I Am Christ: The Crucifixion – Painful Truths, puts both belief and in particular, the Christian belief-system, under the microscope of the social-psychologist, the neuroscientist, the historian, the archaeologist, the biblical scholar and the philosopher, to reveal what most sane people should already know. Belief is not by virtue of itself, the truth and there often exists a vast chasm between what we believe to be true and what is actually true.
Available at:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-am-christ-michael-sherlock/1112903615?ean=9781936185801
Abe Books:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=michael+sherlock&sts=t&tn=I+am+christ
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Am-Christ-Michael-Sherlock/dp/1936185806
Here is a review by Professor Emeritus, Dr. Rick Herrick, author of 'The Case Against Evangelical Christianity.'
I am mad at Michael Sherlock. For the last few years I have been planning to
write a book entitled "Beyond Belief", and he has beaten me to the punch.
Sherlock's book, I Am Christ, is a thorough going attack on Christianity as a
belief system. The really maddening thing is that he does it so well.
In
the book, Sherlock analyzes each of the four gospels, presenting evidence that
shows they were not eyewitness accounts, nor credible history. The
contradictions both within a particular gospel and between them are many. At the
end of the book, he analyzes the evidence for the historical Jesus. From the
meager sources we have, it is hard to locate the Jesus of history.
There
is an important purpose for his analysis. According to Sherlock, Christianity as
a religion has failed to make the world a better place. In fact, the Christian
religion has been a major cause of world problems such as global violence and
anti-Semitism.
Even more important, Christianity as a belief system has
put millions of people to sleep. A major theme in Sherlock's book is that belief
systems of all stripes deafen and blind people. They close people's minds, which
prevents them from learning new information. They provide a subjective road map
of reality rather than a map of reality itself. In a nutshell, belief systems
prevent people from seeing the truth.
This is an important book. It is
well written and argued. My only problem with the book is the title, I Am
Christ. The title suggests that each individual is his or her own savior. We
save ourselves when we learn to think on our own, free from the prejudices,
distortions, and the deadening numbness of belief.
The problem is that
the book is not really a how-to manifesto on becoming a free thinker. Yes, some
suggestions are made in that direction, but the main thrust of the book is a
well researched attack on the foundations of the Christian belief system. I want
you to read that attack. It is so well done. Don't let the title confuse, turn
you off, or scare you.
In the book, Sherlock analyzes each of the four gospels, presenting evidence that shows they were not eyewitness accounts, nor credible history. The contradictions both within a particular gospel and between them are many. At the end of the book, he analyzes the evidence for the historical Jesus. From the meager sources we have, it is hard to locate the Jesus of history.
There is an important purpose for his analysis. According to Sherlock, Christianity as a religion has failed to make the world a better place. In fact, the Christian religion has been a major cause of world problems such as global violence and anti-Semitism.
Even more important, Christianity as a belief system has put millions of people to sleep. A major theme in Sherlock's book is that belief systems of all stripes deafen and blind people. They close people's minds, which prevents them from learning new information. They provide a subjective road map of reality rather than a map of reality itself. In a nutshell, belief systems prevent people from seeing the truth.
This is an important book. It is well written and argued. My only problem with the book is the title, I Am Christ. The title suggests that each individual is his or her own savior. We save ourselves when we learn to think on our own, free from the prejudices, distortions, and the deadening numbness of belief.
The problem is that the book is not really a how-to manifesto on becoming a free thinker. Yes, some suggestions are made in that direction, but the main thrust of the book is a well researched attack on the foundations of the Christian belief system. I want you to read that attack. It is so well done. Don't let the title confuse, turn you off, or scare you.
