Jesus Became Christian by Barrie Wilson, Random House.

After 2,000 years, Jesus still remains a puzzling and enigmatic personality. Yet, writes Barrie Wilson, author of this contentious book, “Of all the Jewish males who ever lived, Jesus was by far the most influential.”

Questions abound: did he intend to start a new religion? Did he consider himself the long-awaited messiah? Was his essential message distorted by those who came after him?

It is difficult, if not impossible, to answer these and similar questions because the “real Jesus” is hidden behind four different accounts of him in the Christian Bible. Aside from these Gospel versions, there are virtually no other sources from which to gain any authentic knowledge of his life or teachings.

The Gospels – written from 40 to 90 years after Jesus’ death – are filled with gaps and contradictions, encrusted with legendary accretions, influenced by the theological preconceptions of their authors, and concerned with influencing or placating the Roman authorities at the time.

It is helpful to make a distinction between the terms Jesus and Christ and what they imply.

Jesus is a proper name for the Hebrew Joshua; it denotes a Palestinian of 19 centuries ago, around whom the Gospels weave a radiant biography. They indicate that his concern was an ethical and redemptive message to a strife-torn and restive society, addressed especially to the poor and outcast.

Christ, on the other hand, derives from the Greek word for “saviour,” closely akin to the Hebrew Mashiach (which means “messiah” or “anointed”). Christ represents the concept of a man-God, not a mortal creature, who came voluntarily into this world to atone for the sins of men and women by self-immolation.

The life lived and the ideas taught by Jesus were in essence a product of his Jewish birth and background. When he was asked about the essentials of his religion, he replied, “Here, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Both are quotations from the Hebrew Bible, and the very foundation of Judaism’s faith.

How Jesus Became Christian is a seminal work by a professor of humanities and religious studies at York University. His major thesis is that the teachings and true personality of Jesus – loyal to his people and faith – were altered by Paul and early Christian leaders to create a radically new religion.

James, Jesus’ brother, led a group in Jerusalem that tried to win followers to a new but Jewish way of life. After his death, the movement was eventually “hijacked” by an alternative theology launched by Paul of Tarsus, Wilson says, a Hellenized Jew who contended that the laws of Moses could not bring a person to righteousness and could be ignored or nullified.

Wilson writes, “We tend to think of Paul’s movement as just another form of early Christianity. It wasn’t. It was a brand new religion entirely.” Wilson continues bluntly, “Paul took a popular, charismatic Jewish teacher and transformed him into a universal Saviour.” It was a caricature of the earlier faith.”

Unhappily, asserts the author, it was Paul’s teachings that became in future centuries, the anti-Semitism so pervasive in the Christian world.

Wilson’s basic contention is not new, but rarely has it been so plausibly argued and so impressively documented. His style is engaging and meant for a popular audience. This provocative work should be widely read and discussed.