characteristic of that nation ; and being written many years after Christ's death, according to that standard Christian author, Dr. Lardner, it was impossible, under such circumstances, for them to separate (if they had desired to) the real facts and events of his life from the innumerable fictions and fables then afloat everywhere relative to the heathen Gods who had pre-enacted a similar history. Two reasons are thus furnished for their constructing a history of Christ almost identical with that of other Gods. Writings and legacy Graves started with the belief that religion corrupted truth, and evolved into a writer claiming that all religious belief was false and that Jesus was fiction. His published works include The Biography of Satan; Or, A Historical Exposition of the Devil and His Fiery Dominions. Disclosing the Oriental Origin of the Belief in a Devil and Future Endless Punishment (1865; 4th ed. 1924), The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors: Or, Christianity Before Christ (1875), and The Bible of Bibles; Or, Twenty-Seven "Divine Revelations": Containing a Description of Twenty-seven Bibles, and an Exposition of Two Thousand Biblical Errors in Science, History, Morals, Religion, and General Events; Also a Delineation of the Characters of the Principal Personages of the Christian Bible, and an Examination of Their Doctrines (4th ed., Boston: Colby & Rich, 1879). His second book was his most famous and is still quoted by atheists and proponents of the Christ myth theory today despite criticism and dismissal by biblical scholars. Graves is discussed in The Christ Conspiracy and Suns of God by Dorothy M. Murdock aka Acharya S. His shortcomings are discussed by Richard Carrier. His writings could even have been utilized in The Da Vinci Code. Tom Harpur used Graves as a source in The Pagan Christ and his other books on Jesus Christ in comparative mythology. Atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair was also an admirer of Graves' work. See also Christ myth theory Jesus Christ in comparative mythology Translated works Biografia di Satana, Lulu Press, Raleigh (NC), 2018, Italian version of Biography of Satan (1924), translated by Rev. Marco Lupi Speranza, . References External links 1813 births 1883 deaths American abolitionists American philosophers American atheists American Quakers Christ myth theory proponents Freethought writers Nontheist Quakers People from Harveysburg, Ohio People from Brownsville, Pennsylvania Writers from Richmond, Indiana Underground Railroad in Indiana Writers from Pennsylvania Writers from Ohio