THE FIRST COMING

Rating:
Summary: Ideas not novel but presented well
Review: There has always been speculation on how an obscure Jewish sage who lived 2,000 years ago became the object of a religion that has changed mankind more than any social movement in history. Even more interesting is how little we actually know for sure - his parentage, city of birth, actual teaching or why he was killed. Without any external historical references, we are left with only the New Testament, a series of writings composed from 40-65 years after Jesus's death, none by eye witnesses.

Sheehan has attempted to explain how a Jewish peasant evolved into God within a century. He starts, like many Bibical critics, noting the discrepancy between date of composition and order of presentation in the New Testament. Paul's letters came first, then Mark, Matthew, Luke/Acts and finally John. One can easily trace the growth in stature following this line of evidence.

Paul knew nothing of the physical man. He never believed in a physical resurrection, preaching that some raised did not have a physical body like us but a spiritual one. No mention of God's son or being a God.

Mark (next) starts with the adult man. Luke and Matthew, written some 80 years after his birth contained the Nativity and early life. John, completed toward the end of the century opens with the stirring "In the Beginning was the Word". We are at the beginning of the Universe and there is Jesus and God as one.

We follow the evolutionary streams as words are changed, ideas added, ancient prophecies are quoted out of context and at last Jesus is judged God by a political convocation. Interesting, Sheehan finds all the talk of a coming Kingdom as the kernel of the teachings. This is Jesus's revolutionary message - that the kingdom of God is internal and can exist now, not some mystical future. That's a stretch but still a good read.