Tells the story of early Christianity and the origins of a religion. This title illuminates the origins of faith and traces the evolution of the figure of Jesus from the man he was. It pulls apart myths and misunderstandings to focus on the true figure of Jesus, and the birth of one of the world's major religions.
The subject is not exactly the Christian Church, which makes an appearance effectively only half way through the text; it is Jesus - what he was, what he said he was, and what Christians said about him after his crucifixion. For anyone puzzling over such questions, this is an exciting and challenging port of call, sweeping aside much of the fuzzy thinking and special pleading that bedevils the study of sacred scripture ... [a] courteously expressed and witty little book Diarmaid MacCulloch The Times