The Jesus Dynasty: Stunning New Evidence About the Hidden History of Jesus

This whole “stunning new evidence” blurb comes over as a sensationalist, yet hold that doubt and read further. After you trawl past the claim that the author has “never doubted that Jesus […] existed” this is still worth a read. The reader should question Tabor’s objectivity first yet there is much here to fascinate anyone who is interested in exactly what was going on in Palestine 2000 years ago. Tabor’s conclusions are plentiful and deeply challenging to everything we have taken for granted. What if this “Jesus” wasn’t divine? It took the Christian Church over four hundred years to establish the virgin birth as orthodoxy yet the Bible tells us Jesus had brothers and sisters. He had an extended family who went on to run the new Church after their Messiah was crucified. Much of what we have come to think was orthodox and central to the core beliefs of the Church is actually derived from Paul and not Jesus. Jesus practiced Judaism and the church his brother James ran was a Jewish one. Modern Christianity, as distinct from Judaism, was an invention of Paul. This may well have been to key to its success. If it wasn’t for the mass appeal of Paul’s teachings then the story of Jesus would have ended as just another footnote in history. (And not even that actually!) A Jewish Messianic cult that ended bloodily. Paul never even met Jesus yet his beliefs tainted the entire New Testament. Take, for example, the Eucharist. Tabor speculates that Jesus is unlikely to have come up with that ritual. It was closer to the rituals of unorthodox Jewish mystery cults. The original church of Jesus lived on after his death to become the Ebionites. Ironically the Ebionites were destroyed by the orthodox church for their alleged “heresy”. Imagine that. By the 3rd century CE, the role of John the Baptist and the family of Jesus had all but been airbrushed out of Christianity.Thus if we are to peel away the layers of later Pauline embellishment we can detect the original teachings of Jesus. He was an apocalyptic revolutionary who fell under the spell of John the Baptist and believed that he could fulfil Old Testament prophecy in order to bring down the Romans. His Kingdom of God was very much an earthly one. It was Paul who brought us the idea that it was a Kingdom in Heaven (which was convenient). Jesus’s revolution on Earth failed in spectacular fashion in the same way that all such messianic cults fail. This story was no different to those of the beliefs of wacky UFO-cults of our own day. When the aliens fail to arrive, the believers don’t question their beliefs – they just decide that they had the wrong day. The Bible is not a history book. It is a churned-up jumble of the combined beliefs, expectations and mistakes of hundreds of separate authors & translators spread over hundreds of years. In it you can conjure up whatever belief system you wish to read into its words. Tabor has penetrated as best he can through this mess to read the original “Q” document to understand exactly what the family of Jesus may have been taught by Christ himself. It was the spark and the inspiration for all that came later hence it is vital that we strip away its layers if we are to find exactly what is authoritatively given from the lips of this religion’s founder & principal character. In Tabor’s words “other sources have survived that allow us to reach back through these layers of dogma and recover a lost perspective.” Yes, but what is dogma and what is real? It is a hall of mirrors. A mystery into which Tabor has projected himself so we will never know what is truly real. Is Tabor’s reconstruction plausible? Tabor believes, not unreasonably, that Jesus was human, not divine and he truly died and was buried. His bones may yet still be found if they have not already. Yet, often in the retelling of the events leading up to the crucifixion Tabor mentions that Jesus did miracles. How so? He was either magical or he was not. Tabors says nothing of this discrepancy.If this was the only book you read about Bible history then you would be impressed. Yet read a few more and you quickly find that the same evidence is taken to mean a whole variety of different things. Read around before reaching a conclusion. Yet Tabor’s work remains challenging and fascinating. The idea that Christianity was a religion tinkered into existence long, long after the crucifixion by men who never knew Jesus or what he taught, has gained a lot of currency these days. It is highly credible and through appreciating these simple facts we can weigh up this religion with some measure of objectivity. Incredibly important if you wish to understand this world and why men are the way men are.

This is an investigation into the life of the historical Jesus - what do we know about him and how do we know it?. The author having visited the Holy Land 'wanted to walk where Jesus walked.' Late at night Tabor takes a walk into the Garden of Gethsemane and he is overcome by the need to know. He mounts an investigation, albeit a controversial one. Who was Jesus' mother? - how could she be a virgin?. What about Joseph? What did people say when he became betrothed to a pregnant woman?. Why is Joseph mentioned so rarely in the Bible? Did Jesus have siblings? What part did they play in the flowering and advancement of this new religion which stressed the spiritual side of life and spoke about a loving, forgiving God? Tabor tells us it is almost impossible to write a biography of Jesus' life. The four Gospels are supposed to tell us all about this mesmeric, holy man but touch only lightly on his childhood and the years prior to his ministry at the age of 33 years.He fills us in with the Roman occupation occupation, of king Herod, of the political unrest from the Jews. The Romans would not tolerate usurping of their power - hence Herod's behaviour at even the thought of another 'king' of the Jews. The question is sometimes posed about who killedJesus? The Romans? Pontious Pilate, the Jews?The author examines the part St Paul played in spreading this religion - and it is a huge part. He seems to do it almost single handedly.. He investigates Jesus' brother James and narrates the part he played - but it is Paul who gives the religion its theology.There's another mystery - what happened to the body?This is a riveting book about a charismatic holy man who changed the course of history. The question of the body remains unanswered. Jesus' body has never been foundThis is an exciting and absorbing book which makes the reader want to learn more. Read it..The author also considers the part Paul played in masterminding the spread of the new religion, later called 'Christinaity' - he examines James the Just, the brother of Jesus and informs us of the part he played. We note that James is not mentioned much in the New Testament. But of course it was Paul who opened the door to the Gentiles and so to all of humanity.This is a riveting account of a charismatic individual who was brutally murdered and whose body has never been found. .

At first sight, the front cover suggests that this is another 'pot boiler' - what Wagner, in the operatic context, might have dismissed as 'effects without causes'. James Tabor's scholarship is, however, very impressive. The main body of the book is contained within the framework of an account of the discovery of the 'Jesus Family Tomb'. Current research seems to indicate that this is more of a 'cul-de-sac' than a road leading to fascinating places. On the other hand, the bulk of the book presents a persuasive and highly readable picture of Jesus an an apocalyptic prophet expecting, right to the very end, the overwhelming arrival of the Kingdom of God. It also explores the fortunes of the continuing 'Jesus Movement' in Jerusalem, led by his family members, and its ultimate eclipse by the rival 'Christian Movement' brought into being by Paul of Tarsus. If you've an open mind, and enjoy a lively and well written book, I can recommend this one. I found it a constant 'page turner' all the way to the last one.

Two thousand years on and the truth about Jesus is still struggling to surface. Great in depth study and evidence for the truth in this book. The established church should hang it's head in shame as to how they have prostituted his message. It took them until the 20th Century to even admit to the lies about his wife Mary. Shame on them Perhaps the churches would be fuller without the cover up and lies about the true message.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written but above all was well researched.For someone who was raised Christian of the RC persuasion this answered a lot of questions about the historical figure of Jesus. I have always doubted the Acts of the Apostles as most of that is about the Acts of Paul. I have often wondered how someone who had never met Jesus had such a great say in the early church and began to ask questions about the dogma of Christianity as we know it today. This book really opened my eyes and my mind to the fact that all committed Christians have been led down the wrong path. The archeology and the historical writings are there for all if they wish to see.No doubt there will be many people out there who will poke holes in the research and Dr Tabor's interpretation of the archeology. Sadly, voices that speak the truth will always be shouted down by those that are comfortable with the status quo. Isn't that how Jesus ended up on the cross in the first place?