Sunday, December 10
11 a.m.

    
     This is the time of year when Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of their messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Trouble is, the story is one of the latest additions to the gospel legends and contains material borrowed from pagan and Jewish folklore, as well as legendary elements that circulated freely in the early church. Almost nothing of historical value is contained in the nativity stories of Matthew and Luke.

     R. Joseph Hoffmann, Academic Vice President of CFI Transnational and Chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER) in Amherst, New York since 2003, will examine the truth behind the gospel fictions at this special event.

     Hoffmann is an historian specializing in the social and intellectual development of early Christianity. He is best known for his early controversial thesis regarding the role of heretics in the history of the New Testament canon and reconstructions of the writings of the pagan opponents of Christianity - Celsus (1987), Porphyry (1994) and Julian the Apostate (2004).

     Trained at Harvard, Oxford, and Heidelberg, Hoffmann was Senior Scholar of St Cross College, Oxford, from 1980-1983 and taught at the University of Michigan, Oxford, The American University of Beirut and, most recently, Wells College, where he was the Campbell Professor.

     Hoffmann also is the director of the Center for Inquiry Institute, the educational arm of CFI Transnational.

     A selection of his books will be available for sale.

$8, or free for Friends of the Center.
 

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE!


Friends of the Center may opt to reserve seats:
(323) 666-9797 ext. 102,or email: info@cfiwest.org
 

The Center for Inquiry-West
4773 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
2 blocks west of Vermont
at Berendo
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