Accuracy of The Passion of the Christ" Questioned By Revelations of Pious Fraud" In Writing the Crucifixion Story

The historical record of other crucified saviors before Christ and the absence of any documentation of the crucifixion of Jesus recorded by historians of the period are only a few of the startling revelations presented in a new book, Confessions of a God Seeker: A Journey to Higher Consciousness by international lecturer and educator Ford Johnson. In challenging the validity of the underlying premise of the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ," Confessions of a God Seeker reveals the little known history of the actual creation and adoption of the New Testament Gospels, which contain the putative record of the Crucifixion story.

WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) February 22, 2004 ---The historical record of other crucified saviors before Christ and the absence of any documentation of the crucifixion of Jesus recorded by historians of the period are only a few of the startling revelations presented in a new book, Confessions of a God Seeker: A Journey to Higher Consciousness by international lecturer and educator Ford Johnson. In challenging the validity of the underlying premise of the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ," Confessions of a God Seeker reveals the little known history of the actual creation and adoption of the New Testament Gospels, which contain the putative record of the Crucifixion story. Confessions shows the time lapse of decades to a century between Jesus death and the writing of the Crucifixion story. But even this lapse does not explain the disconnect between the absence of any recorded historical facts about the life and death of Christ and the Gospel accounts of these events. Indeed, how could events of such monumental importance have transpired without at least one of several hundred historians of the period recording something, somewhere about their occurrence?

Expanding on this point, Johnson added: While the story of the crucifixion of Christ has inspired millions of followers over the centuries and is the seminal event on which the Christian Religion is based, the story has never been reconciled with the historical record. Yet, the truth about this or any other biblical or religious story is indispensable to a truth-seeker. Religions have played a critical role in human history, but in the depiction of historic events, we must be certain that we are actually depicting real history, not merely sensationalizing an inspiring mythology."

Confessions challenges the work of most modern day Christian scholars whose writings begin with the assumption of the veracity and validity of the Gospel account of the life and death of Christ, without taking into account or flatly ignoring the history that underlies its creation. Among the more ignominious practices of the early Church, which challenges the validity of Gibsons account of the Crucifixion and the Gospels themselves, is pseudepigraphy." Pseudepigraphy was the practice of attributing written works to those who did not write them. This practice was widely accepted by founding Church Fathers to fill-in the historical gaps, often attributing to historians or other prominent names of the period, writings for which they were not responsible. The fact that the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were not written by Mathew, Mark, Luke and John is a notable example of this practice. Another tradition that was largely responsible for the stories contained in the Gospels, including the Crucifixion, was pious fraud." The Church was aware that these stories were not true but accepted and even encouraged them because they enhanced belief of the faithful in Jesus. These two practices have been buried or conveniently ignored by Church scholars for centuries because they defined the process by which the Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion and other stories about the life of Christ were created and ultimately chosen by a Council headed by Church Father Bishop Irenaeus (ca. 120 -- 200 C.E.). The Council was responsible for selecting the four known Gospels from among the more than forty versions then available. Elaborating on this point, Confessions cites the findings of noted Christian historian Paula Fredriksen:

[The impression of orderliness conveyed by their connected narratives should not deceive us about their true nature: these are composite documents, the final products of long and creative traditions ... .[The gospels are theological proclamation not historical biography"

The four gospels collectively stand as the survivors of a process whose principles of selection had more to do with competition between different Christian groups than with a disinterested concern for history."

Johnson continues, As incredible as it may sound, the historical record, largely hidden from public view, inevitably labels 'The Passion of Christ a sincerely produced and depicted Hollywood extravaganza, but in no way is it a portrayal of historical fact." No less a figure than Saint Augustine (354 -- 430 C.E.) expressed the view, I would not believe the Gospels to be true, unless the authority of the Catholic Church constrained [forced me." Little wonder that such skepticism abounded, for the stories of Jesus depicted in the New Testament Gospels and other writings were, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1917-18 Edition):
...full of romantic fables, and fantastic and striking details; their fabrications were eagerly read and accepted as true by common folk who were devoid of any critical faculty and who were predisposed to believe what...fed their pious curiosity."

From this rich admixture of pious fraud" ¾ that included borrowed history ¾ and pseudepigraphy", were the New Testament Gospel stories of Jesus constructed. Confessions thus challenges the underlying assumptions of contemporary Christian scholars and exposes the flawed methodology for verifying the authenticity of the New Testament Gospels. Johnson notes, All of the stories in the Gospels, including the Crucifixion, are based on acceptance of the authenticity and validity of the Gospels, when it is the veracity and authenticity of the Gospels themselves that is in question. That is why Gibsons 'The Passion of Christ, no matter how spectacular and inspiring it may be, is little more than the product of this pious fraud" brought to life on the silver screen."

Beyond these revelations about Christianity, and other religions, Confessions has been heralded as setting forth a new spiritual paradigm. The Mindquest Book Review describes Confessions as:
One of the best books ever written about crossing the brain/mind portal and applying higher energy and consciousness to manifest your goal[s on the physical plane. [The Book provides a comprehensive model for todays evolution of thought changing beliefs about religion...."

The MidWest Book Review describes Confessions as providing:
Answers to the most profound questions...Why are we here? Is there a spiritual purpose to life? [Confessions provides the reader with a strong look into the...mysteries of spirit and their impact on human life...[Especially recommended for students of Religion, Spirituality and Metaphysics."

Confessions of a God Seeker is published by ONE Publishing, Inc and distributed by Biblio Distributors, a division of the National Book Network. Confessions is available from www.amazon.com, www.onepublishinginc.com, and soon in book stores everywhere.
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