This blog is now entering ‘sleep’ mode… — that’s the heading for René Salm’s final post at least for a while. René explains his decision to retire from posting and publishing his research into Christian origins. Fortunately his blog with its many resources will remain online for some time yet. I think René’s strongest contribution to the public was his overview and analysis of the archaeological reports on Nazareth that have been produced over the years. The responses to his work from some academics and even lay critics was anything but scholarly rebuttal. They were viciously hostile, full of insult, ridicule and blatant misrepresentation. That’s not how one expects sound and valid research and scholarly publications to be defended. One must suspect that his reviews and analysis hit a raw nerve in the academy. René has undertaken research into areas that few others have undertaken and one of his last series of posts was a translation and commentary on Hermann Detering’s thesis involving the relationship of Buddhism with Christianity view the Therapeutae in Egypt.
My posts on René’s books on the archaeology of Nazareth:
The Nazareth myth (2009-09-04)
What it really means to be human . . . the challenge before us all (2009-04-11)
Reviewing a Scholarly Review of Rene Salm’s The Myth of Nazareth (2009-05-31)
The Real Jesus Challenge, Bart Erhman, and Nazareth (2010-08-15)
Interview with René Salm (2011-04-27)
The Nazareth Myth: Salm responds to McGrath and O’Neill (2011-05-07)
The origin and meaning of Nazarene/Natsarene and its relationship to “hidden gnosis” (2011-07-31)
Nazareth Boondoggle (2012-09-24)
Emperor Ehrman Walks Naked Through a Storyland Nazareth 4000 Years Old (2012-12-07)
More Nazareth Nonsense from Tim O’Neill (2012-12-29)
NazarethGate (2016-01-26)
Nazareth, General Overview of the Evidence (2016-02-22)
Dear Professor Bart Ehrman, Please explain, if you will….. (2016-10-27)
Neil Godfrey
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His feedback on my book was that he didn’t agree with it, basically because it contradicts his pet theory regarding Buddhism. I agree his stuff on Nazareth has some merit, but he’s on shaky ground with a lot of his other claims.
I am grateful to René Salm, for doing good historical work and sharing it with the public, and to Vridar, for its critical role as a forum for independent scholarship. I wish René well in his retirement.