This has been a difficult book to read and to write about. If Jesus is not who millions of believers say he is, how has such faith and conviction in a myth gone on for more than two thousand years?

John W. Campbell does an excellent job of presenting scholarship, history, and facts that would dispel the promises of the New Testament.

He just doesn't offer any solace for readers who might think "He's right!" and then face having the foundations of their lives crumble. If religion is a crutch, this book yanks away the crutches. All who rely on God will find nothing here to shore them up and help them carry on after learning something much bigger than "here is no Santa Claus."

On the one hand, it's never been easy for me to believe. From my earliest memories of Sunday school, I was forever asking "How can this be," and trying but failing to "know" that God is real and Jesus loves me. We'd sing "What a friend we have in Jesus," but I was never one of the "Changed Lives" people. I prayed for discernment, guidance, and wisdom, for healing of the sick, for "thy will be done," and when the sick didn't get well, "God works in mysterious ways, and who are we to question the ways of God." Well, I did question. At 15, I read the Bible cover to cover, but all that did was raise more questions for me. At 16, I was totally agnostic, and certainly not called to evangelize and warn sinners against the flames of hell. Even if I could believe Jesus died and rose again and we too would live forever, I could never believe those who failed would roast in hell for all eternity.

"Let go and let God." Be still. Declutter your mind. Be open.

What kept me going is that even if I failed to gain the gift of belief, others had it, and they keep telling me that without Jesus, they are nothing. Without God helping them through life's hardships, they never would have made it through.

"You have to believe," or it won't work.

That tells me the real power of the gospels is in us: in our positive thinking, our capacity to BELIEVE. It's all on us. Credit God for miracles--then let him off the hook when our loved ones die young and suffer hideously or face tragic fates.

A great deal of this book consists of what the Jews wrote about the Messiah, and how nothing about the life and suffering and death of Jesus matched this list.

Jesus was a Jew. This always struck me.

Jesus never put anything in writing. Even Moses did that, with the Commandments. Much of the Old Testament had already been written and was being quoted in the gospels. This to me was always fishy.

“Jesus did not write his teachings down or author anything that might shed light on them. All our knowledge of Jesus’ life and teachings come from the writings of others, most writing anonymously,” Campbell reminds us. Biblical scholars debate what Jesus said and did. One way to reconstruct the teachings of Jesus is to see what his followers continued to do and teach after his death.


Scholars may agree that “the mass resurrection reported as face in Matthew 27:51-3 did not occur,” but millions of believers do not care what scholars say.

Why does it not matter to the gospel writers that Jesus didn't fit the job description of the Messiah?

“Throughout the gospel there is a motif of surprise and subverting expectations.”

Yes. There's that. The popular apologetic is that Jesus surprised everyone, and the Pharisees could not face being wrong, so they crucified their Messiah, having failed to recognize him.

I want to dig in and bring out excerpts from this book, but I'm pretty sure none of the believers will be persuaded.

If you love Jesus and know him, you will not like this book. You'll say you trust JESUS, not some academics who are making up stuff about the Savior, and it's all the work of the devil.

Those who already doubt may form a conviction at last: The Bible is not the one, true religion, and a lot of it is make-believe.

I'm reminded of a Kellogs commercial: "If you hate bran, you'll like it. If you like bran, you’ll love it." Here, though, if you are already a doubter, you will like this book. If you believe, and have no interest in learning your beliefs are more of a pipe dream, you'll hate this book.

A bracing well-written text that scours tired apologetics with its scholarship. Perfect for anyone wanting to better understand both the New and Old Testaments.

The topic has always been an interest of mine . Although this is the first time actually reviewing this genre. It felt very well researched. An eye opening book. The title does what it says. This is a must for anyone looking to rush head first into Christianity.