The True Origins of Jesus: The Myth Behind the Man

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[ing] 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.)