The Jesus Conspiracy

"The Jesus Conspiracy":"The Buddhist Sources of Christianity" (1994) is a book by Holger Kersten and Elmar R. Gruber. It was published by Element of Shaftesbury, Dorset; Rockport, Massachusetts; and Brisbane, Queensland.

Contents

The book is divided into three parts. Part I is "India and the West". Part II is "Jesus -- the Buddhist". Part III is "the Way of the Original Jesus".

Excerpts from reviews

*Review: Eugene O. Bowser (University of Northern Colorado), Library Journal, June 15, 1994

"Two amateurs with esoteric interests propose a double conspiracy: that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus conspired with the centurion to get Jesus to the tomb alive, where the Essenes resuscitated him, and that the Catholic Church perpetrated a fraud by substituting a medieval cloth for shroud samples because the Shroud of Turn shows that Jesus was alive, thus disproving Christianity. The authors trace a tenuous trail from the Tomb to Turin, with huge gaps between uncertain sources and heavy use of expressions such as "could have" and "must have". Their resuscitation theory is buttressed by erroneous claims, e.g., that the Greek of "Jesus of Nazareth" proves he was an Essene. In addition, the validity of a computer analysis of poor photos of the shroud samples remains to be verified; the authors' contention that the image is of a living man is not conclusive. A book for aficionados of conspiracy theories and those looking for offbeat views of Jesus."

*Review: Gary Young, Booklist, volume 90, June 1-15, 1994

This book will be cataloged as nonfiction, which seems to contradict its style. The subtitle provides the focus of the book but not the fact that it is of the genre that could be called "Have I got news for you!" The authors confront the venerable Shroud of Turin, acclaimed by some as the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. In the process of exposing fraud, the same writers tackle the mystery of Christ's Resurrection. The reader is carried to the authors' conclusions by a circuitous trip through mythology, medieval intrigue, and trouble with ecclessiastics, especially St. Paul. One is reminded of Hugh Schonfelds' Passover Plot. Detectives will enjoy this work more than theologians.