Mythology’s Last Gods: Yahweh and Jesus

If ever a book deserves to be called a free thought classic, it is this one.  As a scathing biblical critique, Mythology’s Last Gods has, since its first printing, made a lasting impression on its readers.  It is easy to see why.

Biblical criticism is only the product of the last hundred years or so.  Until fairly recently anyone seeking to examine biblical criticism had to wade through countless sources, none of which provided a panoramic view of the subject matter. Mythology’s Last Gods was the very first to provide a thorough analysis of every aspect of the Judeo/Christian Bible from the skeptic’s viewpoint.  The results were, and are, masterful.

Gathering data collected for his Ph.D dissertation Harwood, perhaps best known these days for his hard-hitting and brilliant articles for The American Rationalist magazine, carefully dissects the origins of Judaism and Christianity by focusing on the Bible’s authors as well as on independent historical sources.  Skillfully he weaves diverse threads of information into a coherent narrative to provide us with an ancient fabric of the mythologies from which our modern religious systems took root and evolved.

Following one such path, the author strips away the myth surrounding the biblical Moses and reveals the Syrian origin of a baby set adrift in a basket of reeds.  This is but one of many examples of the Bible’s authors “borrowing” tales from earlier sources.  Perhaps this one example could be shrugged of as inconsequential by those of a blind religious faith, but Harwood’s data collectively becomes a logical fortress not to be breached.  It would indeed be fascinating to see an effort by some biblical fundamentalist to refute Harwood’s indictment but, not surprisingly, none has yet come forth.  Better to ignore than to be made a fool of.

Although some of the spellings of biblical names can be confusing, this is inconsequential.  The Bible, written and redacted over many centuries by different authors of diverse beliefs and presuppositions, is a hodgepodge of mythology (never factual), history (usually false), philosophy (invariably bad), poetry (occasionally good), and politics (always dangerous).  Harwood has done a masterful job in exposing the disjointed end product, convincingly demonstrating why the Bible has perplexed scholars and laypersons alike down to the present day.

Clearly, Mythology’s Last Gods leaves the so-called “holy” book naked, revealed as a book devoid of substance and truth.  To be sure, any objective reading of scripture will reveal this fact.  Harwood’s genius is that he is able to condense history and mythology into a thoroughly readable text.  If I were asked to pick five essential free thought books, this would without question be one of them.  Truly, this is a book not to be missed!