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Inventing Jesus: History’s Greatest Lie
Many people will not like this book because it challenges belief but what if the man who changed the world… never existed at all? Inventing History’s Greatest Lie rips apart 2,000 years of tradition, exposing the silence of history, the fabrication of the Gospels, and the myth-making machinery that built a god out of nothing. Believe it, doubt it, or burn it—but you won’t forget it.
History tells us Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee. Churches tell us he died for our sins. Billions believe it without question. But what if the man never existed? What if the greatest story ever told… was never a story at all?
From the deafening absence of Jesus in the historical record to the crafted illusions of the Gospels, this book rips away the gold leaf of sacred tradition and exposes the bare wood beneath. Step inside the marketplace of ancient gods, where dying-and-rising saviors were as common as the coins that bought their temples. Follow the trail of “evidence” outside the Bible—and watch it crumble.
Here, belief is not just faith. It’s a social force, a political weapon, and a global brand. The 21st-century Jesus is a chameleon—one moment the face of peace, the next the rallying cry for war. In the clash between Christianity and Islam, in the desperate human need to crown gods over our own lives, the figure of Jesus becomes both shield and sword.
This is the book that dares to ask the question history’s gatekeepers hope you’ll never What if we invented him?
It’s a reckoning, a challenge, and a dare. Believe it, doubt it, or burn it—but you will not forget it.
History tells us Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee. Churches tell us he died for our sins. Billions believe it without question. But what if the man never existed? What if the greatest story ever told… was never a story at all?
From the deafening absence of Jesus in the historical record to the crafted illusions of the Gospels, this book rips away the gold leaf of sacred tradition and exposes the bare wood beneath. Step inside the marketplace of ancient gods, where dying-and-rising saviors were as common as the coins that bought their temples. Follow the trail of “evidence” outside the Bible—and watch it crumble.
Here, belief is not just faith. It’s a social force, a political weapon, and a global brand. The 21st-century Jesus is a chameleon—one moment the face of peace, the next the rallying cry for war. In the clash between Christianity and Islam, in the desperate human need to crown gods over our own lives, the figure of Jesus becomes both shield and sword.
This is the book that dares to ask the question history’s gatekeepers hope you’ll never What if we invented him?
It’s a reckoning, a challenge, and a dare. Believe it, doubt it, or burn it—but you will not forget it.
122 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2025
About the author
Anthony Bailey
199 books8 followersAnthony Bailey (born 1933) was a British non-fiction writer, and art historian.
He was evacuated to Dayton, Ohio, in 1940 during World War II. For many years he was a writer for the New Yorker magazine.
He died of corona virus in Colchester, Essex, which he contracted whilst in hospital for hip surgery after a fall at his home.
He lived in Mersea Island, near Colchester, Essex, with his wife Margot. They have four daughters: Liz, Annie, Katie and Rachel.
His obituary in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/bo...
He was evacuated to Dayton, Ohio, in 1940 during World War II. For many years he was a writer for the New Yorker magazine.
He died of corona virus in Colchester, Essex, which he contracted whilst in hospital for hip surgery after a fall at his home.
He lived in Mersea Island, near Colchester, Essex, with his wife Margot. They have four daughters: Liz, Annie, Katie and Rachel.
His obituary in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/bo...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 1, 2025
Bottom line: I agree with the basic conclusion, that the Jesus of the Bible likely was probably a faked construct of older myths. I’ve known this for many years.
That said, I was expecting a book with some factual substance to it.
Maybe some “evidences” of something/anything?
Then the storytelling - I don’t know what annoyed me more: the fake “flashbacks” (imagine a scribe in a dimly lit room…)
Or the political ranting in the middle of the book that seemed to basically show that the author apparently leans very far left.
I didn’t want to read it for a political agenda.
I wanted to read historical FACTS as either proven or unproven.
I gave it 1 star. I may have given it 2 if it weren’t for one of other of the above issues.
This isn’t a book with educational enlightenment. It’s simply one man’s opinion. (One that I DO mostly agree with in principle.)
BUT - What I expected was a more educational discussion of actual facts.
This is not that book.
That said, I was expecting a book with some factual substance to it.
Maybe some “evidences” of something/anything?
Then the storytelling - I don’t know what annoyed me more: the fake “flashbacks” (imagine a scribe in a dimly lit room…)
Or the political ranting in the middle of the book that seemed to basically show that the author apparently leans very far left.
I didn’t want to read it for a political agenda.
I wanted to read historical FACTS as either proven or unproven.
I gave it 1 star. I may have given it 2 if it weren’t for one of other of the above issues.
This isn’t a book with educational enlightenment. It’s simply one man’s opinion. (One that I DO mostly agree with in principle.)
BUT - What I expected was a more educational discussion of actual facts.
This is not that book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review