Harold Leidner
Encyclopedia
Harold Leidner was an American
patent attorney
and amateur
scholar
of early Christianity
.
He was born in New York City
of Polish
-Jewish parentage. He completed his law
studies at the College of the City of New York
and the New York University School of Law
during the 1930s and was admitted in November, 1940. He was registered as a patent attorney in 1956. According to his own statement, he did not practice law as he was attracted to other fields: "[This] legal background has been of great value in evaluating the testimony and credibility of New Testament
documents; especially patent law, which deals largely with questions of dating, priority, originality of material, infringement and copying." He regarded Hyman E. Goldin
, who in 1948 had published The Case of the Nazarene Reopened, as his principal model. Among other things, Leidner argued for a version of the Christ myth theory, the view that Jesus
never existed.
s abound with anachronism
s and geographical
errors, because the gospel writers used the Septuagint as the basis for their historical fiction. He also notes that while Josephus
describes the Galileans
as hardy people, the gospel writers have leper
colonies and sickly people all about. New Testament scholarship, in his view, "creates scenarios and takes over material from the social sciences
to give the impression that Christianity has an authentic historical origin. The pose of objective research is used to prop up the gospel story but no hard evidence can be found to support that story."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
patent attorney
Patent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition...
and amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
scholar
Scholarly method
Scholarly method or scholarship is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public.-Methods:...
of early Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
He was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-Jewish parentage. He completed his law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
studies at the College of the City of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
and the New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
during the 1930s and was admitted in November, 1940. He was registered as a patent attorney in 1956. According to his own statement, he did not practice law as he was attracted to other fields: "[This] legal background has been of great value in evaluating the testimony and credibility of New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
documents; especially patent law, which deals largely with questions of dating, priority, originality of material, infringement and copying." He regarded Hyman E. Goldin
Hyman Goldin
Rabbi Hyman E. Goldin, LL.B. was a Lithanian-American Orthodox Rabbi, attorney and Judaic scholar. A prolific author of English Jewish literature, he wrote over fifty works....
, who in 1948 had published The Case of the Nazarene Reopened, as his principal model. Among other things, Leidner argued for a version of the Christ myth theory, the view that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
never existed.
The Fabrication of the Christ Myth
Leidner is occasionally remembered for his book, The Fabrication of the Christ Myth, published in 1999. Here he argues that the gospelGospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s abound with anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s and geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
errors, because the gospel writers used the Septuagint as the basis for their historical fiction. He also notes that while Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
describes the Galileans
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
as hardy people, the gospel writers have leper
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
colonies and sickly people all about. New Testament scholarship, in his view, "creates scenarios and takes over material from the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
to give the impression that Christianity has an authentic historical origin. The pose of objective research is used to prop up the gospel story but no hard evidence can be found to support that story."
External links
- An Australian interview with Harold Leidner and Rabbi David RosenDavid Rosen (Rabbi)Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen CBE is the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland and currently serves as the Director of the American Jewish Committee's Department of Interreligious Affairs and the Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding...
(ABC Radio NationalRadio NationalABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
).