The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus [Paperback]

There is not very much we know about the authors except that they are writers and researchers into the paranormal. They had written on similar topics ("The Turin Shroud" and "Sion"). The matters covered in "The Masks of Christ" are not original and the points had been made by biblical and religious scholars as well as other writers of the paranormal. However, this book was very well organized and written in a lucid and concise style and so it will be very useful for readers who are interested in knowing aspects of the Bible that the Church will never admit, let alone teach.

The two most important points made concern the birth of Jesus and his resurrection. These are the two of the most important aspects of the Christian faith. Pinknett and Prince examined the synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, and the Gospel of John and set out very clearly how the "inerrant word of God" contradicted itself in these crucial matters. Mathew's version says Jesus was born in the time of Herod the Great. Undisputed historical records showed that Herod the Great died in 4 BCE (or BC as the Christians say). However, Luke's gospel, which also had a similarly elaborate story of Jesus' birth, set it in the time of the Roman census in the time of Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria. That census did not take place until 10 years after the death of Herod the Great. Not only were the plot in the stories differ (one said Jesus' parent fled to Egypt immediately after the birth of Jesus because Herod wanted to kill all male infants under the age of 2; the other said that There was great rejoicing when Jesus was born and there was no fleeing to Egypt), the date of birth took place 10 years apart. Matthew and Luke wrote in detail tracing Jesus' lineage from Mary to King David (so as to prove the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah will come from David) but the two lineages are entirely different. Even if one can accept the apologist argument that the describe lineages are "roughly" the same (the authors here showed why that argument is wrong) and are not unaccepteable just because a few names have been left out, many important questions would still have to be answered. Can the Bible still be regarded as containing the "inerrant word of God"? By what criteria does one verify stories and interpretations of such stories?

The authors also set out in detail, all the different accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection as well as the ascension to heaven of Jesus. While Christian will deny any contradictions in the gospel versions, one should read this (or any other critical account) with an open mind and decide for himself whether there were contradictions or not. In one version, after having risen from the tomb, Jesus met his disciples in a mountain in Galilee; another version says he met them in a house in Jerusalem. Read this book with a Bible handy and you will see much of what the authors wrote is correct. Those are the parts that are obvious - and there are many such parts. What you might wish to contemplate and study in more detail are the hypotheses that the authors make in those areas in which evidence is not clear. For example, the authors argued it was a persuasive argument though) that for the reasons they set out, it would not be surprising that the Jews think Jesus to be the antichrist rather than the Messiah.

The book is replete with interesting nuggets of information and thought-provoking questions. Ever wondered why Jesus had to be baptized by John the Baptist? Baptism is a ritual in the cleansing of sin. If Jesus was god (or even son of god) did he need cleansing? Did he sin? Would that admission (partaking in a baptism by a mortal man) tend to show that the argument that if Jesus had in fact existed, he was mere mortal and not god - a more plausible argument than the argument that Jesus was god turned man?

Picknett and Prince once again ask the right questions, offer their usual well thought out hypothesis, and ask us to rethink what we have taken in from various sources throughout our lives. What i find amazing is that works like this are called rank speculation, yet i have over the course of my life, found that most of what we believe to be history is little more than speculation from established sources. Read, think, enjoy, question what you believe, and why you believe it.

This book presented a comprehensive review of the most important figure in western culture. It backed up certain of the claims with an unexpected level of scholarship from a review of the syncoptic and gnostic gospels and said nothing outlandish or that was not supported in the literature or historical record. A must read for Christians and non-Christians (and even atheists).

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