The Masks of Christ

October 13, 2008
Picknett and Prince are the authors of controversial and provocative works, including The Templar Revelation
and The Turin Shroud
, that challenge popular assumptions and bring into question much of what many consider truth. In their newest volume, the authors strike boldly and unreservedly against what they see as the mythos that transformed the historical Jesus into a God, namely, the Christ. Studying the traditions and tensions that surrounded the early Christians and filtering these through the lens of skepticism, they create a picture that is both challenging and disturbing. If they are correct, then the Christ of today's Christianity is a corruption of the mission of the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth. In the end, they conclude that “it seems that even Jesus himself would once have agreed that Christians have been worshipping the wrong Christ for two millenia.” Tough words. Readers will decide for themselves whether the authors prove their case.

November 15, 2008
Picknett and Prince are historical detectives with a passion for investigating religious mysteries, and their new book is destined to be a thought-provoking and unsettling best seller. Situated in the era of "The Da Vinci Code", it seeks to examine the real truths underlying currently held beliefs and dogmas about Jesus. A fundamental premise of this text is that the past two millennia of Christianity have designed and interpreted a Christian theology from the divergent and contradictory statements within the four Gospels. Using the tools of the academy, Picknett and Prince try to differentiate between myth and reality, fiction and fact, and belief and reason. The result is well argued and clearly written; the long-held truths familiar to most readers are here challenged with seemingly irrefutable logic and historical evidence. Readers familiar with the authors' "The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ" and its conclusions will soon realize that their new book continues and intensifies this provocative discussion. The text is completed by 25 pages of notes, a lengthy select bibliography, and an index. Recommended for select libraries. For larger public libraries as demand dictates.John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin-Platteville

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