The True Origins of Jesus: The Myth behind the Man

by Colm Holland (Editor)

Overview

'The True Origins of Jesus by Geoff Roberts, will save you years of research by giving the answers your inquiring mind is thirsting for. It bridges the gap between truth and myth, with a common sense that is difficult to find these days in discourses about Jesus.' Dean Wilkinson, Founder of Epochwork.com.With all the evidence compiled in this book, including some which has only come to light relatively recently, you can draw your own conclusions from a story which will look very different to the one you learned at school. Was Jesus Christ a mythical figure who was never intended by the early founders of the religion to be a walking, talking historical person? By examining the earliest historical sources referred to in this book with an open mind, you will be free to decide who Jesus is for you today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789049046
Publisher:	Christian Alternative
Publication date:	01/01/2023
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.58(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

The late Geoff Roberts was a respected freelance photographer and columnist from Merseyside, England, who worked in regional press for more than three decades. After spending many years researching the early origins of Christianity, he dedicated the final years of his life to collating his findings to present an honest and unbiased historical perspective. Like many, Geoff was an intelligent, non-academic who wanted to conduct his own research into the evidence available to all of us, regarding the origins of “the greatest story ever told”, and to ask the question of whether it can be supported by any historical evidence outside the pages of the Bible. Editor Colm Holland spent twenty-five years working in sales and marketing in the publishing industry. He was a member the Harper Collins team which published Paul Coelho's The Alchemist in 1993. Colm teaches the art of alchemy in everyday life, and he has devoted his life to true empowerment through inner transformation. He lives in Somerset, UK.

Table of Contents

Foreword Dean Wilkinson 1

Editorial Note 8

Acknowledgements 10

Introduction 12

Chapter 1 The Quest Begins 16

Chapter 2 The Gnostic Godfathers 27

Chapter 3 The Enigma of Paul 44

Chapter 4 The Mystery Religions 62

Chapter 5 The Righteous Man; His Crucifixion and Resurrection 94

Chapter 6 Out of Egypt 108

Chapter 7 Buddha and Krishna Leave Their Mark 118

Chapter 8 Voicing the Doubts 127

Chapter 9 The Mystical Essenes 137

Chapter 10 What Evidence? 149

Chapter 11 The Word of God or Men? 161

Chapter 12 Sun of God 176

Chapter 13 The Divine Equation 199

Chapter 14 Reviewing all the Evidence 222

A Final Word 227

Key Historical Figures 228

Editorial Reviews

11/07/2022

Editor Holland brings to light the underwhelming debut from late amateur historian Roberts, an investigation of the historical evidence for Jesus. Roberts argues against a literal reading of the New Testament and suggests that proof “for Jesus the man is less than weak.” Noting fascinating parallels between Christianity and pagan antecedents, Roberts posits that Christianity owes a significant debt to Gnosticism and points out that the New Testament was compiled from a more diverse group of writings on Jesus that included the “Gnostic gospels,” complicating the authority of the orthodox interpretation that prevailed. The resemblance of Jesus’s miracles to Greek pagan legends further undermines confidence in Jesus’s veracity, Roberts asserts, adding that the virgin births of such mythical figures as Danae and Antiope served as the template for the Advent. The author’s invitation for readers to “draw your own conclusions” proves facetious as he belittles “Christian apologists” for “sneer at those who demonstrate the absurdity of the biblical claims.” Additionally, his criticism of early New Testament writings for featuring a suspiciously scant degree of historical detail on Jesus’s life only makes more glaring the slipshod sourcing of Roberts’s research (there’s no bibliography or footnotes). There’s some eye-opening history, but Roberts’s condescension gets in the way. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

The True Origins of Jesus is an important and timely book. It disrupts, challenges and invites you to look at the teachings of the Bible through a more enlightened, unbiased and informed lens. Geoff Roberts’ direct, humble, articulate voice speaks softly but with great power to present a well researched and informed account of Jesus the man, not Jesus the myth. Be prepared to accept that your understanding of who you thought Jesus was may be entirely wrong. The layers of false teachings are exposed with an elegance and compassion that only those touched by a more divine hand can do. Geoff Roberts is no false prophet. He speaks a truth that many will not want to hear but one that we all (especially at these times of turmoil, falsehood and fake news) desperately need to hear. This book may bring you to the end of a road that you have been travelling. It will also set you on a path that will liberate, inform and help you understand, in this lifetime, the power of love that connects us all. Always has. Always will. The truth about the origins of Jesus really will, as Jesus (probably) said, ‘set you free’.

Roy Leighton

The True Origins of Jesus by Geoff Roberts, will save you years of research by giving the answers your inquiring mind is thirsting for. It bridges the gap between truth and myth, with a common sense that is difficult to find these days in discourses about Jesus.

From the Publisher

Through the ages, religious faith and historical fact have enjoyed a slippery relationship. Taboo and group-think make it hard for those who wish to question entrenched beliefs. In "The True Origins of Jesus" Geoff Roberts brilliantly clears away the fog. With clarity and courage, he walks us through the origins of the Jesus stories and the various sources of the New Testament writings. Unafraid to set the original Jesus stories in their proper setting among contemporary bodies of philosophical literature, Geoff reveals some truly arresting correlations, with far-reaching implications for how we understand the figure of Jesus and the Biblical literature which surrounds him. Whether you begin with a perspective of faith or non-faith, you will certainly enjoy sharing Geoff Roberts' scholarly and open exploration. And I guarantee you will come away stimulated and challenged.

Paul Wallis