The Christian clergy is “an army in dog collars.” That sentiment is found in the authors’ introduction to this book.
     OK, the scene is set for a provocative look at the origins of Christianity in this, our present era, when it is fashionable to tear down established beliefs. I might add that if the authors were making this type of defamatory statement with other religions, they might find themselves targets of dangerously punitive actions by those religious leaders. However, Christianity is robust and can take it with a tolerant attitude.
     Apart from the authors’ anti-Christian bias, this book is an enjoyable read that is guaranteed to get your opinion gland firing on all cylinders.
     Authors Picknett and Prince have also written the bestsellers The Sion Revelation and The Templar Revelation. They are in the business of revelation. They have been helped by the resurgence of interest in the beginnings of Christianity brought forth by books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and the ripping fiction yarn that is The Da Vinci Code.
     Jesus the Christ is many things to many people. He is the Son of God, the Messiah, a world teacher, a healer, an Islamic saint, an Essene, a magician, an ascended master, even a magic mushroom! You name it, he is it! How then, can anyone be sure that the Jesus they venerate or worship is the person of the Christ?
     Well, there is faith. There is also the deepest personal revelation of Christ within the individual heart or spirit. Then there is the desperate search for the ‘historical Jesus’, or Jesus, the man.
     From the latter half of the eighteenth century onward and continuing today, the search for the historical Jesus continues unabated. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi archeological finds have spurred scholars to new heights of speculation. Every new tomb excavated brings the possibility of significant advances in historical knowledge.
     Authors Picknett and Prince are clearly hot on the trail of the Historical Jesus and not the Jesus of Faith. Along the way they explore many byways of religion, society and cultures. To their minds, nobody in Christianity is exactly who they are generally accepted to be.
     So who is Mary Magdalene, Mary, Mother of Jesus, Joseph, John the Baptist, Thomas, Judas, and all the rest? All of the best-known biblical characters take an absolute caning in this book. Not only New Testament figures, but also those known from the Old Testament are examined thoroughly from early biblical and non-biblical texts, archeological discoveries, and modern biblical scholarship.
     I hasten to add that the reconstructions and conclusions reached are those of the authors. The readers of this book and its supporting texts may reach totally different conclusions depending on their point of view.
     The material is dense and replete with references and quotations that justify the authors’ logic. The reader’s focus will need to be maintained to be able to connect the dots here. The commentary follows a more or less chronological path from the conception and birth of Jesus through to his early childhood, the beginning of his ministry and his eventual trial, Crucifixion and Resurrection.
     Not much discussion appears on his Ascension. Along the way the reader is treated to the associated stories of John the Baptist, the Herodian Kings, and all the political turmoil that was life in first century CE Roman Empire.
     There are also elements that the sophisticated alternative history reader will expect, such as the Gnostic and Pagan background and the hermetic knowledge dating back to ancient Egypt.
     I was rather disappointed that not much was made of the missing twenty years of Jesus’ young adult life. Perhaps the authors are keen to be seen as revealing what is actually available to any researcher who has the time to consult the harder-to-access documents and studies. 
     I would remiss if I did not warn the Christian reader that an anti-Christian undercurrent exists in this work. It is developed in a very interesting way. It is an agenda that would see the Jesus of the Gospels completely supplanted by John the Baptist. The authors are continually developing the theme that Jesus was not the Son of God, but John was. They present many textual references that are momentarily compelling, but ultimately do not convince. Let the reader decide.
     This book is a perfect example of alternative history. It attempts to turn the Christian church on its head. It may well do so, but I suspect not many devout Christians will read it. For the rest of us, it is an interesting and possibly well-researched work with many issues on the origins of the Christian church for the reader to ‘ponder in their hearts’.