Book Description
Nothing is new or original in Christianity. That is the important thesis demonstrated in Christianity Before Christ. The least important features, as well as the most important components, were all well developed in cultures that flourished before the time that Christ is alleged to have walked the parched paths of Roman Palestine.
With a Forword by Frank R. Zindler, the editor of American Atheist press, the book has 12 major chapters, plus Bibliography, Subject Index, and numerous pen-and-ink illustrations.
About the author
JOHN G. JACKSON was an educator, lecturer, author, and man of principle. He was born on April 1, 1907, into a family of Methodists. In old age, he averred he had been an Atheist since he became old enough to think. The family minister once asked him when he was small, "Who made you?" After some thought he replied from his own realization, "I don't know." He lived for nearly fifty years in New York City, lecturing at the "Ingersoll Forum" of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism (1930-1955). During a parallel period he wrote articles for the Truth Seeker magazine. From 1932 to 1972 he was a writer and associate of the Rationalist Press Association in London, England.
A pioneer in the field of African and Afro-American studies, he taught such courses from 1971 to 1980 at Rutgers University, New York University, and in Illinois. His books include Introduction to African Civilizations; A Guide to the Study of African History; Man, God, and Civilization; Hubert Henry Harrison: The Black Socrates; and the best-selling Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth.
