The Making of the Messiah: Christianity and Resentment - Hardcover

Robert Sheaffer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0879756918 ISBN 13: 9780879756918

Publisher: Prometheus, 1991

Synopsis

"This book presents a picture of the origins of Christianity very different from anything that has been published before," writes Robert Sheaffer in the Introduction to The Making of the Messiah. "Many Christians will find this book as offensive as Moslem fanatics did Salman Rushdie's 'blasphemous' Satanic Verses." Sheaffer has provided fascinating reading for all those not afraid to question the jargon and inconsistencies that lie behind the "accepted truths" of Christianity. In his attempt to dispel the myths surrounding the life of Jesus, Sheaffer presents Christianity with one of its greatest challenges. His approach differs from the conventional works of freethinkers by suggesting a radically different picture of Christianity's rise from (to borrow Friedrich Nietzsche's phrase) the "spirit of resentment." Sheaffer tells why Christianity could develop only as it did, as it emerged from the envious anger of the lower classes against the power and wealth of Rome. He shows how early Christian writers altered historical facts to make the new religion "sell" to potential converts. What emerges is a scheme of deliberate distortion and deceit that could grace a mystery novel, leaving in its wake a trail of highly suspicious and incriminating evidence. The Making of the Messiah presents a compelling argument that Jesus was never "crucified by the Romans" but slain and hanged from a tree, under Jewish law, as a heretic and blasphemer. It shows that behind the Virgin birth story lurks a darker tale of Mary the adulteress whose "divine child" was rejected by her husband, Joseph, as a bastard. And finally, it traces the accounts of Jesus' Resurrection to reveal that the earliest gospel (that of Mark) contains no actual sightings of a risen Jesus. With time, however, Christianity's claims of a Resurrection gradually evolved, progressing from "vision" to "established fact" - the result of purposeful embellishment and mythologizing. Working from the same ancient sources that biblical scholars use - some of the sources having only recently come to light - Sheaffer pieces the evidence together in a new way. The picture that emerges will generate much controversy. This unconventional perspective on some of the basic tenets of Christianity radically impacts biblical criticism in a manner that humanists and freethinkers will wholeheartedly applaud.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Sheaffer (born 1949) is an American freelance writer and skeptic. He is a paranormal investigator of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), having researched many sightings and written critiques of the hypothesis that UFOs are alien spacecraft. In addition to UFOs, his writings cover topics such as Christianity, academic feminism, the scientific theory of evolution, and creationism. He is the author of six books. Sheaffer wrote for Skeptical Inquirer (where he contributed the regular "Psychic Vibrations" column), 1977- 2017. Fate Magazine, and Spaceflight. He was a founding member (with Philip J. Klass and James Oberg) of the UFO Subcommittee of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and is a fellow of that organization. He is the author of six books, including The UFO Verdict, UFO Sightings, and Resentment Against Achievement.

From the Back Cover

"This book presents a picture of the origins of Christianity very different from anything that has been published before", writes Robert Sheaffer in the introduction to The Making of the Messiah. "Many Christians will find this book as offensive as Moslem fanatics did Salman Rushdie's 'blasphemous' Satanic Verses". Indeed, here is a volume that will provide fascinating reading for all those not afraid to question the jargon and inconsistencies that lie behind the "accepted truths" of Christianity. In his attempt to dispel the myths surrounding the life of Jesus, Sheaffer presents Christianity with one of its greatest challenges. His approach differs from the conventional works of freethinkers by suggesting a radically different picture of Christianity's rise from--to borrow Friedrich Nietzsche's phrase--the "spirit of resentment". Sheaffer tells why Christianity could develop only as it did, as it emerged from the envious anger of the lower classes against the power and wealth of Rome. Looking at the evolution of Christian writings and doctrines exactly as skeptics investigate contemporary accounts of UFO abductions or psychic wonders, Sheaffer shows how early Christian writers altered historical facts to make the new religion "sell" to potential converts. What emerges is a scheme of deliberate distortion and deceit that could grace a mystery novel, leaving in its wake a trail of highly suspicious and incriminating evidence. The Making of the Messiah presents a compelling argument that Jesus was never "crucified by the Romans" but slain and hanged on a tree, under Jewish law, as a heretic and blasphemer. It shows that behind the Virgin Birth story lurks a darker tale of Mary theadulteress whose "divine child" was rejected by her husband, Joseph, as a bastard. And, finally, it traces the accounts of Jesus' Resurrection in chronological order of composition, to reveal that the earliest gospel, that of Mark, contains no actual sightings of a risen Jesus. With time, however, Christianity's claims of a Resurrection gradually evolved, progressing from "vision" to "established fact"--the result of purposeful embellishment and mythologizing. Sheaffer did not rely on dubious and fanciful sources or questionable documents about the life of Jesus to arrive at his startling conclusions. Working from the same ancient sources that biblical scholars use--some of these sources having only recently come to light--Sheaffer pieces the evidence together in a new way. It is the picture that emerges that will generate so much controversy. This unconventional perspective on some of the central tenets of Christianity radically impacts biblical criticism in a manner that humanists and freethinkers will wholeheartedly applaud.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0879756918
• ISBN 13: 9780879756918
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192