T. W. Doane (1852–1885)

Originally published in 1882 this volume is filled with a wealth of scholarly looking sleight of hand. This book is not a work of historical research. Rather it is an ideological apologia slapped together with an overwhelming number of quotes from ideologically sympathetic writers and of non-contextual quotations from ancient sources. Doan deals with ancient pagan source materiel as selectively and dishonestly as he does with the Biblical material. Almost no effort is made to explain the pagan or biblical sources in their own textual or historical contexts. No effort is spent in demonstrating historical continuity for Doan's claims based on actual surviving documents from the ancients. Any superficial similarity between symbols and events is latched onto and asserted definitive proof of historical derivation of Christianity from pagan sources.… (meer)