Book excerpt: Eminently readable historical treatment of the Jesus Movement in First Century context. Vividly describes the life and death of Jesus and how his charismatic teaching became a worldwide religion; how Jesus the man became Jesus the Christ. Plus the heroic Jewish fight against despotic Roman rule and the violent separation of Christianity from Judaism. The reader encounters the ancient land of Palestine, King Herod’s incestuous family, fascinating legends surrounding Christianity’s birth, the wanderings and violent deaths of the 12 apostles, the mysterious Cross Gospel and Secret Gospel of Mark and a strange writing called Q. Separate chapters spotlight two shames of Christianity. Christian Sexism portrays the denigration of women from co-equal disciples of Jesus to permanent second-class status. Christian Anti-Semitism begins with the Gospels of Mark and John and the letters of Paul and highlights centuries of conflict between the Jewish people and the Roman Catholic Church. An appendix sorts out today’s confusing proliferation of versions of the New Testament, explaining their origins and detailing both serious and humorous textual differences. Helps answer the question of which version to use.