NEW YORK, February 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Christianity is among the most popular religions in the world today. However, many feel that the story of Jesus Christ is rife with inconsistencies, contradictions and striking similarities to stories of other spiritual figures. In his new book, Christianity: Truth or Fiction (now available through 1stBooks), William P. Douglas offers a thorough critique of the New Testament, using historical facts and the opinions of experts across the Christian spectrum of belief.
Douglas discusses nearly every event in Jesus Christ's life as it is depicted in the gospels. He includes Mary's virgin birth, Christ's baptism, crucifixion and resurrection. He shows how scholars and philosophers have rejected the claims of the literal interpretation of the New Testament and how it came to dominate. Douglas uses the lack of historical evidence about Jesus' existence and alternative explanations of the events of his life to illustrate this point. For example, when Jesus supposedly showed a high level of understanding in the temple when he was 12, he could have been preparing for his upcoming bar mitzvah, Douglas writes.
He has gathered similarities between the story of Jesus and many other godly figures in centuries prior to Jesus' life, going as far back as Egyptian times. These gods are often conceived by a virgin birth, visited by magi, born in a cave and crucified. Like Jesus, they also rise from the dead in many of the stories. Even the holy date of Dec. 25 can be traced to earlier spiritual tales.
The author also argues that the Jews had nothing to do with the death of Jesus but have been punished by the world because the "New Testament, to some extent, is an anti-Semitic document which resulted in the death of millions of Jews during the last 2,000 years."
Douglas earned a bachelor's degree and a law degree. His interest in the ethical teachings of religion and his legal approach for research led him to create this book on Christianity.
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