In Why Christians are wrong about Jesus by John W Campbell, we get a rational account from many historians, universal and independent, who have analyzed the Bible’s story of the life of Jesus. The basis of Campbell's argument is that while Jesus lived and preached, none of his activities were written down at the time and the memoirs were penned over twenty years after his death, followed by further gospels forty and sixty years later. He provides many instances where the gospels contradict each other, while on other occasions they are carbon copies of the story. He also extrapolates that the prophecies of the Messiah coming to earth taken from the Old Testament were cherry-picked and made to fit the facts in retrospect. The translations of the biblical texts vary from Hebrew to Greek, and further language versions have often been inaccurate. Even the King James version from 1611 underwent over four hundred further changes in 1807. From his extensive research into both Jewish and Christian tracts, Campbell suggests that Jesus was intent on preaching only to the Jews and urged his followers to continue the practices passed down from the time of Moses. He also mentions how much of what Christians have been taught such as the end of the crucifixion, the empty tomb, and the rising from the dead can be debunked with simple psychology and modern research from internationally renowned experts in their field.

The very title Why Christians are wrong about Jesus by John W Campbell is intriguing, and I was keen to read his story. Can so many millions of people believe something that cannot be traced as factual? From the information, painstakingly collated, it appears there are huge discrepancies. The first part of the story has many quotes from the Old Testament, and I wondered if Campbell was Jewish as he knows so much about their religion; but no, the biography at the end describes him as being brought up as a Christian and then losing his faith. I learned so much: the early years of the new religion; the infighting of the different sects; Paul versus Peter, James and John; and the desperate scramble for each party to gather together as many followers as possible. Paul focused on preaching to the Gentiles, allowing them to disregard Jewish practices, while other factions stuck closely to the ancient laws. Campbell uncovers that Paul introduced baptism and the eucharist as Christians practice it today and changed the significance of Jesus’ resurrection which, Campbell maintains, were not found in the teachings of Jesus. It is difficult to read and absorb the information without having deep doubts about the authenticity of large parts of the Bible. Historically, information has been lost, mistold, or deliberately distorted which leaves the basis of Christian belief firmly in the realm of faith.

In Why Christians are wrong about Jesus, John W. Campbell discusses what he considers to be wrong about Christians’ knowledge of Jesus. He begins by discussing the origin of the name Jesus and how Christ came to follow it. Subsequently, he talks about the concept of a messiah in Jewish religious texts and how Jesus did not fit those criteria. He writes about alternative explanations for Jesus’s resurrection. He says the teachings of Christianity have little resemblance to those of the historical Jesus. Throughout the book, he draws attention to the fact that Christianity is based not on Jesus’s word, but rather on its interpretations by his followers. These interpretations were modified over several years and were heavily influenced by the needs of the interpreters and the times.

In Why Christians are wrong about Jesus, Campbell approaches the titular question with a scientific spirit. He spends some time explaining to us how historical texts are usually interpreted and asserts that religious texts should be no exception. He mentions that since there is little archaeological evidence of Jesus’s time; we have to rely solely on a critical analysis of the available literature of the era. He underscores the importance of first-person accounts and contemporary documentation in a true understanding of historical facts and bemoans the absence of such texts in the case of Jesus.

John W. Campbell tries to approach all the interpretations of holy texts as a historian. He systematically lists the places where he notes discrepancies and offers alternative scientific explanations. Despite the highly controversial topic, Campbell’s intent appears to be to encourage dialogue as he expresses his differing opinion on this historically important topic. Anyone interested in the history of Christianity should make it a point to read this extensively researched book.