Jesus Mysteries [Paperback]

Timothy Freke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2000

This groundbreaking book looks at one of the greatest cover-ups in history and dares to think the unthinkable about Christianity -- that it was in fact a Jewish Mystery School modelled on the ancient Pagan Mysteries. The myth of Dionysus bears startling resemblances to the the story of Jesus Christ. It compares with the biblical story in the following ways: / Dionysus is God made flesh and is hailed as the 'Saviour of Mankind' and the 'Son of God' / His father is God and and his mother is a mortal virgin who afterwards becomes worshipped as the 'Mother of God' / He is born in a cowshed / He drives out demons, turns water into wine and and raises people from the dead / He rides triumphantly into town while people wave palms to honour him The date revered by the first Christians as Jesus' birthday was originally that of Dionysus, also the three day Spring Festival of Dionysus celebrating his death and resurrection coincides with the Christian festival of Easter. The last Supper and the Eucharist are also parallel Dionysian rites. This is not common knowledge as the story was a closely guarded secret of the Pagan mysteries. Secondly the evidence of Christianity's pagan roots were systematically covered up the Roman Church.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Rarely have the roots of Christianity been disentangled to such disturbing effect. I shall never be able to read the gospels in the same way again.' ROGER BOULTON, presenter of Radio 4's The Sunday Programme 'A provocative, exciting and challenging book.' The Rt Revd JOHN SHELBY SPONG, Bishop of Newark

About the Author

Peter Gandy is a classical scholar with a particular interest in ancient Western spiritual traditions. He is currently studying for an MA in classical civilization at London University. He has been researching this subject intensively for over 5 years. He is the author of 'The Complete Guide to World Mysticism' and 'Hermetica'. Tim Freke is an authority on world spirituality. His books include: The Illustrated World Scriptures, Tao Te Ching and Principles of Native American Spirituality. He worked with Alan Aeira on the famous documentary on the Kogi people of Colombia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (March 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722536771
• ISBN-13: 978-0722536773
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,309,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exaltation of the Christ principle, January 24, 2004

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: THE JESUS MYSTERIES, (Hardcover)

This book is not an attack on Christ, it is rather an exaltation of the universal Christ principle.

I found that everything that ever disturbed me, or rang false, about the gospels was washed away by the authors' Jesus Mysteries Thesis. I also realised why I have been so strongly drawn to Gnosticism over the years- it was the original faith, a faith hyjacked and perverted by an authoritarian, worldly, imperial, bureaucracy.

There have been many Christs in many cultures: Osiris, Dionysis, Attis, Adonis, Bacchus, Mithras.... The central theme to all their stories was a son of God coming to earth, to learn, teach, and grow before being crucified on a cross of matter, and returning to the place from whence he came. This was also the central mystery in all cases: we are to realise that we too descended from another place and that we are to learn, grow and teach before we return there. This is the great truth to the Christ principle.

How could this truth be a threat to anyone with a spark of spiritual insight?

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Synthesis on the Christ Myth, January 2, 2000

By 

Gavin Rumney - See all my reviews

This review is from: THE JESUS MYSTERIES, (Hardcover)

At first I feared this would be another book in the Michael Baigent or Barbara Thiering mold. But the fact that John Shelby Spong, George Wells and Alvar Ellegard were all willing to say nice things about it convinced me to give it a go. I'm glad I did.

Christianity developed, according to the thesis, as a Jewish adaptation of the mystery religions that were common in the First Century. Jesus was a mythical figure with no solid historical existence. Gnostic Christianity was truest to this original understanding, but the growing literalist tradition ultimately supplanted it.

Sound a bit hairy? The case is put strongly, and builds on the work of scholars like Elaine Pagels. While the authors are not specialists in the field of Historical Jesus/Early Church studies, they have produced a well documented and tightly argued case that can't be dismissed too lightly. This book will reach an audience not usually exposed to concepts like these, and it seems to mesh in several essentials with earlier studies. After completing it I had the same mixture of astonishment and conviction that I felt after reading Ellegard's Jesus - One Hundred Years Before Christ. If you want a swift kick in your Christian comfort zone, this is the place to start.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An astounding book; dangerous to those of rigid faith, November 14, 1999

By 

Bruce Robinson (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THE JESUS MYSTERIES, (Hardcover)

This is a scary book for Christians who believe in the uniqueness of the Christian message or the inerrancy of the Bible.

The book shows quite conclusively that most of the events in Jesus' life, from the virgin conception to his resurrection and ascention are copied from prior mythical "godmen" who were worshiped by surrounding Pagan cultures.

Yeshua of Nazareth is simply the Jewish equivalent to Egypt's Osiris, Greece's Dionysus, Italy's Bacchus, Persia's Mythra, etc.

Still, by identifying which parts of the Gospels are pure Pagan myth, we can strip them away and get closer to the historical Jesus.