How Jesus Became Christian

In How Jesus Became Christian, Barrie Wilson confronts one of the simplest-yet undiscovered-questions of religious history: How did a young, well-respected rabbi become the head of a cult that bore his name, espoused a philosophy hw wouldn't wholly understand, and possessed a clear streak of anti-Semitism that has sparked hatred against the generations of Jews who followed him? Vividly re-creating the Hellenistic world into which Jesus was born, Wilson looks at the rivalry between the "Jesus movement, " informed by Matthew and adhering to Torah worship, and the was "Christ movement, " headed by Paul, which shunned Torah. Suggesting that Paul's movement was not rooted in the teachings of the historical Jesus, but a mystical vision of Christ, he further proposes Paul founded the new religion through anti-Semitic propaganda, crushing the Jesus Movement. Sure to be controversial, this is an exciting, well-written popular religious history that cuts straight to the differences between Christianity and Judaism. How Jesus Became Christian looks at how one of the world's great religions prospered and grew at the cost of another and focuses on one of the fundamental questions that goes to the heart of why millions worship daily: Who was Jesus Christ-a Jew or a Christian?