I posted on their work here. Here is a radio interview with Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy.
This latest is the story of Jesus with an interesting twist. On the back cover it says: "A post-modern Gnostic gospel for the 21st century. Irreverently serious and profoundly satirical."
To get an idea, here is how it opens:
"And so it came to pass that Jesus spoke to the twelve, saying: "I will reveal to you the mystery of mysteries, which it is my ministry to disclose. The good news that leads to eternal life. The truth that will set you free. Be not afraid when I tell you that I am not who you think I am. I am not a man of flesh and blood. In fact, I don't really exist at all. I am the fictional hero of an allegorical myth."It looks like a wild read. Here is the editorial review:
A great silence fell upon the disciples, and Jesus added, "I know it's a bit of a shock."
In 2005, a disgruntled archivist at the Vatican Library made contact with revisionist historians Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, claiming that the Vatican was secretly housing a number of unpublished “heretical” Gnostic Christian texts. He presented Freke and Gandy with a facsimile copy of an ancient manuscript, which is presented to the public for the first time in this book.
This gospel will shock academics and Christians alike. It makes the extraordinary claim that the long-awaited “Second Coming of Christ” has already happened; and it also explores the intimate relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, his “Beloved Disciple.”
And, perhaps most controversial of all, it reveals Jesus as a Gnostic master with a zany sense of humor and an upbeat message. As Jesus says himself in the text: “Death is coming. Life is foreplay.”
Freke and Gandy are very entertaining fiction writers. :)
ReplyDeleteTo all Right-Wingnuts....
Before you show up and start spewing your venom, keep in mind that though well referenced and well written, their writings are pure fiction and they make no attempt to represent them as anything other than that.
They offer no scientific basis and don't try to. They are not putting forth the claim that Jesus never existed, they're just raising interest and selling books that people without faith can find interest in while maintaining the subject.
I think it's probably a good thing in the way that Right-Wing snake handlers such as yourselves have smeared Jesus so badly with your behavior, that the only way a faithless person will even open a book knowing Jesus is in it is through sarcasm.
Actually, these authors are probably bringing more people to interest in Jesus than you freaks ever have.
Just saw your website and thought I'd see if you've heard of or seen "The Jesus Guy" a doc by Sean Tracey. It is screening on 4/20 as part of the LA United Film Festival. The director will also be there.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the website to see the trailer, sign up for the newsletter (so you can get notices about screening dates), make comments, read reviews, etc. It gets updated all the time.
www.thejesusguy.com
www.thejesusguymovie.blogspot.com
Thanks,
Ariane