Is Jesus Really Laughing?

I’ve been loaned a book by a good friend of mine called The Laughing Jesus, written by both Timothy Freke, a philosopher and international public speaker “exploring gnosis”; and Peter Gandy, an “internationally respected authority on the ancient Pagan Mysteries and early Christianity” (back jacket flap). Although I agree with my critics that I should wait until I’ve read the book in total before critiquing it, I must agree with others that it is totally allowable to critique it along the way.

I already have major problems just from reading the first pages. Example:
“But the original Christians didn’t see Jesus as an historical man who ‘suffered for our sins’. They viewed Jesus as the mythical hero of a symbolic teaching story, which represents the spiritual journey leading to the experience of awakening they called ‘gnosis’, or ‘knowing’” (p. 4).

Not that I don’t believe we need to critically examine our assumptions, traditions and beliefs we’ve inherited from the past. But I hope they spend considerable time and effort to prove that! It’s a huge, sweeping statement that flies in the face of centuries of research, study, and writing. I recognize the recurring and growing influence of gnosticism, so I feel it is urgent for me to read and understand these guys, their books, and their influence. Let’s see what happens, so stay tuned!

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