The New Testament is the support beam of Christianity. A book made from twenty-seven separate pieces of writing, it is all about a Jewish man called Jesus. Curiously, he couldn't have existed without Judaism. His world revolved around it and he was immersed in it. So was Mark, the writer of his story. But Jesus was stolen from Judaism by the Romans and used as their pagan idol. (Though many Christians are appalled by the Vatican and its history, they are all living by this same New Testament, which was assembled and forced on the world by the Romans.)

The creators of this new Jesus religion based it on the older religion of the Jews. Jesus was said to be the messiah and lord referred to occasionally in the OT, who was to come and save the Jews from oppression. Ironically, in Jesus' time this oppression was supplied by the Roman empire, and nearly three centuries later it was they who took control of Christianity (shortly after 313 CE*).

They made their own religious High Book, using old documents that they stole from all the little Christian churches. They hammered their book onto the end of the Bible, creating a forced final chapter. Even more galling to the Jews, the makers of this new book started calling the Hebrew Bible the "Old Testament" as if it was worn and no longer vital. The new writings, about Jesus, were called the "New Testament", and both together were now to be called The Bible.

The "New Testament" differs from the OT in every way. The OT is a series of tales concerning the history and future of the Jewish people. It traces their bloodline back to the first man (who was created, by the way, around 3760 BCE), and follows their story until around 500 BCE when they are set free from Babylon by the Persians. It includes warnings, prayers, philosophical tracts, instructions for living, and handed-down knowledge. All of this, roped together with interpretive analysis and study (the Talmud, the Kabala, etc) makes up the Jewish religion on various levels.

In the NT, however, no such history occurs, and no stack of ancient study literature comes with it. The NT is like a large painting. Looming in the center is Jesus. Beside him, and painted only a little smaller than he, are "Saints" Paul, Peter and John. All around them are little pictures of miraculous events, several bloody deaths, some shock and intrigue, mysterious characters, and the feeling that something incredible has happened. But has it?

The tale we've all heard says that a Jewish fellow was born only a few miles from Jerusalem, and he apparently was the Son of God. His early life is a mystery, but after he appeared around the age of thirty, he worked miracles for three years, attracted a massive following, and was then murdered by the Roman Empire for treason. His death, to Christians, was a sublime sacrifice which somehow brought power - originally intended only for the Jews - to all the people of the earth.

Some like to think of him as a sweet and gentle dad-god who came here to win followers for himself and Yahweh. Now he's up in the sky, watching his followers. He loves them (and hates their enemies) and wants to fix all their problems for them. He is also plotting revenge on anyone who doesn't "believe in him"!

Is all this in the New Testament? Hardly. Jesus himself never tried to convince anyone that such weirdness would have anything to do with him. Yet people do believe these things.

Apparently Jesus began his teaching career around or a little after the age of thirty. We're told that huge crowds followed him, thousands at a time. What did he say that astounded so many people? He must have been a very powerful public presence. But thousands might not be able to hear him at once. Perhaps most of his audience never actually got close to him or spoke to him personally. Did they muddle around, taking turns being near to him to listen? And again, what could he say to make such an impact?

Jesus' words have been interpreted for two thousand years, and we will take our own look at them. But his words are not the thing that convinces Christians of his divinity. Really, his ideas are barely understood, and so they take a back seat to his supposed "miracles". The general Christian belief is that Jesus attracted droves of people because he healed their ailments with feats of magic. This belief is necessary for the Christian religion to flourish. The miracles and the magic obscure what really happened.

If Jesus was to hold the attention of large crowds, then we must assume he was a great speaker, unless we want to believe that all his followers were sick or dying and in need of a fix, and each of his performances was one big healing festival. Should we imagine that his large following was made up only of the infirm, blind, leprous, crippled, demon-possessed, and dead? Thousands of them? That's a grim picture.