{"product_id":"the-invention-of-christianity-9798195293109","title":"The invention of Christianity","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Julian Markham\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat if Christianity did not begin the way most people were taught?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor nearly two thousand years, Christians have inherited a familiar story: Jesus preached the gospel, the apostles preserved his message, the New Testament recorded their witness, and the church carried that truth forward. But when the historical evidence is examined closely, the story becomes far more complicated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Invention of Christianity\u003c\/b\u003e argues that the religion practiced in Jesus's name was not a simple continuation of Jesus's own ministry, but a later theological transformation shaped most decisively by Paul of Tarsus. Jesus was a first-century Jewish apocalyptic teacher who preached the imminent Kingdom of God, addressed Israel, observed Torah, and called his people to repentance before God's coming intervention. Paul, by contrast, built a universal theology centered on faith in Christ, Gentile inclusion, freedom from the Jewish law, cosmic salvation, and the redemptive meaning of Jesus's death and resurrection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book does not argue that Jesus never existed. It does not deny that early resurrection belief emerged among his followers. It asks a sharper historical question: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDid Paul's theology transform a Jewish messianic movement into the global religion that became Christianity?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on mainstream historical scholarship, textual criticism, early Christian writings, canon history, and the contested diversity of the first centuries, Julian Markham examines: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhy the gospels are anonymous and were written decades after Jesus's death\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhy Paul's letters are the earliest Christian writings we possess\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ehow Paul's message differed from the teachings of the historical Jesus\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhy the Jerusalem church likely remained Torah-observant\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ehow disputes over Gentiles, circumcision, law, faith, and authority reshaped the movement\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ehow pseudepigraphical writings, excluded gospels, theological conflict, and imperial power shaped the New Testament canon\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhy modern Christianity bears Paul's fingerprint in worship, doctrine, sacraments, and salvation theology\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not a conspiracy theory. It is a historical investigation into how memory became tradition, tradition became doctrine, and doctrine became orthodoxy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten for believers, former believers, skeptics, pastors, students, and anyone willing to examine the origins of Christianity without fear, \u003cb\u003eThe Invention of Christianity\u003c\/b\u003e challenges readers to ask one central question: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIs the Christianity we inherited the religion Jesus preached, or the religion Paul built in his name?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLook carefully. Ask honestly. Then decide for yourself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47882896179351,"sku":"9798195293109","price":2371.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798195293109.webp?v=1781097862","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-invention-of-christianity-9798195293109","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}