The Making of the Messiah

by Robert Sheaffer

"This book presents a picture of the origins of Christianity very different from anything that has been published before," writes Robert Sheaffer in the introduction to The Making of the Messiah. "Many Christians will find this book as offensive as Moslem fanatics did Salman Rushdie's 'blasphemous' Satanic Verses." Indeed, here is a volume that will provide fascinating reading for all those not afraid to question the jargon and inconsistencies that lie behind the "accepted truths" of Christianity. In his attempt to dispel the myths surrounding the life of Jesus, Sheaffer presents Christianity with one of its greatest challenges. His approach differs from the conventional works of freethinkers by suggesting a radically different picture of Christianity's rise from--to borrow Friedrich Nietzsche's phrase--the "spirit of resentment." Sheaffer tells why Christianity could develop only as it did, as it emerged from the envious anger of the lower classes against the power and wealth of Rome.