The Gospel of the Master: The Good News Retold for Critical Readers

Jesus' teaching was redacted, revised, and fundamentally changed as his Jewish apocalyptic movement grew into the religion called Christianity. The place called Gehenna, where souls are cleansed and corrected, became the place of eternal punishment called Hell; Jesus was made into God incarnate, a transfiguration which Jesus and his apostles, as devout Jews, never would have allowed; his teaching that makes a commitment to moral principles the only requirement for salvation was superseded by the assertion that his death somehow makes atonement for sin; and his belief that participation in the Kingdom of God will make it come was forgotten in favor of the belief that the Kingdom is scheduled to arrive on earth at a predetermined time regardless of whether we make an effort to make it come or not.

The Gospel of the Master is for critical readers who believe that Jesus existed but are disillusioned by the legends and political agendas that influenced the Gospel writers. This book rolls back the mythology of the Gospels to reveal a man whose wisdom, insight, and unwavering trust in God provide a compelling basis for faith. It also uncovers Jesus' empowering and challenging message concerning humanity's future that was forgotten by the community that survived him.

From the back cover:

Some people believe that Jesus is a fictional character. Others believe in the historical accuracy of every last detail reported by the Gospels. Both of these positions have proven to be unsustainable under the lens of modern scholarship. A critical reader of the Gospels looks for the best approximation of the truth between the dubious extremes of Jesus denial and biblical literalism.

This reconstruction of the Gospel narrative is rooted in historical context and free from the exaggerations, theological assumptions, and political spin that influenced the authors of the Gospels. It invites readers to discover the man who is more believable and inspirational than the myth.