Welcome back to The God Question, where we explore today’s biggest spiritual doubts with thoughtful reflection and intellectual honesty.
In today’s post, we enter Chapter 4 of The Problem of God by Mark Clark, tackling one of the more provocative claims in modern skepticism: the Christ Myth — the idea that Jesus never existed and was merely invented by the early church, copied from older mythological gods.
You’ve probably encountered this claim in viral videos or documentaries like Zeitgeist, Religulous, or The God Who Wasn’t There. They say Jesus is just a rebranding of gods like Horus or Mithras — born of a virgin, performed miracles, died, and rose again after three days. Sounds suspiciously familiar, right?
But here’s the thing: this argument, while loud in pop culture, doesn’t hold up in serious historical circles. Clark reminds us that even scholars who don’t believe in Jesus’ divinity — like Bart Ehrman — affirm his historical existence. The question scholars debate isn’t if Jesus lived, but who he really was and what he really did. Even H.G. Wells, no Christian apologist, called Jesus “the very center of history.”
So why does the Christ Myth remain so popular?
Because it’s simple. It’s edgy. And it lets people reject Christianity without having to dig into inconvenient questions. But as with any conspiracy theory, we need to slow down and examine the facts.
The truth is, most of the supposed parallels between Jesus and pagan gods don’t hold up under scrutiny. Many are exaggerated, misrepresented, or cherry-picked. Others rely on post-Christian sources or questionable interpretations. What they share is often superficial — more coincidence than copycat.
So here’s today’s challenge: If you’ve dismissed Jesus because of the Christ Myth, take a second look. Not at the memes or TikToks or fringe films — but at the actual historical evidence. Because when you do, you’ll find something surprising: not a myth, but a man who changed the world.
And that’s where the real question begins — not “Did he exist?” but “What if everything he said was true?”
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📚 Next up on the blog: Did Jesus actually exist? We’ll explore the historical sources outside the Bible that say yes.
God or Delusion? 