Customer Reviews

Jesus Goes to Hollywood: The Alternative Theories About Christ

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Jesus Goes To Hollywood: The Alternative Theories About Christ is a compilation of iconoclastic theories about Jesus drawn from scholarly inquiries, metaphysical sources, and the theological clashes between orthodoxy and heresies. This methodical survey about "everything you never wanted to know about Christ, or were afraid to ask" covers such topics as the angels alleged to be in contact with Christ, whether Jesus visited other continents including North America, what unusual religious such as Gnosticism have to say about Jesus Christ and the afterlife, how hallucinogens affect Christianity, and much more. Written in plain terms, with a smattering of Hollywood-style pastiche to jocularly introduce different topics, Jesus Goes To Hollywood is entertaining yet ultimately a serious- minded weighing of ideas, beliefs, and theological arguments. Highly recommended especially for lay readers with a budding interest in alternative theology.

I especially enjoyed the combination of research and factual information about Jesus alternating with a fictional account of a Messiah figure who appears on Earth for a Second Coming. There is an element of mystery in these alternate chapters which kept me interested in turning the pages. I enjoyed William Bramley's first book The Gods of Eden, and I found this book even more interesting.

This book is really different from Bramley's first except in his courage to talk about evidence that many people won't. It is an exhaustive encyclopedia of Jesus Theories that I enjoyed on many levels, and it was far more comprehensive than I expected. Bramley presents all of the theories, not just the ones he believes in, and he has insights about Jesus that I've never read before. Some of the theories can be shocking, but Bramley takes the time to document everything. I think that the title and packaging of this book does it a disservice. Although the title is clever with a nice cover, this is a serious book with university-level scholarship. It's the kind of book you expect to find in libraries and assigned to college students. I give it two thumbs way up.

This is an entertaining book. It isn't bad. The author, who also wrote "The Gods of Eden" (which I found much more entertaining), weaves a fictional story of a "returned" possible Christ who is subjected to the doubts and schemes of a Hollywood agent, with a slightly more scholarly set of investigations into varied historical explanations and understandings of the possibly less fictional Christ (but that issue too is briefly addressed). Some ideas were a little more fully developed than others...the "homosexual" Christ for example...well, afterall it is Hollywood. I wished at times, that the scope would have been more encompassing...there are a lot more ideas out there that didn't make the cut. But of course, if Bramley would have included everything, well...we's probably be having to read several sequels. For those wanting a general overview of the various understandings of the Christ character, this might not be a bad place to start. The book is an easy and quick read, and not too intellectually demanding. It's probably better for those who don't have a hard and fast model of Christ...I can picture this book flying across many a fundy's room.

When I first started reading the book, I thought it was just a group of unrelated theories about Jesus. By the time I got to the end, a total picture of Jesus emerged that was mind-blowing. It kind of sneaks up on you as you read: you start by looking at the trees, and by the time you finish, you see the whole forest. Kudos to Bramley for writing the most interesting book about Jesus that I have ever read.

Jesus' real identity is an historical puzzle, and countless theories, from the most plausible to the most outlandish and outrageous have been purported to explain His enduring charisma. The author examine many of those theories, playing advocate to every one and explaining their strong and their weak points. this makes for a very interesting and very erudite book, recommended for believers and non-believers alike!

I do have to say that William Bramley is one of the most balanced and well researched authors that I have ever read. The groundshaking evidence which he offers in support or contradiction of traditional beliefs is nothing less than astounding. This is only the second book of his that I know about, but I do wish that he would write more.