The letters of Jesus's brothers were so
dangerous that for hundreds of years,
the church fathers refused to include
them in the Bible. They were only
finally accepted because the oral
traditions concerning Jesus's family
were so strong.
There were some Christian leaders who
said, "Well, James,
I don't know if we should include him
now. He's the brother of Jesus. Why
wouldn't you want his letter?" Because
if you read the letter, it doesn't have
the gospel that people came to associate
with Christianity.
In complete contrast to today's
Christianity, the letters of Jesus's
brothers describe him as their master
but not divine. They see Jesus as a
human character blessed by God. The
thing about the book of James, it's the
teachings of Jesus but not the teachings
about Jesus. James passes on what he got
from his brother. You could say it has
no theology.
And yet it does have a theology, but
it's the theology of Jesus. But it's no
theology about Jesus in that book.
Doesn't mention the cross of Christ.
Doesn't mention the blood of Jesus.
Doesn't mention forgiving sins through
believing in the Lord, our Savior who's
in heaven. Nothing like that.
It's an amazing book to read.
This alternative version of Jesus's
message can be found in other texts,
too. In the Greek quarter of the Old
City of Jerusalem, there is another
ancient book that was not included in
the Bible. It's one of the most
contested of early Christian documents,
possibly even older than the Gospels
themselves. I believe it is the key to
understanding Jesus's original message.
I'm very sorry that the library is not
in its proper situation. But the library
of the Greek Patriarch has the only
complete copy of an ancient handbook
specially written for converts to
Christianity that was compiled when
Jesus's family was still alive.
The dedicay gives a direct insight into
what the very earliest Christians
thought and did.
It has never before been filmed. Can I
hold it? Yes. Wow. This is like being
close to the early church. Of course.
Wow. And and um you I'm not using
gloves. Is that okay? It's okay. I'm not
using as well. Wow. The book begins
here.
Although the
there are two ways, one of the life and
one of the death. The dedicay or
teaching contains a code of Christian
ethics based on the original teachings
of Jesus and some instructions as to the
proper forms of worship.
There is a great difference between the
two ways.
But what makes it so dangerous for
today's Christianity is what it leaves
out. There is no mention of the virgin
birth, no mention of the resurrection,
and above all, no mention of Jesus as
God. They talk of Jesus in here as Lord
and not Lord God, suggesting that they
saw him as being more human than divine.
How does that strike you? In my opinion,
in the evangelists, in the gospels and
in the works of apostos,
uh there is a balance
uh between uh presentation
of uh Christ as the son of God and as
the son of a man. The Lord to whom we
believe is divine but he is human.
And that's the problem. For 2,000 years,
the church has grappled with the balance
between Jesus's divine and human
natures. But it is the divine that has
dominated. In the process, it is Jesus's
essential humanity and the humanity of
his teachings that has been lost.
The dedicate also contains a detailed
description of a very early communion
service. Unlike today, there is no
suggestion that the bread and wine are
the body and blood of Christ. In fact,
Jesus is referred to not as God's son,
but his servant. And concerning the
broken bread, we thank you, our father,
for the life and knowledge which you
made known to us through Jesus, your
servant. To you belongs the glory
forever.
Do you think that one of the reasons why
they don't mention Jesus as Lord God and
they don't mention the resurrection was
because they didn't believe that those
events had taken place? That Jesus
wasn't the son of God and that Jesus
wasn't raised from the dead but instead
he was a human, a prophet and not
divine. It's a dangerous question in my
opinion. uh the fact of re resurrection
of Christ uh couldn't and shouldn't be
ignored. Uh Paul speaks and says if
Christ uh was not resurrected then we
shall be accused that we uh we speak
falsely against God.
What is absolutely fundamental to all
Christians, including myself, is the
idea that Jesus is God. Without that,
there is no Christianity. But what is
now clear is that the very earliest
Jewish Christians, including Jesus's own
family, did not see him as God. And
ultimately, that is why the church has
gone so far to delete them from the
Christian story.
This is Judas
uh the brother of the Lord according to
the flesh Jude. Jude. Yeah. Who has
written in the Bible in the letter of
Jesus's younger brother Jude. There is
an extraordinary passage denouncing a
group of people who are secretly
corrupting the true faith. For admission
has been secretly gained by some who
long ago were designated for this
condemnation. ungodly persons who
pervert the grace of our God. If you
decode it, it becomes a clear warning
that the new movement was losing sight
of Jesus's original message. By the time
Jude writes, he could see the writing on
the wall. He could see we're losing out.
And it's a battlecry. It's a call to
arms spiritually speaking. He's not
talking about outsiders. He's talking
about people who claim to be part of us
that are not teaching what we were
originally handed them. These are
grumblers, malcontempts, following their
own sinful desires. They are loudmouthed
boasters flattering people to gain
advantage.
And he's getting very worried and he's
telling the little group that would
still listen to him. I think in effect
he's saying don't listen to all these
new things that are coming along. You
fight hard for that original faith that
was delivered to us. Family tradition.
Follow the tradition of the family.
almost a mute testimony
to what used to be the way.
When Constantine the Great made
Christianity the official religion of
the Roman Empire 1600 years ago, it was
Paul's interpretation of Jesus's message
that was adopted. And Paul based his
authority on a series of mystical
visions, although he had never met
Jesus. and only joined the movement
after his death. By contrast, James and
the rest of the family who had grown up
with Jesus followed his mission and been
at his death. their version of
Christianity, a vision of Jesus as a
more human character was declared
heresy.