Deconstructing Jesus

This monograph presents a radical deconstruction of the historical Jesus through the lens of mythicist theory, arguing that the Gospel narratives contain virtually no reliable historical information about Jesus of Nazareth. Price employs the methodology of higher criticism, particularly form criticism and the history of religions approach, to systematically dismantle the historicity of Gospel accounts. He contends that the Jesus story represents a mythological construct assembled from pre-existing religious motifs found in Jewish, Greek, and Near Eastern traditions.

Price positions his work against both conservative Christian scholars who defend Gospel reliability and liberal scholars who maintain that a historical core can be extracted from the texts. He challenges the dominant paradigm in New Testament studies that assumes, even after accounting for legendary accretion, some authentic historical material remains. Instead, Price argues that when proper critical methods are rigorously applied, the supposedly historical elements dissolve entirely into mythological precedents and literary conventions.

The work meticulously examines Gospel pericopes, demonstrating how each element parallels stories from the Hebrew Bible, Hellenistic mystery religions, or contemporary Jewish literature. Price draws extensively on the work of the History of Religions school, particularly scholars like Wilhelm Bousset and Richard Reitzenstein, while updating their insights with contemporary literary theory. He argues that early Christians constructed the Jesus narrative through midrashic rewriting of scriptural texts and adaptation of dying-and-rising god mythologies prevalent in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Price's contribution to debates about God lies primarily in his implicit challenge to Christian theism's historical foundations. By arguing that Jesus never existed as a historical figure, he undermines claims about divine incarnation and revelation in history. His methodology assumes naturalistic explanations for religious phenomena, treating Christianity as a purely human cultural product. The work represents an extreme position within historical Jesus studies, pushing skeptical methodology to its logical limits.

While Price focuses on historical and literary questions rather than explicit theological arguments, his conclusions carry significant implications for religious belief. If the Gospels preserve no authentic information about Jesus, then Christianity's claims to historical revelation collapse. This monograph thus contributes to broader secularist critiques of religious authority, though Price himself addresses philosophical questions about God only indirectly through his historical skepticism.