''Jesus the Magician'' is a 1978 book by

Morton Smith Morton Smith (May 28, 1915 – July 11, 1991)Neusner, Jacob, ''Christianity, Judaism, and other Greco-Roman Cults. Part 1: New Testament'', ed. J. Neusner, ''Studies for Morton Smith at Sixty, vol 1, New Testament'' (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975), p. ...

arguing that the

historical Jesus The term "historical Jesus" refers to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical historical methods, in contrast to religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. ...

was a magician who "sprang from a Galilean strain of Semitic paganism" (p. 68).

Background

The idea that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

was a magician did not originate with

. It was previously voiced by the philosopher and critic

Celsus Celsus (; grc-x-hellen, Κέλσος, ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work, ''The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: grc-x-hellen, Λόγ� ...

(''

The True Word ''The True Word'' (or ''Discourse'', ''Account'', or ''Doctrine''; grc-gre, Λόγος Ἀληθής, ''Logos Alēthēs'') is a lost treatise in which the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus addressed many principal points of Early Christianity and ...

'' c. 200 CE) as we know from the rebuttal authored by the Christian apologist/scholar

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

: “It was by magic that he was able to do the miracles” (''Contra Celsum'' 1.6).

Hans Dieter Betz Hans Dieter Betz (born 21 May 1931, Lemgo, Germany) is an American scholar of the New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Chicago. He has made influential contributions to research on Paul's Letter to the Galatians, the Sermon on ...

(1994) observes that "from early on even Jesus of Nazareth was implicated in that he was said to be mad or a magician possessed by Satan" and R. Joseph Hoffmann writes (1987) that it is well attested that "the early Christian mission was advanced by the use of

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

." Smith was featured discussing his theories in the controversial television documentary series, '' Jesus: The Evidence'' (1984: LWT for Channel 4).

Reception

Bart Ehrman Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including t ...

referred to the book as “uncannily smart, incredibly learned” in the preface for the 2014 edition of the book. '' Kirkus Reviews'' describes the book as "carefully researched, elegantly written, and thoroughly prejudiced.""''Jesus the Magician''", Kirkus Reviews, April 26th, 1978
/ref> Barry Crawford (

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

) wrote in his 1979 review that "Smith exhibits an intricate knowledge of the

magical papyri The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin: ''Papyri Graecae Magicae'', abbreviated ''PGM'') is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, written mostly in ancient Greek (but also in Old Coptic, Demotic, etc.), which each con ...

, but his ignorance of current Gospel research is abysmal.”

Editions

*Harper & Row (1978), . *Barnes & Noble Books (1993), . *Ulysses Press (1998), .

References

Sources

*Hans Dieter Betz, "The Birth of Christianity as a Hellenistic Religion: Three Theories of Origin," ''The Journal of Religion'' 74 (1994), pp. 1–25 *Barry Crawford, ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'' (1979), 321–322. *Celsus, ''On the True Doctrine. A Discourse Against the Christians'' tr. by R. Joseph Hoffmann (1987), p. 53 n3. *William G. Dever, ''Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel'' (2005), 4. *H.S. Versnel, "Some Reflections on the Relationship Magic-Religion," ''Numen'' 38 (1991), pp. 177–197. *Jennifer Viegas, "Earliest reference describes Christ as 'magician'" October 1, 2008. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26972493 Accessed November 2, 2009. 1978 non-fiction books Books about Jesus {{reli-book-stub