Stolen Identity: The Conspiracy to Reinvent Jesus

by Peter R. Jones

Written by one of the co-authors of Cracking Da Vinci's Code, this approachable book compares the ideas of the Gnostic Jesus and the biblical Jesus. In Gnosticism, Jesus is not really human or divine. Rather he is spiritual, like all true Gnostic believers. But in the Gospels, Jesus Christ shows characteristics of humanity, including tiredness, anger, and suffering. He knows human weakness firsthand.

Through this treatise, Jones shows us that our Savior can be personally known. He is not a cold and distant icon of religion, rather, he is a very real advocate and friend who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

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Genres: Christian

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Peter Jones (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is the author of many books, including One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference, The God of Sex: How Spirituality Defines Your Sexuality, and The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy for the New Age. He is the executive director of truthXchange and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Reviews

[Cassie Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In today’s Christian environment, there is a lot of debate about who Jesus is and what he did for us. But this phenomenon isn’t new. Back in 300-400 A.D., many people were led astray by a different Jesus than that of the Bible. This Gnosticism culminated in over fifty scrolls written about a different Jesus than was written about in the Bible, and those scrolls were found in Egypt. Now translated, these scrolls pint a picture of Jesus that is both confusing and yet popular in today’s postmodern world.

In this book, author Peter Jones breaks down what these Gnostic texts say about Jesus and various aspects of his life, death, and resurrection. He then describes the biblical Jesus and what canonical scripture says about him. As he paints the pictures of both Gnostic Jesus and biblical Jesus, it becomes increasingly clear that they are vastly different, meaning that both cannot be right at the same time. But which is true?

Jones does a great job of detailing the beliefs of the two systems, even though the Gnostic beliefs are confusing (purposefully written so, apparently). His insight about the various aspects of the differing religions is interesting and informative, and he offers a choice at the end as well as describing the reasons for his own choice. If you’re confused about the two different Jesus figures in today’s culture, or if you want to know more about the distortions that have crept in since the scrolls were discovered, this is the book for you, though the Gnostic sections are a bit difficult to understand.

[Sara Christians · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful work of Apologetics, I thoroughly enjoyed Jones's format of comparing the Gnostic Jesus to the Biblical Jesus through so many essential topics of Christian doctrine. Though a very confusing subject, Jones provides much needed clarity and exposes the connection between "new spirituality" and ancient pagan mysticism, clearly showing that it is completely incompatible with Christianity