The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom » (Reprint)

Timothy Freke (left) has an honors degree in philosophy and is the author of more than twenty books on world spirituality. He lectures and runs experiential seminars throughout the world exploring gnosis. For information, see timothyfreke.com. Peter Gandy (right) has an M.A. in classical civilization and is an internationally respected authority on the ancient Pagan Mysteries and early Christianity. Both Freke and Gandy live in England and are the authors of five previous books, including The Jesus Mysteries and Jesus and the Lost Goddess.

Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, authors of The Jesus Mysteries and Jesus and the Lost Goddess, return with a powerful indictment of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic fundamentalism and a passionate reinterpretation of Gnostic spirituality. According to Freke and Gandy, religiously inspired acts of violence, such as the attacks on 9/11, are nothing new. They are the continuation of a long and bloody history of brutality caused by mistaking bizarre old books for the Word of God. The time has come to end religious intolerance and wake up to oneness by rediscovering the Gnostic way of transforming oneself and the world.

Freke and Gandy's Incendiary New Book Is a Wake-Up Call to the World

What if the Old Testament is a work of fiction, Jesus never existed, and Muhammad was a mobster?

What if the Bible and the Qur'an are works of political propaganda created by Taliban-like fundamentalists to justify the sort of religious violence we are witnessing in the world today?

What if there is a big idea that could free us from the us-versus-them world created by religion and make it possible for us to truly love our neighbors-and even our enemies?

What if it is possible to awaken to a profound state of oneness and love, which the Gnostic Christians symbolized by the enigmatic figure of the laughing Jesus?

Discover for Yourself Why the Gnostic Jesus Laughs

Library Journal

In their latest collaboration (after Jesus and the Lost Goddess), Freke and Gandy announce a crusade to do away with the alleged "lies" of institutional religion based on inaccurate history and the literal interpretation of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Scriptures. In Part 1, "The Bathwater," which draws on both classic and unconventional sources, they argue that the fundamentalist branches of these religions created an us-vs.-them mentality that led up to 9/11. In Part 2, "The Baby," spirituality becomes the answer to religion as the authors promote their form of Gnosticism. Freke and Gandy end with "A Philosophical Workout" of exercises to promote unitive consciousness. The problem with this book is its stereotyping of the religions addressed, and, in the name of Oneness, its proclaiming a dualism of literalism vs. Gnosticism. While it will rub many readers the wrong way, it may appeal to New Agers who view themselves as spiritual rather than religious; recommended for libraries serving that audience.-Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Univ., Farmville, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.