- Paperback
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press (2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0609807986
- ISBN-13: 978-0609807989
- Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 2.3 x 23.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #455,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Death of Christian Exclusivism,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Jesus Mysteries: Was the Original Jesus a Pagan God (Paperback)
Christian exclusivism will die a painful death. For Jesus to properly enter Western mythology, we must search for the original meaning behind Jesus' words and deeds. Freke and Gandy do a wonderful job deconstructing the Christian Jesus and offering a plausible alternative--the Gnostic Jesus. They exhaustively analyze ancient source materials and convincingly demonstrate the pagan basis for Christianity. The thesis is a fitting foil to the flatulent conservatism of N.T. Wright and other church scholars who would would have you believe that mind-numbing, redundant references to the Old Testament source materials will validate the literalist rendering of Jesus. The pagan mystery religions, much like Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Sufism, seek Oneness with the Divine as their ultimate goal. With Freke and Gandys' stunning revelation, Christians--even literalists--can now be welcomed into this universal brotherhood.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Thesis--like it or not,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Jesus Mysteries: Was the Original Jesus a Pagan God (Paperback)
Neither Christianity nor mysticism holds my loyalty, so perhaps I can at least claim not to have an axe to grind or theology to defend. I found the book utterly fascinating. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the historical foundations of Christianity, in Greek and middle eastern philosophies, and in general anyone who likes to ask questions about how belief systems get started. The picture the book paints of the early centuries of Christianity, with its disputing factions, persecutions, and changing political environment is excellent. It is instructive to realize that what is "gospel" now was controversial then--and the winners, who became the Roman Catholic church, wrote the history. Sometimes, in spite of obvious attempts to organize their vast source material, the narrative is confusing, but it is still a great read. The authors dig into a great wealth of sources which are hardly spoken of elsewhere. I find their thesis that the Jesus story was compiled from pre-existing mythology quite believable compared to the more traditional interpretations.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A former fundy says: buy it!,
By CrysAnne (Bliss, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Jesus Mysteries: Was the Original Jesus a Pagan God (Paperback)
This is a good, solid read replete with mountainous amounts of evidence to make one question the authenticity of the commonly-accepted "historical" Christ. As a former fundamentalist, it almost felt like blasphemy to read the theories as asserted by Freke and Gandy, but the more I read, the more I understood and perceived, and, well, the truth shall set you free. Do I know who Christ was, without a doubt? Of course not. Do I believe that he is as he's been represented vis-a-vis orthodoxy throughout the centuries? Of course not. And neither should you. This book helps explain why. Truly, it's work like this (also The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold by Acharya S.) that helps me form my own opinion (an educated one, at that), and ultimately know God in a more honest and comprehensive manner. Highly recommended.
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