Rivals of Jesus

I found this at Throw Away Your TV. The videos are all from YouTube, but rather than one long one there are five parts. Some of this is stuff I knew from reading about early Christian history (like Elaine Pagels and Karen Armstrong), but some of it was new information, which is always cool.

From the National Geographic Channel website:

Rivals of Jesus

Rivals of Jesus [TV-PG]

Thursday, December 21, 2006, at 12P

NGC examines those competing faiths and rival prophets that challenged early Christianity, such "lost" Messiahs as Mithras, Simon Magus, and Apollonius of Tyana. Some of these Messiahs and their faiths were once more popular than Christianity but their beliefs and practices were borrowed from the growing Christian movement. With historical re-enactments and interviews with Biblical scholars, theologians and historians, Rivals of Jesus presents a lost chapter of religious history.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Total Run Time ~ Approx 50 mins.

Tags: Rivals of Jesus, National Geographic Channel, Throw Away Your TV, Jesus, Messiahs, Biblical History