Bi-Weekly Report: Archko Volume

This week, I decided to do a report on the Archko Volume.

Here is a description of what the Archko Volume is:

http://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2011/03/03/the-archko-volume-is-on-the-loose-again-everyone-under-the-table/

Curses, curses. The Archko Volume is loose again. This evening I found a bunch of posts on various fora around the web, all referencing it to show that Jesus was white. It seems an unnecessary effort, surely, given that we all know that God is an Englishman.
The Archko Volume appeared in 1884 edited by a certain Rev. W.D. Mahan of Boonville in the USA under the title “Archaeological writings of the Sanhedrin and Talmuds of the Jews: Taken from the ancient parchments and scrolls at Constantinople and the Vatican at Rome: Being the record made by the enemies of Jesus of Nazareth in his day”. At the foot of the tile page are the revealing words “Published for the author by Perrin and Smith, Book and Job Printers…” -- in short, it was self-published.

The Bible Probe website did an entry about this controversial work:

https://www.bibleprobe.com/av_caution.htm

The author tells people to decide the authenticity for themselves, but he also has a section defending the Rev. Mahan. Here is an excerpt:

In defense of Rev. Mahan, he himself wrote: “There are at least five hundred quotations made from the Sanhedrin and Talmud’s of the Jews by men who have denied their existence. Now I call attention to history, and I will give the name and page, so that all can read for themselves.
First: Rabbi Akiba, a reformed Jewish priest, Vol I, page 22, quotes from Celsus, an enemy of the Churgh. He says there was a dreadful earthquake at the time Jesus was crucified, and that the mist that arose from it covered the earth for three hours. On page 28 he says that Jesus was the son of Mary; that he was the founder of the sect called Christians. On page 48 he says Jesus was crucified on the eve of the Passover. He gives extracts from the apostles, an never denies in a single instance, but admits their genuineness. He quotes the books and makes extracts from the names they bear. He makes particular mention of His incarnation, of His being born of a virgin, of His being worshipped by the Magi; of his flight into Egypt; of the massacre of the infants of Bethlehem

J.P. Holding also did a write-up about the volume:

http://tektonticker.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-archko-volume.html

About 20 years ago, when I saw it in the Christian bookstore, I advised the manager of the store that the book was a fraud. He immediately removed the book from the shelves, since he knew I was a trustworthy source. But that it could have been found at all in the first place tells me that we still have work to do when it comes to getting the church to board the Discernment Express.

He did provide a link to the Bible Probe site I shared, but he referred to it in a negative light.