I have always been fascinated by the theories and stories about Jesus Christ and other things pertaining to religion. The two other books in the picture are books relating to the life of Jesus, Freemasonry and the temples of Solomon. These two books are not so fiction. The writers are both religious scholars who have explored various sources and texts. It's the readers prerogative how they would take the contents of these two books. These two were like historical fiction books for me. It had in no way affected or changed my belief.
The Murdered Messiah is much like the two books - The Hiram Key and The Book of Hiram. This book chronicles the life of Jesus Christ. The events that lead to his birth, to his crucifixion and resurrection.
This was probably the longest book I have ever read. In some parts, the pace was slow. I had to resort to reading two other short stories in between so I would not lose interest in this book. But overall, this was a very interesting read. I think, this theory of Jesus Christ's birth and conception is not very far fetch. I think this could be the most plausible and the nearest explanation to the mystery of Christ. I am a Catholic and reading this book had in no way affected my faith or belief at all, just like the two other books mentioned above. I am just glad or relieved or maybe thankful that someone was brave enough to write his theory relating to the events and assumptions of the life of Christ.
I love Joseph's character. He was a man of his word. He still married Miriam (Mary), in spite of what other people think and say, solely because he loved her. It was probably the most unselfish thing to do. To love and accept someone, including all her flaws and baggage. I'd prefer this version of Joseph over the one we popularly knew who did not want to marry Mary and wanted to break the engagement.
The most interesting part of this book was how Judas' character was portrayed. I liked how he was not totally made out to be the bad link in the chain of Jesus' ministry. He was flawed but he was indeed a follower of Joshua (Jesus). His actions and decisions were understandable, knowing where he was coming from.
The most despicable character, contrary to our belief that it was Judas, was Pontius Pilate. I would like to believe that he was definitely the bad guy, the ultimate face of the devil or the devil incarnate. I totally despised him. I enjoyed his tormented reactions after he found out that Joshua rose from the dead. I think if I were to make someone's life a living hell, it would be Pilate. I would love to see him lose sleep and pull his hair out until he drives himself crazy with anger. I would enjoy tormenting him.
I commend Lens Lamensdorf for coming up with this interesting book. Like the author, I too, in some way thought about these theories here. I guess, the only thing that can't be humanly or scientifically explained was how Jesus healed the sick and resurrected the dead. And like the author, I too believed that if ever a Messiah was to be called, it just made more sense that he comes from the common people, the humblest of beginnings. Who's most likely to lead the oppressed than one who has suffered the most?
I give this book 4/5 crosses. Just like all martyrs, Jesus (or Joshua in this book) died to free his country and people from foreign rule. The only difference that separated him other revolutionaries was that his way was through peace. He didn't believe in rising in arms and killing. As the author said, only he might just be the greatest martyr in Jewish history or maybe the greatest in the world has ever known. I think, I would readily accept this version of Jesus Christ without question. His unfortunate beginnings and tragic life only added strength and shape to his character.
We need a man who is brave enough to be a soldier, learned enough to be a priest, strong enough to suffer any loss and powerful enough to lead the people--We need the Messiah.
- Len Lamensdorf, The Murdered Messiah -
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