Heresy. Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God

​Ever since the beginning of Christianity, many thinkers and scholars have pondered on how this religion became the world-changing force that it did.

Can we ever know for certain who was the historical Jesus? How did an Eastern religion that promotes love of one another become the oppressive and often crushingly brutal state-controlled power that would dominate the West for centuries and was responsible for so many religious wars, persecution, torture and murder of countless individuals, overseen by holy sanctioned institutions such as the Inquisition? If you dared to voice a different opinion, you were accused of heresy and suffered grim consequences. 

Jesus was not as unique as we’ve always been led to believe, as living around the same time in the ancient world were many other seers and holy men who claimed they were born of gods, and therefore divine, who professed to miracles like walking on water, curing the sick, and even raising the dead. Apollonius was just one example; a man whose life, teachings and miracles closely parallel those of Jesus.

Nor were the four Gospels of the New Testament the only ones written about the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, but were settled on in the 4th Century when Emperor Constantine declared that Christianity would be the official religion of the Roman Empire. His reasons for doing so were more likely to do with power and control and getting rid of disparate factions rather than genuine faith.

This book delves into some of those lesser-known gospels and other scattered fragments of records that were excluded or classified as heresy, many still to be found in obscure depositories even though they should have been destroyed. Before Constantine’s decree, numerous sects and cults claimed to be the true Christianity, some of them unsavoury or bizarre. One says Jesus had an identical twin, was also a child-killer and slave owner. Remnants of those strange early beliefs still exist today, e.g. Pontius Pilate is venerated as a saint in Ethiopia.

Eminently readable and informative in a populist style, and with quirky asides, perhaps this isn’t a book you’d recommend to your deeply religious Christian friends, but it highly recommended for anyone with an open mind who is curious about the pragmatic history of Jesus and the origins of the Christian religion.

Five stars.

(The author Catherine Nixey is the daughter of a former monk and nun, and how she came to her subject is also an interesting story.)

 
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