Heretic: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God

by Catherine Nixey

Overview

"A brilliant book...illuminates a forgotten world." —The Times, Best of the Year

"Heretic tells a moreish intellectual story and shakes up your understanding of Western history. At the same time, somewhat improbably, it supplies at least one good joke per paragraph; you have to keep turning back to enjoy them again." ―The Economist, Best of the Year

From a celebrated classicist and author of The Darkening Age (“[a] ballista-bolt of a book”—New York Times Book Review), a biography of the many, diverse variations of Jesus who thrived in early Christian traditions—and how they were lost until just one “true” Christ survived.

Contrary to the teachings of the church today, in the first several centuries of Christianity’s existence, there was no consensus as to who Jesus was or why he had mattered. Instead, there were many different Christs. One had a twin brother and traveled to India; another consorted with dragons. One particularly terrifying Christ scorned his parents and killed those who opposed him.

Moreover, in the early years of the first millennium there were many other saviors, many sons of gods who healed the sick and cured the lame. But as Christianity spread, they were pronounced unacceptable – even heretical – and they faded from view.

Heretic unearths the different versions of Christ who existed in the minds of early Christians, and the process of evolution—and elimination—by which Jesus became the singular figure we know today. 

“Heretic has the mother lode of tales too hot for Christendom. Nixey has carefully wrung out a number of apocryphal texts for scandal.” —Harper's Magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358652915
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/03/2024
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Catherine Nixey studied classics at Cambridge and taught the subject for several years before becoming a journalist at the Times (UK), where she still works. Her mother was a nun, her father was a monk, and she was brought up Catholic. Author of The Darkening Age, she lives in London with her husband and their two children.

Editorial Reviews

"An irreverent reassessment of the Jesus stories." — The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik

“Heretic has the mother lode of tales too hot for Christendom. Nixey has carefully wrung out a number of apocryphal texts for scandal.”
— Harper's Magazine

"A brilliant book—sometimes frightening, occasionally funny, frequently unsettling and always a thrill to read. It probes painfully into the pathology of belief." — The Times (UK)

"Enthralling...Nixey handles all this diffuse and refractory material with aplomb and good sense...With style, wit and scholarship, Nixey shows how, 'had history tilted slightly, it could all have been very different. [Heretic] illuminates a forgotten world—and it's an absolute pleasure to read." — The Sunday Telegraph

“[A] scintillating history. . . . The author gives due to the diverse and fascinating yet sometimes invisible threads hidden in the history of Christianity, enriching her study with intriguing arcana and close analysis. The result is an illuminating reassessment of the world’s largest religion.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A thought-provoking look at a religiously tumultuous era." — Kirkus Reviews

"Unexpectedly relevant...Nixey speculates how differently Christianity might have developed otherwise, sharing tantalizing anecdotes of ancient Christian practices that were later reclassified as heretical." — Booklist

From the Publisher

2024-10-11
The early critics, and competitors, of Christianity.

Journalist Nixey delves into the sometimes scant evidence of the religious losers of early-Christian-era history. In doing so, the author clarifies the extent to which the Christian faith has evolved despite being, at one time, just one of a myriad of other similar belief systems in the Roman Empire and beyond. “The first century,” Nixey explains, “was in truth a century that was full of many lords, and saviours, and gods.” She brings to light the caustic criticisms of early anti-Christian authors, relying most heavily on second-century Greek philosopher Celsus as well as third-century philosopher Porphyry. Both authors are cited throughout the work and form a backdrop for the early Greco-Roman skepticism and hostility toward the burgeoning Christian faith. Nixey uses numerous examples to demonstrate that miracle healings, and even resurrection stories, were far from unique in the ancient world; in many cases, the tales of such miracle workers largely mirror the accounts of Jesus. She notes the widespread prevalence of the world of magic, arguing that early Christian stories and art borrow heavily from that aspect of ancient life. “Wherever Christianity travelled,” the author argues in her conclusion, “it changed, blending here with wizardry, there with sorcery; here with astronomy and astrology,” and so on. The lesser-told history of the faith involves a concerted effort by many in power to sanitize these aspects of Christian legend.

A thought-provoking look at a religiously tumultuous era.

Kirkus Reviews