Diegesis [FACSIMILE] (Paperback)

~ Robert Taylor (Author) "BY the Christian religion, is to be understood the whole system of theology found in the Bible, as consisting of the two volumes of the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jesus Christ, New Testament, Holy Ghost (more...)

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Being a Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, and Early History of Christianity, Never Yet Before or Elsewhere so Fully and Faithfully set Forth; "I very respectfully dedicate the Diegesis, the employment of my many solitary hours in an unjust imprisonment, incurred in the most glorious cause that ever called virtue to act, or fortitude to suffer." Partial Contents: Identity of Jesus Christ of Nazareth; Christian and Pagan Creeds; State of the Heathen World; State of the Jews; State of Philosophy; Admissions of Christian writers; Of the Essenes or Therapeuts; Christian scriptures, doctrines, discipline and ecclesiastical polity; Of Philo and his testimony; References to the monkish or Theapeutan doctrines to be traced in the New Testament; On the claims of the scriptures of the New Testament to be considered as genuine and authentic; Canons of criticism; Of the four gospels in general, Confession of the forgery of the gospels, by Faustus; Of the origin of our three first canonical gospels; Of St. John's gospel in particular; The monks of Egypt; Resemblances of the Pagan and Christian theology; Æsculapius and Jesus Christ, the same figment of imagination; Hercules and Jesus Christ; Adonis; Mystical sacrifice of the Phoenicians, A draft of the whole Christian system; Chrishna, of the Brahmins, the original Jesus Christ; Sign of the Cross entirely Pagan; Tauribolia; Baptism; Eleusianian Mysteries; Pythagoras; Archbishop Tillotson's confession of the identity of Christianity and Paganism; Resemblance of Pagan and Christian forms of worship; Charges brought against Christianity by its early adversaries; Arguments of Martyrdom; Apostolic Fathers; Fathers of the Third Century, Fourth Century; Testimony of Heretics.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 452 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC; Facsimile of 1829 ed edition (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564591638
• ISBN-13: 978-1564591630
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #824,624 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Comparative Religion, December 6, 2005

By	David Deley (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The DIEGESIS; Being A Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, and Early History of Christianity, Never Yet Before or Elsewhere So Fully and Faithfully Set Forth." Written in 1829, this masterpiece of Comparative Religion was so far ahead of its time that it's still a useful reference today. It's an historical showing that the Christian religion did not originate according to the narrative of the gospels, but was more ancient. It's a wonderful read, eloquently written, containing vast amounts of scholarly research. Modern day scholars such as Acharya S cite this book as a reference. The information it contains is as relevant today as it was two centuries ago.

Robert Taylor was a gifted orator, writer, and scholar. He started as a reverend, but left the church when his research into Christianity revealed the conventional story of Christian origins as taught by all Christian churches was untenable. A true champion of freethought, Taylor could not be silenced.

In 1824 Taylor moved to London and founded the Christian Evidence Society. The society published a brief manifesto stating their four grand propositions: "1) That the scriptures of the New Testament, were not written by the persons whose names they bear. 2) That they did not appear in the times to which they refer. 3) That the persons, of whom they treat, never existed. 4) That the events which they relate, never happened."

In 1828 Robert Taylor was sentenced to Oakham Gaol (jail) for one year for blasphemy and for "a conspiracy to overthrow the Christian Religion." In Oakham Gaol Taylor wrote "SYNTAGMA," being a vindication of his manifesto wherein he presents all the evidence supporting his four grand propositions, and wherein he replies to the myriad of attacks by the Rev. Dr. John Pye Smith. After writing SYNTAGMA, Taylor went on to write this masterpiece, "The DIEGESIS."

Upon release from Oakham Gaol Taylor secured a location and began preaching sermons every Sunday explaining the astronomical foundation of numerous stories in the Bible. These 48 eloquent sermons are preserved in the two volume set THE DEVIL'S PULPIT (Volume 1 is available from Amazon. Volume 2, currently not available from Amazon, is available at http://www.ballantrae-reprint.com/astrofin.htm#devpul [(...)])