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The Betrayal: The Lost Life of Jesus: A Novel
 
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The Betrayal: The Lost Life of Jesus: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Author), W. Michael Gear (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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"I've read many books on Jesus.  Few range as widely or as deeply into his life and the early centuries of Christianity as The Betrayal.  A passionate book about a man who changed the history of the world."--Thomas Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of Lights Along the Way: Great Stories of American Faith "This is a unique and creative telling of a vital story and offers a depth of knowledge and information unmatched in any other work of fiction."--Lewis Perdue, New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Legacy

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There is an alternate story of the life of Jesus. One the early Church fathers found so menacing they outlawed the books that documented it, ordered them burned, and threatened anyone found copying them with death. International bestselling authors and award-winning archaeologists Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear put more than thirty years of exhaustive research into this fascinating novel. In A.D. 325, Brother Barnabas is a student of the ancient holy texts. These books paint a portrait of Jesus that is radical, heretical, and irresistible. In the writings of Mary Magdalene, Phillip, and James, Barnabas finds clues to a secret he must protect at all costs. But the Ecumenical Council of Bishops has just declared his cherished books "a hotbed of manifold perversity." Emperor Constantine has decreed that the documents must be burned and that anyone found copying them will be executed as a heretic. Barnabas's monastery is attacked. Brother Barnabas flees with his trusted companions, but they are being followed, for the True Church cannot allow them to find the most sacred place on Earth. In fact, it will do anything to stop them...

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3.0 out of 5 stars Premise? Superlative. Storytelling? Meh. 'Spoonfeeding'., Jan 27 2010
By Schmadrian - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
First and foremost: I am not a Christian.

While I acknowledge the existence of an historical Jesus Christ, I am not on board with any of the religious-tradition dogma. As for the teachings? 1) Is anything more than 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' necessary?, and 2) The transmission of ideas and of facts over millennia is, at best, imperfect...and the claim that the Christian God had a hand in it doesn't change anything...and isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Having noted these bits, I have to say that 'getting to the truth about Christ' has always been a pet passion of mine. In the same way that people look at 'Who shot JFK?' and 'Did we actually get to the moon?' (If your sensibilities have been slighted by my comparison... I'm not sure what to say. Apologies are not forthcoming.) So this book was already given the benefit of the doubt before I'd begun reading.

Did it deliver?

Yes...and no.

The authors are very 'workmanlike' novelists. I wouldn't say there's any 'great writing' in this book at all. Enormous, considered research, yes. But as a piece of literary-fiction...it's no gift from On High.

My main complaint...other than the fact that you're not in the presence of artists with 'The Betrayal'...is that even though they use footnotes, they still endlessly (and awkwardly) spoonfeed the background information to such a ridiculous extent that I found my patience wearing thin early on. I would have had no problem at all with a generous 'Notes' section had they been better craftspeople where injecting all the information was concerned. But it got ridiculous; some of the 'exposition via dialogue' was approaching sketch-comedy level. Think: Second City or Monty Python or SNL stuff.

Ironically enough, despite the poor delivery of a compelling idea, I kept imagining this on the screen.

Except that the Christians would crucify anyone involved in its production.

Personal rating: 7/10

P.S. I learned a whole lot, reading this book. I had a lot of my suspicions, my convictions corroborated. This is why I've given this novel the rating I have, not because of its literary achievements.
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