''How Jesus Became Christian'' (New York: St. Martin’s Press; Toronto,
Random House; London,
Orion Publishing) is a 2008 book by the
Canadian historian and
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
of
religion,
Barrie Wilson
Barrie A. Wilson is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Humanities and Religious Studies, York University, Toronto, where he has taught since 1974. An historian of religion, he specializes in movements in early Christianity. Throughout the 199 ...
, which suggests a "cover-up hypothesis" to explain why the religion that evolved from
Jesus was so different from what Jesus himself taught and practised.
The historical analysis traces how a human
Jewish teacher claiming to be the
Messiah became the dying-rising
God-human savior of humanity. In the book, Wilson advances “the Jesus Cover-Up” hypothesis, contending that the theology of
Paul covered over the teachings of Jesus and those of his first followers, the Jesus Movement led by Jesus’ brother
James. Wilson shows in detail how Paul’s theology differs from them in terms of ''origin, teaching and practice''.
Having claimed that Paul’s religion differs from that of Jesus and his first followers, Wilson argues that the covering up takes place within the
Book of Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
. In this late first-century writing, Paul’s non-
Torah-observant movement becomes grafted on to a Torah-observant one, the so-called
Council of Jerusalem
The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council was held in Jerusalem around AD 50. It is unique among the ancient pre-ecumenical councils in that it is considered by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later ...
being an important step in this development. Thus a new model of Christian origins is proposed, that Paul's was a separate religion, with different beliefs and practices than those of Jesus' first followers. This new religion, one with a different origin, becomes attached to the one that first emanated from Jesus. Thus a Jewish religion focused on the Kingdom of God and the messianic era is transformed into a Gentile one that worships a dying-rising saviour God-human. The shift involves moving the focus from the message to the messenger.
Wilson also notes that the Book of Acts represents an influential work of
historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...
, noting that it is the one work of the
Bible that we can compare to something else to judge accuracy. In this case, we can compare what Paul says about himself with what the unknown author of the Book of Acts says about him. The former represents the Paul of history, the latter the mythologized Paul. The discrepancies between the two are significant as the author of Acts tries to downplay the enmity that existed between Paul and James.
The book also traces the evolution of Christian appropriation of Jewish symbols and beliefs as well as the rise of Christian anti-semitism.
''How Jesus Became Christian'' was shortlisted for the
Cundill Prize in History.
"2008 Cundill Prize"
McGill University, Montréal, Canada In 2009 the book received the Tanenbaum Award in History at the Canadian Jewish Book Awards.
References
External links
*{{official website, http://www.barriewilson.com
Books about ancient Christianity
Books critical of Christianity
2008 non-fiction books