The Jesus Mysteries

The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? is a book by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy that purports to reconstruct the true origins of Christianity.

The authors claim that a number of pagan mystery religions, such as those of Osiris, Dionysus, Attis and Mithras, were all manifestations of a single cult of a dying and rising "godman", whom they call Osiris-Dionysus. The term itself first appeared in the 1st century BC, for example in Aegyptiaca by Hecateus of Abdera, and in works by Leon of Pella, in reference to the shared nature of this collection of religions.

The authors furthermore claim that orthodox Christianity was an outgrowth of the Outer Mysteries, and that Jesus Christ did not really exist, but was instead a syncretic re-interpretation of the fundamental pagan "godman" myth-type, and that the Gnostics represent the original sect of Christianity as a consequence.

Many critics, mostly religious Christians, have found many of The Jesus Mysteries' claims far-fetched, and based on insufficient research. The Sunday Times (a highly respected national UK newspaper), an equally inappropriate arbiter of academic standards, judged it to be one of the top 20 books available at the time of its review. The Daily Telegraph, generally considered to be conservative and Right-wing, specifically it's critic - Fiona Pitt-Kethley, said of it

An erudite and well-researched book stuffed with controversial ideas - Book of the Year