Classic Replay: The historical Jesus – Philip Pullman, Anthony McRoy and Martin Saunders episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 30, 2021 · 58 MIN

Classic Replay: The historical Jesus – Philip Pullman, Anthony McRoy and Martin Saunders

from Unbelievable? · host Premier

In prominent atheist author Philip Pullman’s ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’, he re-imagines the story of Jesus as the story of two twins - one called Jesus, the other Christ. It is the twin Christ who writes the history of Jesus, turning him into the God-man of the Gospels. Philip Pullman joins Justin Brierley to discuss whether we should believe the biblical stories of Jesus as historical fact or whether myth and invention are inevitable in the 2,000 year old Gospel accounts. Christian journalist Martin Saunders engages Pullman on his view of the Church and his scepticism of the miraculous, while Bible Scholar Anthony McRoy challenges Pullman's view that the Gospels are the product of the mythologising and interpretation of its historical core. He particularly takes issue with Pullman's recasting of the resurrection as a fabricated trick to create the foundation of the future church. For ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’ see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Jesus-Scoundrel-Christ-Myths/dp/1847678254   For Unbelievable? The Conference 2021 http://www.unbelievable.live  USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show  Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the free Unbelievable? e-book ‘In Conversation With…’ https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter    Support the show: https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable     For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable   Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UnbelievableJB    Twitter https://twitter.com/unbelievablejb     Insta https://www.instagram.com/justin.brierley 

In prominent atheist author Philip Pullman’s ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’, he re-imagines the story of Jesus as the story of two twins - one called Jesus, the other Christ. It is the twin Christ who writes the history of Jesus, turning him into the God-man of the Gospels. Philip Pullman joins Justin Brierley to discuss whether we should believe the biblical stories of Jesus as historical fact or whether myth and invention are inevitable in the 2,000 year old Gospel accounts. Christian journalist Martin Saunders engages Pullman on his view of the Church and his scepticism of the miraculous, while Bible Scholar Anthony McRoy challenges Pullman's view that the Gospels are the product of the mythologising and interpretation of its historical core. He particularly takes issue with Pullman's recasting of the resurrection as a fabricated trick to create the foundation of the future church. For ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’ see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Jesus-Scoundrel-Christ-Myths/dp/1847678254   For Unbelievable? The Conference 2021 http://www.unbelievable.live  USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show  Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the free Unbelievable? e-book ‘In Conversation With…’ https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter    Support the show: https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable     For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable   Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UnbelievableJB    Twitter https://twitter.com/unbelievablejb     Insta https://www.instagram.com/justin.brierley

NOW PLAYING

Classic Replay: The historical Jesus – Philip Pullman, Anthony McRoy and Martin Saunders

0:00 58:19

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Bagged & Tagged

Jun 25, 2026 ·10m

A-Peeling

Jun 23, 2026 ·10m

A Grand Tour

Jun 18, 2026 ·11m

Rafters

Jun 16, 2026 ·11m

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Unbelievable??

This episode is 58 minutes long.

When was this Unbelievable? episode published?

This episode was published on March 30, 2021.

What is this episode about?

In prominent atheist author Philip Pullman’s ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’, he re-imagines the story of Jesus as the story of two twins - one called Jesus, the other Christ. It is the twin Christ who writes the history of Jesus,...

Can I download this Unbelievable? episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!