Acharya S
Acharya S is the pen name of D. Murdock. As a mythicist, she has authored two books and operates a website called "Truth be Known". Her contention is that all religion is founded in earlier myth and that the characters depicted in Christianity are the result of the plagiarizing of those myths to unify the Roman State.
Life
She has a BLA degree from Franklin and Marshall College. In an interview she said she came from a moderate Christian background. Though not traumatic or "Fundamentalist", she described it as "boring" and said she ceased attending church regularly at age 12.
Her inspiration for labeling Jesus Christ a myth was apparently Joseph Wheeles's book Forgery in Christianity. Wheeles is also one of her primary sources. She then read other freethought works, such as Kersey Graves' The World's 16 Crucified Saviours, which also serves as one of her main references, and Barbara Walker's The Woman's Encyclopaedia of Myth and Secrets,another source she relies heavily upon.
Acharya has also granted several late-night interviews on a variety of radio stations, usually discussing her work in The Christ Conspiracy.
In early 2005, her son was kidnapped by the CHildsfather.But after two days, returned. The father was placed into custady.The news article can be found linked o her site.
Books
Her book, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, is an expanded version of her website. A follow-up book, Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled, discusses her views further to clarify and document the sources used in the first book. In it, she comments on the Hindu story of the life of Krishna, as well as the life of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama). She points out parallels to the life of Jesus, presenting this as evidence that the story of Jesus was written based on existing myth and not the life of a real person.
General premise
Acharya's claim is that the Christ story is based upon pagan myths, and is explainable in "astro-theology" or the story of the Sun. She asserts that the pagans understood these stories to be myths but that Christians destroyed the works stating this, and killed all who did not accept it as literal, factual history.
This purportedly led to widespread illiteracy in the ancient world and ensured that the mythical nature of Christ's story was hidden. Scholars of other sects continued to oppose the historicizing of a mythological figure. She presents as evidence, that this is because the arguments were destroyed by the chruch but are preserved through their own refutations.
THough she often attmepts to silence any oposition, Critism has emerged for her work from both Chrisain apologitst and fellow Christ Mytheisst. No seriosu academic interest has been given her work.
Critism includes the fact that her source mateiral is secondary and often lakcs validity itsself. She also appears ignorant of the beleif systems shecontrasts Christanity to, notabely Hinduism and Buddhism. FOr instance, her claim that Buddha was Crucified cannot be substantiated by actual PRacticioners of the Buddhist faith.
Her work also constitutes poor scholarship, it is claimed, but she claims inrebuttal that her book has ovr 1200 footnotes. It shoudl be noted that each footnote is form a source that is considered suspect, and in many instances that has been discredited. Such as Barbara Walkers " Woans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" or Godfrey Higgins "Acropolys."
Her work is also based on unjust free associationa nd queasitonable word origins. It is best clasified as Conspriacy Theory.
Education
Acharya is a self proffessed historian, mythologist, religious scholar, linguist, and archaeologist.It shoudl be noted that noen of these qualificatiosn are based on academic merit, andhse holds no rlated degrees orposiitons in any of these fiuelds. PRincipley they are based on her writtign career,and her student feild experunce.
As evidence that she is an Archeologist, she cites her membership in the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. She has field archaeology experience in Athens and Crete, whichshe joiend as an Undergraduae student. However,this does not usually qualifyone as an Archeologust, thugh she was made a trench master at a student DIg.
As far as degrees go, She received an undergraduate degree in Classics–Greek Civilization from Franklin and Marshall College. A Bachelors of Liberal Arts.
She is a member of and has been admitted into the Center for the Scientific Examination of Religion Based on her work in critisising rleigion.