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his followers. The "love thy neighbour", "turn the other cheek" teachings that we find in Paul's works are the writings of someone on the outside of these inner workings. The real mission was to unite the disparate peoples of the region, both Jew and Gentile alike in a united effort to over through the Roman domination and restore the kingdom to rightful Jewish rule.

Once you have an understanding of the times and the hidden language within the gospels this becomes evident. There are many meaningful phrases that can be read in many ways, such as "the fatted calf" and "the five thousand", phrases that refer to specific people rather than as the analogies and parables that they appear to be. As a prominent teacher in a radical religious group, called the Essenses, the stories that create our understanding of Jesus' life take on new meanings. It also show through re-evaluation of the stories with a better understanding of the times a different view of the man himself. The wedding at Cana for example is clearly Jesus own wedding, the water into wine incident is an act of serving wine to non-Jews at the ceremony, and a clear act of defiance against what he sees as out dated traditions.

The book, promoting a whole new view of Jesus' life will obviously outrage some, particularly those who see their faith as immutable and unchanging. Those who have a broader mind and see that understanding of our faiths are essential and should move out of medieval "carved in stone" approaches will see this as a massive step in the right direction. It manages to present a historically more relevant view of Jesus without undermining the religious and spiritual concepts that he embodies. Rather than taking anything away from the Christian view of its founder it actually adds to his importance and historical relevance. A fantastic book, which as followed by two more equally explosive volumes that continue the ideas presented here and one which opened the door for authors to re-analysis such an important aspect of western religion.

Learn more about this author, Dave Franklin.
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