One for the conspiracy theorists
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Barbara presents the gospels as two-level stories. A "surface" level gives a blurred and miraculous life of Christ, while the "pesher" level (a code which she alone of all biblical scholars has decrypted) reveals a genuine account of events concerning factional struggles within Judaism. Read her account at two levels. A surface level presents an internally self-consistent argument that seems entirely reasonable and totally explains many of the puzzles, contradictions, and unbelievable magic of the gospels and letters. A deeper level of meaning reveals complete incompatibility with mainstream academia (eg with the dating of the Dead Sea scrolls, the dating of Zealot movements). Total refusal to acknowledge such disagreements. Proof by appealing to the theory itself with no corroborating evidence. An interpretation technique that invents symbolism and metaphor on the fly to force *any* period writing into the theory. I was carried away by her thesis until I recognized my own positive teenage response to Eric von Daniken. Then, it took me 6-12 months to realize the idiocy (perhaps less .. time seems so long when reminiscing). Now the alarm bells rang within a few hours. Why was I finding this so appealing? Why did it all fit so very well? Where were all the other scholars who should have noticed the same things, or followed up the same research? It's classic conspiracy theory, the same as von Daniken, creation "science", illuminati, fake Apollo missions, Oliver Stone's JFK assasination fantasy, or New Age crystal healing. We are little people with little control over our lives in a complex world governed by experts: we yearn to regain power by any means; and subverting the professional wisdom of established academia is the most appealing of those means. Thiering leads us up the same path, with the same careful manipulation, appeal, and consistent disregard for facts as the best of the conspiracy theorists. The book gets a grudging one star for revealing, yet again, how such falsifications work. And, I have to admit, for attempting to give Jesus a real life in the actual events and politics of the time, even if desparately wrong in the analysis. What's my bias? Like Thiering, I don't believe the mythology and magic of the gospels. Like Thiering, I do believe that Jesus was a real man who participated in the actual events of factionalised Judaism under Roman occupation. But I'm a scientist and a historian, and she completely fails to meet the standards of either discipline.
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A myth-busting book. Essential for Freethinkers!
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The only people who seemed to have taken offence at this exceptional bookare Christians, whose very belief is wrapped up in the myth of theResurrection. Therefore anything that might point to Jesus not dying onthe Cross but instead living out his life, must be debunked at all costs,which is a shame.
This is a brave depiction of the life and times of Jesus and I feel isessential reading for anyone who has an iota of freethought, especially asirrational thoughts and beliefs have reached an all time high.
Free your minds of the superstitious mumbo-jumbo of your upbringing andinstead appreciate this volume for what it is, an honest and movingdocument of a remarkable man and the religious and political machine thattwisted his life and death into something a lot more sinister.
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What implications of Truth?
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This was one of several books I happened to randomly pick up when doing some personal research on the history of christianity. After reading the first chapters, I couldn't believe that I had never heard of it before, particulary since the controvery of it's launch supposedly took place in my home country, while I was there! This books is absolutely fascinating. Providing a historical account of the life of Jesus within the political and societal context of the time. The level of detail is amazing, Thiering even breaks down events such as the last supper into an hour by hour account of what people were doing. She explains clearly the origins of rituals and the symbolism that is used. I find it very hard to believe that Thiering is the first to discover the 'pesher' technique given the amount of study focussed on the testaments. However I have to admit that my knowledge of the testaments is very limited so I am unable to make a critique on the plausability of the 'pesher' technique, which Thiering claims to be a testable hypothesis. What makes you catch your breath about this book is the possible implications. What does it mean to the millions of Christians around the world to find that a fundamental element of their belief is perhaps incorrect? Will people simply bury their heads in denial and remain silent as the Vatican seems to have so far on the topic? Will this possible truth allow the Christian religion to adapt to today's society and provide refreshed faith and understanding to modern believers? Or perhaps will the book simply be ignored?
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File under 'fantasy'!
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Jesus Christ, father-of-three, is married to Mary Magdalene. He's employed as a priest at Qumran, famous these days for the Dead Sea Scrolls. Despite being no more 'holy' than you or I, he decides to go down in history as the Messiah. So, he arranges for his crucifixion (which takes place just outside the Qumran toilets) to be faked, and then he writes - or possibly dictates - the four Gospels. After a few years he travels with Paul, via Malta, to Rome, where he is potentially linked to the destruction by fire of the city. He retires to France, at the age of 70, where he later passes away from old age, in retirement.
How do we know all this? Barbara Thiering claims that it's all in the New Testament, but hidden in a secret 'Pesher' code, to which she alone has apparently found the key.
The fundamental weakness in her theory is that, if the 'Pesher' secret coding system was actually in use at the time the Gospels were written, anyone familiar with the system would surely have decoded the Gospels nearly 2000 years ago and realised that they were an elaborate hoax. And why, if Jesus wanted to lead mankind up the garden path with false accounts of miracles, the story of the Resurrection, etc, would he write the books in such a way that they could later be proven false? It defies logic.
Ms Thiering is clearly very knowledgeable about many matters concerning early Christianity, and this gives the book a degree of credibility that I personally do not think it deserves.
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Like the curate's egg - good in parts
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As a theology graduate, and erstwhile Christian, I was happy to begin to read this book. By the end of the book I was left with a rather empty feeling. Thiering's scholarship cannot be challenged and her thesis follows a well trodden path which began some twenty or so years ago with Baigent et alia and "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail".By the end of the book I was feeling ambivalent. I had been led to believe that Thiering was a Christian and would have attempted to preserve some of the mystery. Not a bit of it. She slowly takes the entire Christian "myth" apart, citing the Pesher technique as her source.As I said, her scholarship cannot be faulted but I feel sorry for any Christian who is buying this book in the hope that it will bolster their faith - as it clearly won't.If you are a Christian (and I am not) seeking to bolster your faith, don't buy this. Buy Don Cupitt's "Sea of Faith" instead.
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