Book excerpt: Jesus is seen as a representative of an ancient and continuing wisdom tradition identified with that of the Sufis. By his distinctive use of stories for teaching purposes, his sayings, and what the Sufis call 'action-teachings', including those actions known as 'miracles', Jesus is shown to have been quintessentially a Sufi master. Max Gorman shows how Sufism illuminates from within concepts central to Christianity: the kingdom of Heaven, son of God, baptism, resurrection - which can then be seen as states and stages in an evolutionary philosophy.This new edition of the classic work includes a new chapter on Gnosis.