James the Brother of Jesus
The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls
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- $20.99
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
"A passionate quest for the historical James refigures Christian origins, … can be enjoyed as a thrilling essay in historical detection." —The Guardian
James was a vegetarian, wore only linen clothing, bathed daily at dawn in cold water, and was a life-long Nazirite. In this profound and provocative work of scholarly detection, eminent biblical scholar Robert Eisenman introduces a startling theory about the identity of James—the brother of Jesus, who was almost entirely marginalized in the New Testament.Drawing on long-overlooked early Church texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Eisenman reveals in this groundbreaking exploration that James, not Peter, was the real successor to the movement we now call "Christianity." In an argument with enormous implications, Eisenman identifies Paul as deeply compromised by Roman contacts. James is presented as not simply the leader of Christianity of his day, but the popular Jewish leader of his time, whose death triggered the Uprising against Rome—a fact that creative rewriting of early Church documents has obscured.
Eisenman reveals that characters such as "Judas Iscariot" and "the Apostle James" did not exist as such. In delineating the deliberate falsifications in New Testament dcouments, Eisenman shows how—as James was written out—anti-Semitism was written in. By rescuing James from the oblivion into which he was cast, the final conclusion of James the Brother of Jesus is, in the words of The Jerusalem Post, "apocalyptic" —who and whatever James was, so was Jesus.
Customer Reviews
Difficult and Rewarding
This is probably the best book on the political situation in Judea during the Jesus era, and for the discerning reader is as valuable as Josephus in understanding the context in which Christianity emerged. It is, however, admittedly an incredibly difficult read, which is why I've read it cover to cover six times (so far). Each new read uncovers additional meaning, and forces the reader to use his own mind to draw conclusions rather than be spoon fed the answers. Surprisingly, the inescapable inference to be drawn from the material is that "true" Christianity was probably a 1st century version of today's militant Islam, and that the person we've come to know as "Jesus" can really only be understood by looking to his brother James, a sort of Ayatollah of his time and the real crux of that era's history. The implications are staggering, largely unspoken, and the reader can't help but conclude the author is afraid to state the necessary conclusions regarding the reality of "Jesus" as a historical figure. But for any serious student of history this book is a must have, even if it takes a lifetime to fully comprehend.
James The Brother Of Jesus
This is the worst book ever, the author is very long winded and it seems that he wrote this book for himself. He consistently adds his own thoughts, consistently refers to material that "will be addressed later." There is absolutely no continuity in this book. Please save your money.