Earl Doherty

Earl Doherty (1941–present) is a Canadian author and independent researcher best known for his controversial theory that Jesus Christ was originally conceived as a purely mythical figure rather than a historical person. His major work, The Jesus Puzzle (1999), argues that early Christian writings, particularly the Pauline epistles, present Jesus as a celestial being crucified in a heavenly realm, with the Gospel narratives representing later historicization of this myth. Drawing on Platonic philosophy and Jewish mysticism, Doherty contends that Christianity emerged from Hellenistic Jewish communities without requiring a historical founder. Though his mythicist thesis has been largely rejected by mainstream biblical scholarship, his work has influenced popular atheist discourse and contributed to renewed debate about the historical Jesus. Doherty has continued to develop his arguments through his website and subsequent publications, including Jesus: Neither God Nor Man (2009).