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the
Zoroastrians and later the Pythagoreans and ancient mystery cults of Greece and the Asia Minor. Larson studied the Dead Sea Scrolls literature and commented that the Essenes "engrafted a Christology which combined a Persian with a Messianic Judaic concept, which, in a period of crisis, they personalized in a martyred Teacher of Righteousness whom they expected to return upon clouds about 35-50 B.C. accompanied by a myriad of angels to conduct the Last Judgement." Larson concluded that Jesus was an Essene who convinced himself he was the incarnate of Christ destined to redeem mankind so left the Order to create a mass movement.
296:(1959). His synthesis of facts regarding the Christian epic, from its pagan origins, Palestinian primary and secondary sources, and age-old religious concepts introduced by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persions, Buddhists, Greeks, Jews, Phrygians, and Syrians, examining the soteriology, eschatology, and ethics, and the Messianic concept which make up Christianity.
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Larson stated that he spent more than four years studying ancient
Egyptian, Persian, Brahman, Jain, Buddhistic, Judaistic and Essene cultures which all influenced the Essene Order from which the Christian Gospels originated. According to Larson, the Essenes absorbed the eschatology and metaphysics of
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as an "offering from the lunatic fringe. He argues, with a conspicuous lack of scholarship and a depressing mishmash of phoney exegesis, that Jesus was a frustrated Essene who (probably) survived his attempted crucifixion, and whose simple Essene-type gospel was rapidly distorted by the machinations
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commenting that "of all the efforts thus far to demonstrate an Essene origin of
Christianity surely this is the most ingenious, elaborate and determined... Dr. Larson does not lack imagination. If his conclusions prove less convincing to others than they are to him, his book at least deserves fair
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Leander E. Keck a
Professor of Biblical Theology noted that Larson reconstructed "post-Maccabean Judaism, pre-Constantinian church history, the literary and historical developments of Essenism and Qumran and the historical Jesus, in order to build a pan-Essene view of Christian origins."
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negatively reviewed the book as trying "to prove that
Christianity is nothing but a warmed-up Essene religion" and criticized Larson for "reconstruct an artificial history of Essenism according to his own interpretation of the scanty historical evidence extant in the
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rather than arose full-blown from the mind of a single religious prophet. Although he had no advanced degree in the subject, his works were popular with freethinkers, and he defended his theories to his death.
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to modern times. This includes a synthesis of ideas, deities, and personalities that show how they combined to favor the rise and dominance of
Christianity over religious competitors such as
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224:, which invited the general public but lacked a deified founder. The thrust of his work is to show that Christianity evolved from pagan religions and
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Burrows, Millar (1968). "Reviewed Work: The Essene
Heritage, or the Teacher of the Scrolls and the Gospel Christ by Martin A. Larson".
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talk given before the
Freeman Institute Century Club, 1982 (pdf file) (File not found, need a new link for this PDF )
312:, 1967, Library of Congress catalog card no. 67-19183). Claims that Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were Essenes.
137:. He retired from a career in business at the age of 50 to devote himself to private study, lecturing and writing.
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background but "rejected its dogmas and practices" when he was about twenty years old. Following service in the
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How to Defend
Yourself Against the Internal Revenue Service: A Handbook for Use in Protecting Personal Assets
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consideration as a serious, conscientious piece of work, evincing both originality and industry." However,
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and the genesis of its theological controversies, detailing its evolution from the pagan cults of
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Praise the Lord for Tax
Exemption: How the Churches Grow Rich, While the Cities and You Grow Poor
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Liberty Lobby Presents The Great Tax Fraud: You Can Say Goodbye Forever to Your Income Tax
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The Religion of the Occident: Or, The Origin and Development of the Essene-Christian Faith
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and wrote on its origins and early theological history, best known for his assertion that
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Larson's lifelong body of work constructs a complete historical theory of the origins of
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456:. A historical overview of the New Thought movement, giving it origins in the European
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The Religious Empire: The Growth and Danger of Tax-Exempt Property in the United States
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The Great Tax Fraud: How the Federal Government Favors the Rich and Exploits the Masses
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in Michigan, after which he earned a Ph.D. in English literature from the
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The Essene Heritage; Or, The Teacher of the Scrolls and the Gospel Christ
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The Modernity of Milton: A Theological and Philosophical Interpretation
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The Essene-Christian Faith: A Study in the Sources of Western Religion
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movement for his books on the tax immunity of organized religion, the
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Larson was also a tax critic and tax expert who was popular with the
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220:, which lacked a human founder and excluded the general public, and
389:. Revised and expanded ed. of "The Religion of the Occident" 1959.
343:(1973 1st ed., Library of Congress catalog card no. 72-97025).
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When Parochial Schools Close: A Study in Educational Financing
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Martin A. Larson, "How I found out about the Federal Reserve"
416:. Larson's views on the development of the Essene movement.
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He spent the final years of his life with his wife Emma in
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and other publications, and he had a regular column in
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Larson was originally from a fundamentalist Christian
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551:"The Religion of the Occident by Martin A. Larson"
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129:in 1927 with a thesis on the unorthodoxies of
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698:Martin A. Larson, "Who's eligible for tax?"
581:Journal of the American Academy of Religion
556:Journal of the American Academy of Religion
150:from its first issue in 1980 to his death.
700:A serial article review of Paul Mitchell,
494:"www.REVISIONISTS.com -- Martin A. Larson"
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737:20th-century American non-fiction writers
663:"The Essene Heritage by Martin A. Larson"
576:"The Essene Heritage by Martin A. Larson"
446:New Thought: A Modern Religious Approach
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101:. Larson was a long-term member of the
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269:was also negatively reviewed in the
643:Andrews University Seminary Studies
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189:entitled "Our World In Conflict".
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732:American male non-fiction writers
165:. His articles have appeared in
747:American critics of Christianity
727:20th-century American historians
140:A long-time friend of historian
757:People from Whitehall, Michigan
523:Institute for Historical Review
470:Jefferson: Magnificent Populist
420:The I.R.S. vs. The Middle Class
262:and in other ancient records."
103:Institute for Historical Review
602:Journal of Biblical Literature
472:. A collection of quotes from
378:The Story of Christian Origins
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767:University of Michigan alumni
248:positively reviewed Larson's
16:American historian and writer
393:The Continuing Tax Rebellion
147:Journal of Historical Review
636:Horn, Siegfried H. (1968).
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671:Indian Journal of Theology
549:Politella, Joseph (1959).
518:"Martin Larson: 1897-1994"
276:of the crypto-Catholics."
272:Indian Journal of Theology
661:Clark, Ian D. L. (1969).
574:Keck, Leander E. (1968).
772:Historians from Michigan
85:. He specialized in the
161:, and how to fight the
87:history of Christianity
127:University of Michigan
79:historical revisionist
73:- January 15, 1994 in
310:Philosophical Library
498:www.revisionists.com
460:of the 18th century.
433:Martin Larson's Best
314:www.jstor.org review
121:, he graduated from
67:Martin Alfred Larson
752:Freethought writers
347:The Federal Reserve
267:The Essene Heritage
250:The Essene Heritage
71:Whitehall, Michigan
36:Whitehall, Michigan
353:Publishing, 1975)
341:Tax Revolt: U.S.A.
321:(1968, B0007E793A)
142:Harry Elmer Barnes
119:United States Navy
77:) was an American
69:(March 2, 1897 in
742:American skeptics
329:C. Stanley Lowell
123:Kalamazoo College
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83:freethinker
711:Categories
678:: 224–225.
503:2023-01-06
481:References
265:Larson's
237:Reception
218:Mithraism
109:Biography
331:) (1969)
214:Dionysus
200:Theories
623:3263372
529:26 June
448:(1985)
435:(1984)
422:(1980)
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381:(1977)
366:(1976)
226:Judaism
135:Trinity
99:Essenes
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466:(1985)
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327:(with
302:(1965)
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210:Osiris
131:Milton
666:(PDF)
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531:2021
450:ISBN
437:ISBN
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