Jesus Lied - He Was Only Human: Debunking The New Testament

by C.J. Werleman

'Jesus Lied. He Was Only Human' is arguably the most comprehensive and exhaustive debunking of the Christian myth on bookshelves today. Like a forensic accountant, Werleman meticulously pulls apart the New Testament thread-by-thread until the greatest lie ever told is exposed for all to see.Werleman not only reveals the suffering Jesus caused his early followers, he cleverly demonstrates that the New Testament is brim full with contradictory views, conflicting accounts, historical flaws, and irreconcilable discrepancies. Comprehensive. Funny. Entertaining. Engaging. A must read for anyone who wants to silence their evangelical friend."C.J. Werleman is a warrior for truth and a liberator against superstition. Jesus Lied is his slap across the face of biblical literalism." -Sean Hoade 'Darwin's Dreams'"This book is an all out undermining assault on an old cult that needs to exit stage left. Werleman lights a fire underneath a historically flawed religion. A must read." - Alex Wilhelm 'In Praise of Christopher Hitchens'"With this book, CJ has rightfully earned the title of atheism's preeminent 'blue collar intellectual'. No one has successfully brought down a religious faith as comprehensively and meticulously as he." - Tim Hawken 'Hellbound'

Genres: Religion, Atheism, Nonfiction, Philosophy, History, Christianity

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Todd Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the bible were true C.J. Werleman would assuredly be headed to hell for his irreverent blasphemy ... but, as he so effectively demonstrates, the inerrant word of god is a confused mess of contradictions, fairy-tales, errors and falsehoods. In Jesus Lied - He Was Only Human: Debunking the New Testament Werleman takes a perverse pleasure in pointing out all the ways the new testament makes absolutely no sense, and as befits a solemn work of antiquity, he does so with scathing sarcasm and humor.

Despite the apparent lack of seriousness, Werleman has an excellent understanding of the material and uses his knowledge to turn the words of the bible against itself to devastating effect.

[Book Shark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Lied - He was only Human: Debunking the New Testament by CJ Werleman

Mr. Werleman does it again but even better. What an entertaining, irreverent yet profound book. The author (CJ) is able to tackle an interesting but difficult topic with ease while inserting jokes...and guess what, it worked!

Positives:
1. All jokes aside, this is an outstanding and thoroughly researched book.
2. CJ makes sound, cogent arguments against biblical veracity. Case in point, "if evolution is indeed the evidence based fact that it is, then Adam and Eve never existed and Jesus' death is, by reverse logic, made irrelevant." Interesting...
3. Debunks popular superstitions like prayer through the use of reason and sound logic.
4. Some great questions get answered to my satisfaction. As an example, did Jesus have any intentions of starting a new non-Hebrew religion? What set Christianity apart from other religions? Just an appetizer...
5. You will have a better understanding on who wrote the New Testament.
6. The most important biblical controversies tackled head on.
7. The great sense of humor breaks up what could have been yet another dry scholarly biblical lecture.
8. Great explanations regarding the difference between the Gospels.
9. Great insights on failed prophecies.
10. Interesting tidbits of knowledge sprinkled throughout the book.
11. Zombies...yes zombies.
12. The true impact of Paul and some surprising insights.
13. The "chilling" facts of hell.
14. Great quotes from many freethinkers, including a personal favorite, Bertrand Russell.
15. Fun, educational and a quick read. It's a concise book of about 240 pages.

Negatives:
1. Yes some of the jokes may be in bad taste (toilet humor) and some people will have a problem with it.
2. If you are a believer be prepared, this book will test the fabric of your beliefs. If you are open minded, it will have an impact and that's no joke. This may be considered a positive point, it just depends what comes as a result of it.

In summary, this is a surprisingly excellent book. It is interesting, gritty, compelling, witty and funny yet it never compromises on its ultimate goal...to debunk Christian myths. I can't recommend this book enough.

[Marjorie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d like to say that this book should be essential reading for anyone who thinks they are a Christian, in the hope that they would understand that the book they base their beliefs on couldn’t and shouldn’t be the Bible, because it’s not what it claims to be. But they wouldn’t believe me because that’s faith for you, to hang on to the impossible, however improbable it is.

I admire people who are that sincere in their unshakable beliefs, but I am also amazed by them. Once upon a time we were those people too. Then we realised that the Bible could not possibly be the divine and holy words of an infallible and loving God but a mishmash of writings and editings by many humans. This book explains that in far more detail than we could ever have imagined.

This book just covers the four gospels, the context in which they were written, how the beliefs of the early followers of Christ changed over time, as it became clear He wasn’t returning in their lifetime, and how the various sects and various writers started “enhancing” the story to fit with their changing beliefs and their own agendas, becoming more “prophetic” (that is, twisting Old Testament texts completely out of their original context to fit their hopes - Matthew) and later, vague and mystical (and less specific - John).

Then, a few centuries later, some different humans, with an agenda of their own, had the job of deciding what texts conveyed a coherent(ish) message, and what other, equally believable (or equally unbelievable) texts were so different that they should be ignored.

“And the Bible was created; a collection of books sanctioned by a bunch of old white men with questionable motives”

Divine writings indeed!

Ignore the reviewers who point out a few typos and grammar issues. I spotted them, as others have. But believe me, they don’t get in the way of the writing and are not numerous, or particularly annoying. I work with words for a living, so if I can live with them in this book, so can you, if you are thinking of reading it!

[Joshua Coyne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Any person that blames the reader of the articall for a mass shooting is someone that only stokes the fire. It is a sad day when guilt is used towards the readers in order to push a political agenda. It also shows the ignorance of the writer and his hatred of the very people he writes for. I would only classify his work as propaganda to push a liberal(if you can really call it that) agenda. If you want to feel like your being scolded by your parents then this is the author for you

[Tieu uyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nêu lên sự mâu thuẫn, bất đồng nhất trong Tân Ước. Đưa Jesus trở lại hình dáng và tính cách người vốn dĩ Dê su có: ích kỷ, thù dai, thiển cận và đạo đức giả, tuyền nói láo về đức tin kèm thêm đấy là hứa hẹn vô tội vạ...
Để hiểu thêm chút chút về Tân ước thì đọc cũng được.

[eddie street · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unholy crap

Yet another poorly argued and badly researched pile of crap. I'm not gonna try to refute the author's claims because they're pants. This book doesn't offend me because I am a Christian but because I am a thinker.

[Jimmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't really work for me. I debated on whether or not to read it and I wish I wouldn't have - too irreverent for the subject matter.

[Rory Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starting with CS Lewis’ view that Jesus was either a Liar, Lunatic or Lord, the author insists that Jesus was a liar. That is a rather contentious claim when much of the book is also arguing the unreliability of our primary sources of information about Jesus. If the gospels are so unreliable, and the author has no other sources of information, then how on earth can he know that Jesus is a liar?

One set of problems in the book are caused by questionable biblical interpretations. For example, the author cites a ‘…smoking gun slam dunking your false prophet…’ (6%) because Jesus said that this generation will not pass until all is fulfilled (Mt 24.34). Yet Jesus’ mission isn’t finished and people have actually died. So Jesus was wrong… But there is a very simple reply to that point, a reply which Christians have been giving for at least a thousand years. When Jesus hung on the cross he said that his mission was complete. This is also why Jesus was not lying when he said that not one iota of the Jewish law would change, until all was accomplished.

Generally, where the book cites alleged disproofs of Jesus and the New Testament, it is often repeating anti-Christian claims that have been made since the earliest days of Christianity. In the last 1500 years various standard Christian replies have emerged, but none of them are considered in the book.

Other odd claims in the book seem to confuse parables with doctrine. Thus, Jesus is depicted as saying ‘bring my enemies here and kill them in front of me (Luke 19,27). But those are the words of a character in a parable, ie not Jesus’ view. And so that means that there is no justification for the book accusing Jesus of being ‘bipolar’ because he also taught ‘love your enemies’ (55%).

Elsewhere in the book there are factual errors. For example, the council of Nicaea is said to have selected the texts of the bible (17%). Historical records of the Council of Nicaea provide no evidence for that claim.

The author makes much of discrepancies between the gospels. Some of those alleged discrepancies are arguably non-existent. Different gospels record different last words of Jesus. Or they record different dialogue with the criminals on their crosses. Those aren’t necessarily discrepancies. They could just as easily be described as different (incomplete) bits of a bigger picture.

Where there are genuine disagreements between the gospels, Christians can even say that there may be a good reason for that. For example, modern Psychology has shown that genuine eye-witnesses often disagree about elements of a common experience. So, discrepancy can be a sign of authenticity, rather than a disproof. But the author doesn’t even consider that point.

In fairness it should be recognized that since the origins of Nineteenth Century Liberal Protestant biblical scholarship, a number of genuine questions have emerged for modern Christians. Some of those questions are included in this book. But the book is so antagonistic that it does not represent an appropriately objective source, from which to fairly and accurately pursue such questions.

Overall, this is a book with problematic content. Its style of expression is also problematic, using swearing and phrases that some readers may find gratuitously offensive. For example, it describes the Christian God as a ‘villainous old sod’(1%). This is not a book to be recommended.

[Natasha Holme · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved CJ Werleman’s first book, God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of the Bible. But with this one it was hard to get beyond the insulting schoolboy sexist ‘humour.’ Werleman writes to a male audience. More than half of the world’s population is female. Sort it out! He makes frequent gratuitous references to ‘whores.’ He throws in a bit of racism too (penis size by race, wearing a tea cozy on your head ...).

Almost as distracting was the extraordinary number of typos (in the Kindle version, anyway). It all makes for an uncomfortable read.

If Werleman got an editor and removed the juvenile nonsense, the informational content of this book would shine.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic. I can understand that C.J. Werleman hates religions, but his writing style, especially his choice of language makes this book sound ridiculous, unscientific, childish even. Could've done better. Oh and by the way: The author lied too. Because while the title makes it sound as if jesus existed, but was merely a human being, in his book he argues that jesus didn't exist at all.

[Thomas Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is poorly researched. The bibliography only lists one biblical scholar. He does not serriously engage any Christian Biblical scholar, theologian, philosopher, or historian in this book. There are multiple straw man arguments, nonsequiters, and incomplete sentences. This book has no scholarly or intellectual value.

[Gregory Klages · Rating 2 out of 5]

Derivative and at times, unfortunately juvenile. Certainly, an interesting topic, but the merits are outweighed by the shortcomings.

For those who like to read on the toilet, this is ideal. For others, pick up works by someone more professional, such as Bart Ehrman.

[BethK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully irreverent look at Christianity and Biblical sayings.

[ToNo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new, a few salient points but spoilt by foul language.
And no, I am not straight laced or a Christian.

[Azrael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice comprehension of how f-ed up and incomprehensible the Bible truly is.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely convinced me that Christianity cannot be true.

[Bakari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read the Bible in several years — and probably won't do so anytime soon —, but CJ Werleman’s Jesus Lied provides the type of close reading of the Synoptic Gospels that I never got when reading the Bible in my early college days.

With humor and critical scholarship (not of the dry kind), Werleman explains the contradictions, fallacies, and varying interpretations of Jesus's so-called life, and most importantly how the Gospels were far from harmonized. For example he shows how the more than 70 anti-Semitic references in the Book of John are the root cause of anti-Semitism throughout history, which is information and analysis I quite honestly was never aware of, but should have been. He shows how odd it is that the founder of the Christian church, Paul, had little or nothing to say about Jesus's life, though he possibly was a contemporary of Jesus, and scholarship shows that he actually wrote his biblical texts before Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John.

More importantly Werleman shows that if Jesus did in indeed exist, his ministry and prophecies are based on an apocalyptic cult, in which he constantly talked about people living in internal damnation (one of many examples: “Death is just the commencement of true suffering should you not heed the bullshit frothing from my mouth.”–haha, Werleman’s paraphrasing.) if they did not believe in him, and his equally barbaric godfather.

My review can't even do justice to the scholarship and analysis that Werleman provides in his book. Interestingly much of this history and analysis is also provided in Bert Ehrman’s How Jesus Became God, but Ehrman can't decide if he believes in Jesus or not — he’s agnostic when it comes to God. I found it very frustrating to read Ehrman’s book, and thus couldn’t wait to get my hands on Jesus Lied — this based on my previous reading of Werelman’s first book, God Hates You, Hate Him Back.

If you read Jesus Lied, pay particular attention to chapter 13, “The Gospels on Why Jesus Had to Die.” I've been asking the question for years, what difference did it make that Jesus died and rose from the dead? His death and resurrection doesn't seem to have changed much of anything, and as miraculous as it was supposed to be, there are no other sources outside of the Bible that mention the event. Human beings are no better off because of his suppose it sacrifice, which also begs the question, why did he have to be sacrificed? If he was sent it to “pay the price of our sins,” then who in the hell was the price being paid to? Why does God, the author of the entire fucking universe, need his “only begotten son” to die a bloody damn death on the cross? That kind of death and sacrifice doesn't in any way compare to the creation and complexities of the universe. The two events are trillions of miles apart in comparison. The notion of a sacrifice, if it ever happened should be utterly embarrassing to the so-called creator.

The reason I will probably never reread the Bible is because it is mostly a bunch of ancient, mythological stories propagated by god-fearing, ethnocentric, so-called prophets and ministers. Like most religious doctrines, the whole-life after-death scenario is used to scare people into living a righteous life, and supporting religious leaders and demagogues. It's utterly embarrassing that we have allowed these religious texts to have such a deep influence over our culture and sense of humanity. Enough this bullshit, it’s time to grow up.

If you're an atheist, you owe it to yourself to read this book, because it provides the type of arguments you want to use when discussing religious text with Jesus believers. If you are believer, you should also read this book to see if you can counter the analysis that Werleman makes. He should definitely have you going back to the Bible and reading the Gospels more carefully. If you're not willing to do that, you honestly don't have any knowledge of what you believe in.

One last point I want to make is that Werleman closes his book with a chapter titled, “Did Jesus Exist?”, which I think is a question Ehrman should reconsider. Werleman finds the question difficult to answer, but he at least raises it, and he points to sources that attempt to answer the question. The more I read and think on this question, I’m beginning to conclude that Jesus was quite possibly a fictional character, or if he did exist, the reports about him are so saturated with myth, as Werleman’s book points out, that it’s difficult to draw any factual evidence and conclusion about his life. Many of us do know however, that Jesus certainly was no god in flesh, and his dead ass won’t ever be returning to earth “riding atop a white fluffy cloud (really!) in order to bring judgement upon mankind.”

[Deb Lancaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly irritating writing style. Jokes are dreadful. But it covers all the obvious. Interesting to see the author clearly wrote it around the time Obama was voted in and speaks of hope that the US has learned the damage caused from slavish right wing Christian Conservatism. How I laughed from 2021.

[Dan Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Werleman delivers what he promises. A complete an utter debunking of the New Testament which no intellectually honest individual could possibly refute. Of course, this kind of book really doesn't appeal to believers and that's a shame.

Werleman tries to make the case study in Biblical nonsense more colorful by adding jokes and witty translations of New Testament passages but they mostly fall flat These make the author appear to be trying too hard to entertain when he really doesn't have to. The subject matter is interesting enough on its own to keep the reader hooked.

Additionally, in some passages the language he uses to ridicule believers makes him come across as your stereotypical angry atheist. If by some chance a Christian were to pick up this book, insulting them is probably not a particularly good way to get them to keep reading.

Overall a supremely convincing case that more people need to be privy too.

[Vladimir · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a thorough, well-researched debunking of the New Testament, and although it doesn't break any new ground, it does a very good job of compiling different scholarly resources and presenting them in relative order of magnitude. Sadly, the author seems to suffer from a borderline psychotic urge to insult all Christian believers, and not in the intellectually delectable manner of Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens, but through toilet humour, 8th-grade insults and every conceivable sort of profanity, which makes the book self-defeating. I can only hope that Mr. Werleman plans to tackle Islam in the same way for his next opus, as there seem to be precious few examples of exegesis (let alone execration) of the world's second-biggest religion in Western publishing. That wouldn't make his style any less distasteful, but it would show a degree of actual courage.

[Danns · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough book to review on some levels. I love religion and history, especially dealing with Christianity. This book does a good job of reviewing some contemporary historical and scholarly research, but the manner this delivers comes into question. The author is an unapologetic atheist and has no qualms issuing statements to insult those of faith. There were many times I cringed at his humor, that I did. More often than not he did make an effort to be offensive. To me that took a bit away from the book.

Had he presented the theories and research without the profanity I probably would have rated the book higher, but then again, what should one expect from the title of the book?

Why is it I cringe at this kind of profane humor directed a religions?

[Dusten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most who would benefit from examining some of the arguments C.J. Werleman presents will never do so as they'll see the general tone in this book as being too crass. But, nonetheless, I've always figured if you are afraid of seeing an alternative viewpoint, it's probably because there is some insecurity in your own viewpoint.

[brian miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME

funny and entertaining yet very informative.a must read for Christians who are unsure of their faith.this book will help you to finally see the truth that Christianity is a bunch of bs.

[Jazz Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus Lied tries to make sense of the Bible. The arguments are convincing enough to put one on the path to atheism, at the very least to read up more about what could really have happened 2000 years ago.

[Victor Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and somewhat scholarly account of the myth of Jesus Christ

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

VERY informative and interesting but could have been structured a little better. Still a great read for people who live their life according to The Bible but have yet to actually read it.

[Denise]

Had to read this after I finished Werleman's previous work, God Hates You, Hate Him Back. This book focuses on Christianity and the New Testament and the oft overlooked discrepancies therein.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear and concise account of the contradictions and myths surrounding the worlds most popular cult. Attempts at humour are a bit lame though.

[Graham Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed. It started off well then really took the bible literally - which makes it a very easy target!