Mythicist Milwaukee is the former name of a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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 ...

secular organization founded in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, by Sean Fracek and Antonio (Fritz) Blandon in January 2013, after viewing the film '' Zeitgeist: The Movie'', directed by

Peter Joseph Peter Joseph is an American independent filmmaker and activist. He is best known for the ''Zeitgeist'' film series, which he wrote, directed, narrated, scored, and produced. He is also the founder of the related Zeitgeist Movement. Other wor ...

, which claimed that today's

Western religions The Western religions are the religions that originated within Western culture, which are thus historically, culturally, and theologically distinct from Eastern, African and Iranian religions. The term Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity ...

are derived from ancient

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

and

Nature worship Nature worship also called naturism or physiolatry is any of a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on the worship of the nature spirits considered to be behind the natural phenomena visible throughout nature. A nat ...

ers. Fracek and Blandon made contact with the late author D. M. Murdock, also known as

Acharya S Dorothy Milne Murdock (March 27, 1960 – December 25, 2015), better known by her pen names Acharya S and D. M. Murdock, was an American writer supporting the Christ myth theory that Jesus never existed as a historical person, but was rathe ...

, who encouraged them to do their own independent research into 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 ...

. Several years after its founding, it changed its name to "Mythinformed Milwaukee" and changed its goal to "promoting viewpoint diversity in the social and political landscape." The organization continues to pursue projects "including filmmaking, conference organizing, comedy tours, talent management, podcasting, and vlogging."

Mythinformation Conference

The Mythinformation Conference, or Mythcon, is a day-long conference organized by Mythicist Milwaukee. The first Mythinformation Conference was held on April 25, 2015. Brian Edwards, James Kirk Wall, and

Hemant Mehta Hemant Mehta (born February 25, 1983) is an American author, blogger, and atheist activist. Mehta is a regular speaker at atheist events, and has been a board member of charitable organizations such as the Secular Student Alliance and the Founda ...

presented talks on secular subjects. The event was headlined by

Richard Carrier Richard Cevantis Carrier (born December 1, 1969) is an American historian, author, and activist, whose work focuses on empiricism, atheism, and the historicity of Jesus. A long-time contributor to skeptical web sites, including The Secular We ...

. The Mythinformation Conference II was held on September 27, 2015.

Mandisa Thomas Mandisa Lateefah Thomas is the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers Inc. She has spoken at secular conferences and events, and has promoted the group's agenda in media outlets. Early life and background Thomas's upbringing was in a nonrel ...

, Arthur George, David Fitzgerald and the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

's Killah Priest spoke at the event. This was Killah Priest's first lecture and an atheist/secular conference. Afterwards, Mario Quadracci the Mythicist Milwaukee, funded an atheist debate series entitled ''Buzzed Belief''. The Mythinformation Conference III was held on October 21, 2016. This conference featured Allie Jackson (CEO of Atheist Republic), Thomas Smith (podcast host of ''Atheistically Speaking''), Rob Moore, and

Dan Barker Daniel Edwin Barker (born June 25, 1949) is an American atheist activist and musician who served as an evangelical Christian preacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current c ...

(Co-President of the

Freedom From Religion Foundation The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization, which advocates for atheists, agnostics, and nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and challenges the legitimacy of many ...

). This event was closed out with the ''Buzzed Belief'' debate between

Robert M. Price Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...

and

Bart D. 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 ...

that focused on whether or not

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. ...

existed.

References

External links

* * * {{Christ myth theory, state=expanded Atheist organizations Atheism in the United States Freethought organizations Freethought in the United States Organizations based in Milwaukee 501(c)(3) organizations