The Great Deception ― And What Jesus Really Said and Did

It is widely recognized by many New Testament scholars that numerous sayings and actions attributed to Jesus in the gospels cannot be factually traced to him. To a considerable degree, these stories have been influenced, or even constructed, by the early church. Still, the contemporary church feels comfortable with a mythology that brings the "Jesus of history" close to the "Christ of faith" and represents the New Testament canon in its current form as the basis for Christian belief.
The Great Deception exposes the dangers that accompany this approach and calls for a more rigorous treatment of the gospels. Gerd Ludemann opens his arguments by establishing the criteria by which he believes it possible to distinguish the inauthentic from the authentic sayings and actions of Jesus, and then shows which quotes and deeds can be regarded as factual. His radical conclusion - that Jesus, pared from the falsehoods, cannot support the traditional faith - will shake Christianity to its core, and has threatened Ludemann's freedom to express his scholarly views as his research dictates.

Gerd Ludemann is a professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Gottingen, Germany.