The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus (Touchstone Books) [Paperback]

Lynn Picknett (Author), Clive Prince (Author)

Book Description

Series: Touchstone Books | Publication Date: November 11, 2008

From the gnostic gospels to the Nativity, religious mythology immortalized Jesus -- his personality, his actions, his words -- but what if they didn't tell the truth?

Although an entire religion is based on his teachings, Jesus himself did not record any written accounts of his life or faith. He taught his followers orally, and our only sources about what Jesus actually said and believed, the Gospels, were written long after his lifetime. But the Gospel authors had their own agendas to promote and most certainly altered -- even distorted -- their leader's message.

In The Masks of Christ, bestselling authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince peel away layers of mythology, canonical revisions, Church propaganda, and censorship in order to reveal who Christ really was -- and discover his true message to the followers of Christianity. Stripping away centuries of misinformation, Picknett and Prince dispel religious myths, unearth historical truths, and uncover the real stories behind some of the Bible's most famous tales -- including how Christ's long-hidden relationships with John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene shaped his beliefs and religious mission.

Drawing on objective research, Picknett and Prince present the living, breathing Jesus and provide a context for Jesus' teachings in the time and society in which he lived -- and, most important, guidance on what the life and lessons of Jesus Christ mean to everyone today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Picknett and Prince are the authors of controversial and provocative works, including The Templar Revelation and The Turin Shroud, that challenge popular assumptions and bring into question much of what many consider truth. In their newest volume, the authors strike boldly and unreservedly against what they see as the mythos that transformed the historical Jesus into a God, namely, the Christ. Studying the traditions and tensions that surrounded the early Christians and filtering these through the lens of skepticism, they create a picture that is both challenging and disturbing. If they are correct, then the Christ of today's Christianity is a corruption of the mission of the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth. In the end, they conclude that it seems that even Jesus himself would once have agreed that Christians have been worshipping the wrong Christ for two millenia. Tough words. Readers will decide for themselves whether the authors prove their case. (Nov.)
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About the Author

Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince are writers, researchers, and lecturers on historical and religious mysteries. Their seminal book The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ inspired the New York Times bestsellers The Da Vinci Code and The Secret Supper. They are also the authors of The Sion Revelation:The Truth About the Guardians of Christ's Sacred Bloodline. They live in London, England.

Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince are writers, researchers, and lecturers on the paranormal, the occult, and historical and religious mysteries. They are the authors of The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ and Turin Shroud: In Whose Image? They live in London, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416531661
• ISBN-13: 978-1416531661
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,118,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus unmasked, December 9, 2008

By 

Hande Z (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus (Touchstone Books) (Paperback)

There is not very much we know about the authors except that they are writers and researchers into the paranormal. They had written on similar topics ("The Turin Shroud" and "Sion"). The matters covered in "The Masks of Christ" are not original and the points had been made by biblical and religious scholars as well as other writers of the paranormal. However, this book was very well organized and written in a lucid and concise style and so it will be very useful for readers who are interested in knowing aspects of the Bible that the Church will never admit, let alone teach.

The two most important points made concern the birth of Jesus and his resurrection. These are the two of the most important aspects of the Christian faith. Pinknett and Prince examined the synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, and the Gospel of John and set out very clearly how the "inerrant word of God" contradicted itself in these crucial matters. Mathew's version says Jesus was born in the time of Herod the Great. Undisputed historical records showed that Herod the Great died in 4 BCE (or BC as the Christians say). However, Luke's gospel, which also had a similarly elaborate story of Jesus' birth, set it in the time of the Roman census in the time of Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria. That census did not take place until 10 years after the death of Herod the Great. Not only were the plot in the stories differ (one said Jesus' parent fled to Egypt immediately after the birth of Jesus because Herod wanted to kill all male infants under the age of 2; the other said that There was great rejoicing when Jesus was born and there was no fleeing to Egypt), the date of birth took place 10 years apart. Matthew and Luke wrote in detail tracing Jesus' lineage from Mary to King David (so as to prove the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah will come from David) but the two lineages are entirely different. Even if one can accept the apologist argument that the describe lineages are "roughly" the same (the authors here showed why that argument is wrong) and are not unaccepteable just because a few names have been left out, many important questions would still have to be answered. Can the Bible still be regarded as containing the "inerrant word of God"? By what criteria does one verify stories and interpretations of such stories?

The authors also set out in detail, all the different accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection as well as the ascension to heaven of Jesus. While Christian will deny any contradictions in the gospel versions, one should read this (or any other critical account) with an open mind and decide for himself whether there were contradictions or not. In one version, after having risen from the tomb, Jesus met his disciples in a mountain in Galilee; another version says he met them in a house in Jerusalem. Read this book with a Bible handy and you will see much of what the authors wrote is correct. Those are the parts that are obvious - and there are many such parts. What you might wish to contemplate and study in more detail are the hypotheses that the authors make in those areas in which evidence is not clear. For example, the authors argued it was a persuasive argument though) that for the reasons they set out, it would not be surprising that the Jews think Jesus to be the antichrist rather than the Messiah.

The book is replete with interesting nuggets of information and thought-provoking questions. Ever wondered why Jesus had to be baptized by John the Baptist? Baptism is a ritual in the cleansing of sin. If Jesus was god (or even son of god) did he need cleansing? Did he sin? Would that admission (partaking in a baptism by a mortal man) tend to show that the argument that if Jesus had in fact existed, he was mere mortal and not god - a more plausible argument than the argument that Jesus was god turned man?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a different look at biblical "reality", October 8, 2009

By 

david house "david a house" (st louis mo.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus (Touchstone Books) (Paperback)

Picknett and Prince once again ask the right questions, offer their usual well thought out hypothesis, and ask us to rethink what we have taken in from various sources throughout our lives. What i find amazing is that works like this are called rank speculation, yet i have over the course of my life, found that most of what we believe to be history is little more than speculation from established sources. Read, think, enjoy, question what you believe, and why you believe it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Interesting Look at JC, April 7, 2009

By 

Vance "Klaatu" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus (Touchstone Books) (Paperback)

This book presented a comprehensive review of the most important figure in western culture. It backed up certain of the claims with an unexpected level of scholarship from a review of the syncoptic and gnostic gospels and said nothing outlandish or that was not supported in the literature or historical record. A must read for Christians and non-Christians (and even atheists).