Donald E. Flood wrote:

"Khubla" <khubla@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:j6WdneZnJbsphZrZ4p2dnA@adelphia.com...

Mr. Flood:

I have a paperback titled "Christianity Before Christ" written by John G
Jackson and published by American Atheist Press, Austin, TX 1985 which
list dozens of these so-called messiahs and gods of old. It addresses
exactly what you are looking for.

Khubla

Thanks!

http://atheism.about.com/od/bookreviews/fr/JewishMessiahs.htm

...
Some 70 different messianic figures are dealt with in the book, although
some with greater detail than others. Some are tragic and some are comic,
but most have been forgotten. In many cases, their stories and original
documents are translated for the first time in this book, making it a
unique resource.

Some might find that his definition of ?messiah? is too broad because he
bases his thesis on the idea that the role of the messiah encompasses the
traditional Jewish roles of king, prophet and priest. Thus, many who are
believed to have filled any of those roles ? like Moses or David ? are
regarded as ?messiahs? as well. Criticisms of this are valid, but it is a
perspective which allows Lenowitz to place the messianic role more firmly
in Jewish history and tradition.

Some may also find that his scholarship and writing can be difficult at
times. Rather than simply engaging in historical analysis, he also writes a
fair amount on textual critique. Lenowitz even seems to feel that the very
life of a messiah is somehow a ?text? in and of itself:
?I came to see messianic movements as a variety of drama, a constantly
repeated ritual, a tragedy as I guess Jewish political life was.?


Jewish Messiahs: From the Galilee to Crown Heights

Because messianic movements rely upon, and produce, important religious
documents, there is some basis for approaching and critiquing them in such
a fashion. However, it is a perspective which may bore non-scholars and
should be kept in mind by anyone interested in the book.



--

An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest: "If I did not know about
God and sin, would I go to hell?" "No," said the priest, "not if you did
not know." "Then why," asked the Inuit earnestly, "did you tell me?"
-Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Cheerful Charlie