly skeptical of claims from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

which he believed contained many errors, contradictions, and fallacies. He authored ''The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy'' (1995) and ''Biblical Errancy: A Reference Guide'' (2000). He also wrote and published a monthly periodical known as ''Biblical Errancy'' from 1982 to 1999. He was an advocate of the

Christ myth theory The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that "the story of Jesus is a piece of mythology", possessing no "substantial claims to historical fact". Alternatively ...

. McKinsey wrote that "Jesus is a mythical figure in the tradition of pagan mythology and almost nothing in all of ancient literature would lead one to believe otherwise. Anyone wanting to believe Jesus lived and walked as a real live human being must do so despite the evidence, not because of it."

Politics

McKinsey identified as a Marxist-Leninist. He authored the book ''The Relevance of Marxism'' (1994).

Publications

*''The Relevance of Marxism'' (1994) *''The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy'' ( Prometheus Books, 1995) *''Biblical Errancy: A Reference Guide'' ( Prometheus Books, 2000)

References

External links

''Biblical Errancy'' by Dennis McKinsey, all 192 issues

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinsey, Dennis 1940 births 2009 deaths American atheists American Marxists Christ myth theory proponents American critics of Christianity Indiana University alumni