William Benjamin Smith (October 26, 1850 – August 6, 1934) was a professor of mathematics at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, best known as a proponent 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". Alternative ...

Biography

In a series of books, beginning with ''Ecce Deus: The Pre-Christian Jesus'', published in 1894, and ending with ''The Birth of the Gospel'', published posthumously in 1954, Smith argued that the earliest Christian sources, particularly the

Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...

, stress Christ's divinity at the expense of any human personality, and that this would have been implausible, if there had been a human Jesus. Smith therefore argued that Christianity's origins lay in a pre-Christian Jesus cult—that is, a Jewish sect had worshipped a divine being Jesus in the centuries before the human Jesus was supposedly born. Evidence for this cult was found in Hippolytus' mention of the

Naassenes The Naassenes (Greek ''Naasseni,'' possibly from Hebrew נָחָשׁ ''naḥaš'', snake) were a Christian Gnostic sect known only through the writings of Hippolytus of Rome. The Naassenes claimed to have been taught their doctrines by Mariamne, ...

and Epiphanius' report of a Nasarene sect that existed before Christ, as well as passages in ''

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

''. The seemingly historical details in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

were built by the early Christian community around narratives of the pre-Christian Jesus. Smith also argued against the historical value of non-Christian writers regarding Jesus, particularly

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

and

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

. Infamously, Smith was also a

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

advocate whose book ''The Color Line: A Brief on Behalf of the Unborn'' (1905) argued for the racial inferiority of Negroes. He unsuccessfully challenged the studies of races by American anthropologist

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

Translator

Upon his death in 1934, Smith left a partial translation of Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

''. This work was completed by his old Tulane colleague Walter Miller and when published in 1944 was the first English translation in the original dactylic hexameter.

Publications

Books
''Elementary Co-Ordinate Geometry for Collegiate Use and Private Study''
(Boston:

Ginn & Company Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, ...

, 1886)
''James Sidney Rollins: Memoir''
(New York: De Vinne Press, 1891)
''Introductory Modern Geometry of Point, Ray, and Circle''
(New York:

Macmillan & Co Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, 1893)
''Color Line: A Brief on Behalf of the Unborn''
(New York: McClure, Phillips & Company, 1905) * ''Der Vorchristliche Jesus'' (Giessen: Töpelmann, 1906) ith_an_introduction_by_Paul_Wilhelm_Schmiedel.html" ;"title="Paul_Wilhelm_Schmiedel.html" ;"title="ith an introduction by Paul Wilhelm Schmiedel">ith an introduction by Paul Wilhelm Schmiedel">Paul_Wilhelm_Schmiedel.html" ;"title="ith an introduction by Paul Wilhelm Schmiedel">ith an introduction by Paul Wilhelm Schmiedelbr>''The Silence of Josephus & Tacitus''
(Chicago:

Open Court Publishing Company The Open Court Publishing Company is a publisher with offices in Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois. It is part of the Carus Publishing Company of Peru, Illinois. History Open Court was founded in 1887 by Edward C. Hegeler of the Matthiessen-Hegel ...

, 1910)
''Ecce Deus: Studies of Primitive Christianity''
(

, 1913)
''The Birth of the Gospel: A Study of the Origin and Purport of the Primitive Allegory of the Jesus''
(1957) dited by Addison Gulick Papers *Smith, William Benjamin. (1903)
''The Pauline Manuscripts F and G. A Text-Critical Study''
''

The American Journal of Theology ''The Journal of Religion'' is an academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press founded in 1897 as ''The American Journal of Theology''. The journal "embraces all areas of theology (biblical, historical, ethical, and constructive ...

'' 7 (3): 452-485. *Smith, William Benjamin. (1911)
''The Pre-Christian Jesus''
''

'' 15 (2): 259-265. *Smith, William Benjamin. (1914)
''Latest Lights and Shadows on the Jesus Question''
''

The Monist ''The Monist: An International Quarterly Journal of General Philosophical Inquiry'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy. It was established in October 1890 by American publisher Edward C. Hegeler. History Init ...

'' 24 (4): 618-634. *Smith, William Benjamin. (1919)
''What Remaineth?''
''

'' 29 (1): 1-31.

Footnotes

References

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External links