The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

by Jeffrey J. Bütz

Reveals the true role of James, the brother of Jesus, in early Christianity • Uses evidence from the canonical Gospels, apocryphal texts, and the writings of the Church Fathers to reveal the teachings of Jesus as transmitted to his chosen James • Demonstrates how the core message in the teachings of Jesus is an expansion not a repudiation of the Jewish religion • Shows how James can serve as a bridge between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam James has been a subject of controversy since the founding of the Church. Evidence that Jesus had siblings contradicts Church dogma on the virgin birth, and James is also a symbol of Christian teachings that have been obscured. While Peter is traditionally thought of as the leader of the apostles and the “rock” on which Jesus built his church, Jeffrey Bütz shows that it was James who led the disciples after the crucifixion. It was James, not Peter, who guided them through the Church's first major theological crisis--Paul's interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. Using the canonical Gospels, writings of the Church Fathers, and apocryphal texts, Bütz argues that James is the most overlooked figure in the history of the Church. He shows how the core teachings of Jesus are firmly rooted in Hebraic tradition; reveals the bitter battles between James and Paul for ideological supremacy in the early Church; and explains how Paul's interpretations, which became the foundation of the Church, are in many ways its betrayal. Bütz reveals a picture of Christianity and the true meaning of Christ's message that are sometimes at odds with established Christian doctrine and concludes that James can serve as a desperately needed missing link between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to heal the wounds of centuries of enmity.

Genres: Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction, History, Spirituality, Theology

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2005

Reviews

[Keith Akers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best introduction to James, the brother of Jesus. Much, much more readable than Eisenman's book on James.

[William Poe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth reading. I can't speak for Christians, but I don't see how any variety of them would be upset by this book if they read it through to the end. Christian theologians have rewritten the story of their religion so many times one would be hard-pressed to outline it in a paragraph. One thing you won't hear many Christians talk about though is the "man," that is, the "Jewish man" Jesus the Nazirite who lived in the first century of the common era. Or that he strictly followed the Law and that the distinction between he and his followers from other Jews was the belief that he arose from the line of David and was the long-awaited Messiah. One especially will not hear that it was that "line of David" which was all-important and that when Jesus died unexpectedly, it was his brother James "the Just" who took over from him as leader of the Jewish movement. Somewhere along the way, maybe very soon after Jesus died, during a period of intense grief, the followers convinced themselves Jesus was going to return very soon. James, therefore, was more a caretaker than actual leader of the sect.

Enter a fellow named Saul or Paul, who evidently had been trying to quash the Jewish movement of Jesus led by James. My thought is that guilt over his cruelty led him to a conversion experience. But true to his prior arrogance, he decided that only he knew the true nature of Jesus and further, "God's" desire for the future. He repudiated the Jesus movement led by James and what this book adds, is a clear-headed view of how that conflict played out in the first few decades after Jesus died.

In short, Butz makes the strong case that Jesus was a devout Jewish leader and that, like several other men at the time, believed he was the Messiah, the chosen one, to lead his people out of Roman oppression (if you are interested in this phenomenon, look up "Revitalization Movements"). What made the Jesus movement a bit different was the idea the followers held after Jesus was condemned to death by the Roman authorities for claiming (or being betrayed as claiming) that he was the rightful King of the Jews, that he would return soon to usher in a new world (and perhaps they even believed they saw him through the tears of their grief).

Butz writes some fine history up to a point. He proudly announces that he has found the obvious and that if you follow along you will see it too, just they way one sees if one steps back to see the forest for the trees (or the alignment of the tectonic plates of north and south American with Europe and Africa). Then, Butz swoops back down to land on the trees again, and positions himself back on a single tectonic plate. Like the errant scientists who could not believe the plates aligned long ago as one continent, Butz cannot imagine history unfolding without the agency of a higher power, his god of the people of the book.

In the end, a Christian apologist, and not a historian, Butz believes his god "intended" for Paul to move the Jesus movement out from its Jewish context and that even the demise of Palestine by the Romans might have been "god's will" (at least Butz implies this).

Butz states many times in the book that later Christian interpreters placed the blame of Jesus's death on the Jews when it truly was the Romans who were to blame, and Butz bemoans the terrible Antisemitism that resulted.

But doesn't Butz "see" that trying to accept the idea that an omnipotent being was directing activities in the first century, he falls into the very same trap? Butz imagines his interpretation will provide a common starting point for talks between Christians, Jews and Muslims. Even if that were true, Butz is setting up a scenario: there really is a God of the people of the book and his will was played out in the first century.

So, ignore all the other religions such as Hinduism, Buddism, Taoism, all the forms of animism, etc., because the people of the book are special.

Let's rise above the earth for a moment, outside the galaxy, across the universe a few million light years -- there is no intelligence out there. We evolved and we are just another variety of great ape. If our brains are so great, we better start using them to figure out the practical challenges we face as a species.

Enough with the Christianity already.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this book. I did enjoy this book and it will definitely lead to more reading but Mr. Butz's final chapter is hokey and sentimental, ie his hope that in re examining things the book deals with might lead to a peace between "the three great western religions" (his phrase, not mine) Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Professor (and Lutheran minister) Butz is clearly writing his message to an American university audience as evidenced in several places. He is entitled to his opinion but I don't think the arguments in the book support his final comments.

I must state up front that I am a Christian who doesn't believe in the Virgin Birth let alone the belief (held by Roman Catholicism) in the perpetual virginity of Jesus' mother Mary, or the implied anti sexual attitude of what became orthodox Christianity. James, Joses and Jude (Judas) thus were Jesus actual full siblings and according to Butz's arguments followers of their brother. Just read Acts and Galatians and you will read about the little mentioned 'brother or God" (as some called him) James who may or may not have written the Epistle of James. He was regarded by some early Church fathers as the first "Bishop" of the Christian church. Of course, this is reading back into history, something we should avoid.

This books is clearly laid out. The author fully credits the scholarship in this area and places it in the context of earlier work by 19th Century German biblical scholars. He reminds us that there were more than one competing Christianities in the years after the resurrection of Jesus. James was the leader of the Jerusalem church (not Peter, see Acts) for 30 years until his martyrdom. Jewish Christianity, Butz believes that James was a Pharisee as was his brother, Jesus, became heresy and what became "Christian" was orthodox. Paul stands in opposition to Jewish Christianity and the issues that divided them became apparent when more and more Gentiles became Christians. What to do with these Christians, should they become Jewish (ie circumcision, followers of the dietary laws etc?) Could Jewish Christians eat with Gentile Christians, even though it that was contrary to Jewish law? Luke's account of these developments in Acts certainly were written to gloss over the very real differences of opinion and present the growth of Christianity as more harmonious than it most likely really was.

I think this book is a good introduction to the topic.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book clearly has its origins in an academic thesis written for a seminary and it is a bit wordy in places, but I very much appreciated the survey of past research and the incisive investigation connecting the Bible to later extrabiblical material. This is exactly what I was looking for with regards to forming a larger picture of James the Just. Glad to have this in my library for future consultation.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. It seemed to allow me to cover similar material to that displayed in Robert Eisenman's James the brother of Jesus, but in a far more accessible format. It emphasised the Jewishness of Jesus and the significance of James when establishing the early Christian followers.

This book will shift the focus to a more realistic, for me, picture of Jesus and his mission. A Messiah, yet not Devine.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reader won't miss anything should they begin this book at pg. 104 (unless you are not familiar with the scripture of the bible - in which case; read your bible first!)

Throughout the first half of the book (atleast up to the beginning of chapter six)the author weaves in and out of the proverbial bush, dancing to the fiddles and flutes of scholars with what culminates in an unyielding display of academic posturing and intellectual sport. More than discovering or divulging anything of concrete interest, Butz instead occupies the first 100 pages by peddling the analyses of other academics, complete with their inherent tendency to parade suppositions on what, inevitably, adds up to nought but long distance political commentary.

In the later half of the book, this tendency of the author reduces only slightly, but the story he seeks to share does grow more interesting, as he then begins to introduce the reader to his resources of historical records, apocrypha and gnostic texts, and even a Jewish survey of the questions at hand.

An astute reader may notice some 'convenient' oversights by the author, or recognise some of the strategies he employs as he tries to build some measure of intrigue into the book, and may find themselves confounded at this point by Butz's self indulgence, which is why it would be of great benefit (and chagrin) to the reader if they have already read (and not just skimmed) their bible...

Aside from the few short explorations of apocryphal and gnostic texts, and inspite of the books' title, there are no "lost teachings" to be found in the book. Though it does a good job of suggesting and alluding to what seem to be forgotten and ignored facts. Those which do, indeed, underpin the origins of modern day Christianity.

At times an engaging read, and at times a baffling demonstration of shortsightedness, Butz's book is best summed up by the authors own footnote (pg 71) where he quotes Rudolph Bultman...

"...the proclamation of Jesus' message was all that mattered"

[Sabio · Rating 3 out of 5]

The New Testament is replete with the conflicts in the Early Church.
Jesus, like many others, was attempting to reform his faith -- Judaism.
After his death, followers of Paul (the now victorious majority) saw Jesus as almost totally leaving behind Jewish Law. The followers of James (Jesus' brother) remained Jews. The New Testament is a cannon of writings approved of by Paul's camp. This book plus many others point to the diversity of varieties of Christianity that existed before the victorious (today's orthodox) re-wrote the history of the competing views.

BTW, the author is a Christian -- ordained Lutheran Minister, Penn State Univ. world religions professor.

I am a former Christian (now a Cafeteria Buddhist) who still has great interest in the way people handle and mishandle religion. But mind you, I similarly find it interesting how humans manipulate science, politics, personal relationships and their own minds. We are an odd animal.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book achieves what it sets out to do: provide an account and analysis of all references to James the brother of Jesus found in early Christian literature. The chapters that go through all references in the New Testament Canon, extra-Canonical sources, as well as any references in the early church fathers are all interesting and worth reading. The author is correct that by doing this you can achieve insight into early Christianity as a whole and the tensions between Jewish Christianity and Gentile Christianity shortly after the death of Jesus. Along the way there are discussion on more broad historical topics and other characters in early Christianity. It is hard to find a book that talks about James at such length.

It is not, however, a complete treatment of James. For that, you would have to give space to the actual Epistle of James, which this book does not. Perhaps the reason for this is that he thinks most readers are already familiar with it (as I am), but still to understand James you can't just rely on what people say about him but what he himself wrote about the issues that are important to the early followers of Jesus.

The book is written well enough, but the attempt by the author to grab the reader's attention falls flat (at least to me). He couches his book as representing one of Thomas Kuhn's "paradigm shifts" in New Testament studies. He promises that the details and facts found within will shock modern Christians, and show what a load of crock more traditional conceptions of early Christianity and its essence were. This may be true if it is the first real scholarly book you have read on the New Testament, but only in that case.

I also seem to hate most of the ends of chapters. Through a chapter the author will talk about different scholarly viewpoints on a given issue, like any good literature review would do, but then at the end talk about the 'conclusions' that we found by going through them which are at times very extreme. Unlike science, there is no proof one way or another in historical research. Many of the argument you'll find within are of the following form: "X says Y, and because they didn't say Z we have evidence that A is (or is not) true." or "X says Y, but because we know X to have alot of bias we don't take Y at face value, but really we can infer Z." There are alot of arguments in New Testament research that are of wildly varying quality, but at the end of the day the only conclusions we can make is statements like the following: "we have evidence to suppose X", "we contend that Y is probable given all of the evidence", and so on. In this book, the author will make arguments and then at the end conclude that we can state definitively that X is or is not true, which is absurd.

Lastly, I really disliked the forays that the author takes into the modern world. Through the book the author states that the following events in modern history are due (more or less) to Christianity de-emphasising the Jewishness of Jesus: the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust (I am not joking), 9/11, and the War in Iraq. While I do not mean to imply that religion is irrelevant to understanding modern politics, it is an absurd argument and is never elaborated upon. The author believes that understanding James more (thereby the Jewishness of Jesus) will lead to greater inroads to Christians, Jews, and Muslims getting along more which will soothe the world. That is somewhat true, I am sure it would help, but this entire part of the book (which is small, don't get me wrong) reminds me of the old law of the hammer: "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

[John Vanderslice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptional book. It serves as an informative and highly readable introduction to the scholarly debates surrounding the figure of James, who would seem to have been the historical, biological brother of Jesus. Butz covers a lot of territory, from the biblical and extra-biblical proof for James's relationship to Jesus, to the picture of James that develops in the Dead Sea Scrolls, to James's history of being the leader of the Jerusalem church and an early martyr, to the clearly fraught relationship between the Jerusalem church and Paul, who was famously and single-mindedly set on expanding Christianity into the Gentile population, but who therefore created conflicts with the leadership of the Jerusalem church which saw Christianity (not a word they would have used) as purely a Jewish phenomenon and a natural extension of their Jewish faith. (James, for one, was very active in the temple life in Jerusalem.) Maybe most compellingly, Butz eventually moves on to argue that the original Christianity WAS the Jerusalem church--that is, completely Jewish and rather orthodox Jewish at that--and if not for the efforts of Paul, Christianity would have developed solely on Jewish lines, with the possibility then that historical tragedies such as the crusades and the holocaust would never have happened.

Butz does not shy away from controversy. Not at all. In fact, in his telling, Paul's version of Christianity, the Christianity we know so well, was no less heretical than any other version of Christianity operating in the early church. It's just that Paul's heresy was the most successful and thus became the orthodoxy. Heady stuff indeed! The thing about Butz that is so reassuring is that he is no wild, radical madman playing fast and loose with the facts. First of all, he is an ordained and active Lutheran minister; of course, one of the larger mainstream Protestant sects. Second, he came to the specific arguments advanced in the book only after years of study. And, more to the point, he very carefully presents the variety of opinions that appear in scholarly literature, and only then gently and persuasively synthesizes them. All of which is to say that this is an extremely reasonable and even faithful book. If you're Catholic, you may not like it, because, as Butz emphasizes, the Catholic Church has long denied that Jesus could have had biological brothers or sisters; but Butz analyzes the Catholic Church's claim carefully and shows how it is based on a highly dubious interpretation by Saint Jerome of certain scriptures. An interpretation that is in no way historical and finally comes across as ridiculous. But if you're an open-minded Catholic, or anyone of any faith, by all means dig in. This is fascinating reading.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Just James, while fairly succinct, seems to cover most of the current research on the subject (at least through 2005). I was initially a bit skeptical of Butz's book, especially as in his preface, he pointed out how much he respects the work of Robert Eisenman, whose biography of James may qualify as one of the longest ever but is also one of the most kooky. But Butz doesn't quite try to tie James in with the Dead Sea Scrolls and make claims that the entire original Christrian movement was actually some kind of Essene movement revolved completely around Jesus's family and that it had only ever aimed at being some kind of worldly Jewish Messiah, though in some ways he comes close.

What I like about what Butz does is that he doesn't quite go so radically far. Rather, he tries to reclaim James and the early Christian movement as part of Judaism, and while he does fall into the common Protestant and often secular point of view that James and Paul were at cross-purposes, which colors many of the insights he manages to provide, he does still manage to show just how important James was to early Christians and how that early movement was signficantly Jewish in form and nature. (Plenty of newer works call into question the antinomial Paul who created some kind of new movement that had little in common with what Jesus actually taught.)

Some of the interesting insights include a correction of the common idea that James and the rest of Jesus's family did not support Jesus during his physical life—that is, that they were not convinced of his ministry until after his resurrection. Some of this interpretation comes from the way we have read certain scriptures out of context, and some has to do with how later generations want to portray Jesus. Butz argues, fairly convincingly, that the family probably had connections to Jesus's ministry well before his resurrection.

Butz also shows how James fit within Judaism, and while claims that James was a Pharisee seem a bit too far out to be believed to me, there is a case to be made that in many ways the early Christian movment had much in common with Pharisaism—and in that way, James, Paul, Jesus, and the whole lot would have been a kind of offshoot.

The book ends with a call to unite the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths through a degree of compromise. It's not a strong ending to me, insofar as I don't think things like divinity of Jesus are really up for debate between the faiths. But the push to remind people of how Christainity started in Judaism is a worthy enterprise.

[Olivia Sonell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butz's The Brother of Jesus is not a scholarly work, per se, but is rather a gathering and analysis of the relevant critical scholarship and primary and secondary sources regarding James (or Jacob) the younger brother of Jesus, recognised as the Jewish Messiah by Christians and Muslims.

The analysis is astute, and most of the conclusions hold up to critical thought themselves, though some of the final suggestions on what the reclaimed understanding of Jewish Jesus and James mean for the future seem a little utopian.

In terms of what this exploration of James means however, the conclusion that Jewish Christianity constitutes the original Orthodoxy, and that much of what has become modern Christianity would have been seen as heretical by the original Apostles, is born out by history. This has some important implications for how Christians need to re-evaluate ourselves in relationship to our Jewish and Muslim siblings. If Jesus, James, Peter, and John (like Jews and Muslims) did not believe Jesus was literally God but rather a Messianic agent for building God's Kingdom, then can Christians today justly continue to hold to the idea of Jesus as the "Only Begotten" Divine "Son of God?"

[Richard Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Butz uncovers the story of James, Brother of Jesus in an attempt to explore the origins of Christianity. Butz's thesis is that in order to understand Jesus and the early Christians, we must know the story of James. Although Jesus's family (except the perpetual virgin Mary) were pushed to the background in the Gospels, Butz argues that they are central to understanding the truly Jewish origins of Christianity; and just as James was eventually "lost" by later Christians, so was the Jewishness of Christ's followers.

Butz's is work is very readable and intriguing. The challenge of any scholarship on early Chrisitanity is the dearth of primary source materials. Butz depends heavily on secondary scholarly debates to buttress his argument, and at times his book reads like a literature review. The final few chapters disappoint somewhat, as Butz seems to do an about face on where Christianity is today. He then suggests that a better understanding of early Christianity can heal the divide between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

[Margie Dorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that was really hard for me to rate. There was a lot of important research and information in here, and for the most part I found it worthwhile. But one must be especially careful to read this book critically in the best sense of the term. The author occasionally jumps off the deep end, making declarations that he calls “incontrovertible” that no good researcher would declare to be so. He blames the apostle Paul for some of Christianity’s historic issues that arose after Paul was with his Lord (one book that needs to be read alongside this one is Paula Fredriksen’s book Paul: the Pagan’s Apostle). The core message of the book regarding the importance of James the brother of Jesus for the early Jewish sect that developed into Christianity is very important. This is a book that needs to be read, tho with a balanced and critical eye. It is the best book that I have found on James up to this point.

[Michael Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an awesome work of research on the life of James the Just. I was raised Catholic and it was taught to us that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and had no other siblings. I have since become aware that Jesus is from the line of David by way of his earthly father Joseph. Virgin birth and an earthly lineage do not match. I am of the opinion that Jesus and Mary had intercourse. Jesus was a Palestinian Jew who lived in a village of about 1600 people. He observed Passover well before the fateful one that ended his life. His Brother James the Just carried on until he met the same fate some 30 years later.

[peter david bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without doubt THE best book I have ever read on the subject of "The Quest for The Historical Jesus" (and I have read hundreds of books on this subject over the past 20-odd years).
Butz approaches the subject matter in great detail, introducing historical documentary material that is well-attested . He then goes on to analyze the historical facts objectively and finally he makes logical and sensible conclusions. This is more than just an "Eisenman lite" introduction to James, the brother of Jesus. It is a truly original work .

[Isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating read which adds evidence to the ever-looming mountain that Paul of Tarsus was the Initial Corrupter of Christianity & that in fact Jewish Christianity was the correct concept Jesus had brought.

It is impossible for a modern Christian of sound mind to read this book and carry on being misguided by Paul & his followers. Rather, this book strengthens the Islamic perspective greatly.

[Adolfo Borges C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful reading; very wellresearched,and written in a easy-style.

This book has opened my eyes in understanding better the origins of the Christian faith, which I have been doing for the past few years. I have not found in Spanish, my nature language, such a well documented book and hope it is translated into it. Icon volunteer todo it.

[D.l. · Rating 5 out of 5]

very well thought out and documented argument for what the early church was like, and why Paul spent so much time arguing for why he taught the way that he did.

[Jim Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book in this area.

[Kimmie Hoogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

🤯🤯🤯 changed whole perspective of all religions

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star book with a 1 star ending

It is fascinating to learn about a new way to look at an historic individual deeply rooted in religion. As a Catholic, James is a lost entity. The confusion of biblical common names is baffling even to the devout. Anything to help sort the jumble is reason enough to read this book, but being able to get enough historical facts to understand the personality of the giant pillars of early Christianity is a true treasure. The first 98% of this book seems fact based and reasonable and brought me closer to Jesus and the apostles. I enjoyed mingling with Peter, Paul, James and John.

Sorting through the first few centuries of Christianity and the early historians in a methodical fashion was also a pleasure. Names tossed around by Church teachers and historians are put on display for the readers to draw their own conclusions.

Just as the movie 'The Passion of Christ' put emotion and personality on the historic players in the final days of Jesus, this book helped me think of the pillars of Christianity as people. Don't get me wrong, this is a dry history account presented in a journalistic fashion mixed in a history textbook style. The facts and quotes are there with references to back them up. It was presented in a fashion that I felt enabled me to mingle with my old friends we learn and pray about each Sunday. It has given me more to meditate about during prayer and reflection.

Then comes the ending.

A one man's view of religion that short changes Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, in one short chapter. Having an ecumenical spirit about the religions handed down by Abraham and his descendants is laudable. To throw out the fundamentals in each of the three major religions is not the way to do it. The 800 word essay as the last chapter almost ruins the book.

A good read to get another opinion on James the Just.

As a Catholic, I don't know if Jesus had true blood brothers and sisters, but I really hope he did. Sharing the love of family is a fundamental part of being human for those of us who have been blessed enough to have the experience.

I sure hope Jesus was fortunate enough to have a little brother named James.

[Patrick McFarland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well thought out and exceptionally researched, Mr. Butz's book is infinitely more readable than Eisenman's "James the Brother of Jesus". My only objection (and it is a minor one), is that Butz seems to feel he must prove the same points over and over while quoting numerous biblical scholars (from every side of the issue) along the way. If one is writing a research paper on the subject, then a better book cannot be found but the definitive book on James for the general reader, at least in my opinion, remains unwritten.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bütz examines the character of James, the brother of Jesus (James the Just) and his role as leader of the Jerusalem Church from the crucifixion of Jesus, to James death in AD 67. An alternative Christianity is offered, one that emphasizes the Jewish roots of the movement, and suggests friction between James and Paul. Bütz utilizes this focus on Jewish Christianity to question the nature of orthodoxy and heresy in traditional Christianity.

[Guilherme Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introductory book on "James, the Just, Brother of the Lord". It is indeed surprising how very little is known about James. And how all references to him have been suppressed throughout history. Time well spent reading this book and definitely a great incentive on further readings on the subject.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must -read for all interested in early church hisotry. The author explores the marginalization of James and the rise in importance of Paul by early church leaders and th eprofound effect thi shad on the development of the Christian church.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about James in this book. Fascinating stuff. But His conclusion that recovering the true story about James could lead to some sort of unity between Christians, Muslims, and Jews doesn't make sense. Otherwise, a very thought-provoking book.

[Steven Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable and easy to follow. The topic of the historical Jesus and his family is fascinating. Mr. Butz has done his homework.

[Clay Mosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Recommended for the general reader interested in proto-Christianity.

[Kristi Duarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better books I've read on Jesus' brother James. Well researched and concise, and easy to read.