Does for Christianity what The God Delusion did for general religionReligious belief in the West is atrophying - except in the USA where it has retreated into Christian fundamentalism. This iconoclastic book provides historical reinforcement to the former and a clear challenge to the latter. It offers a completely new and comprehensive answer to the question 'Who exactly was Jesus and how does that relate to what Christians came to believe after his death?' This new paradigm provides a revised chronology for events in the first half of the 1st century AD; identifies who all the key players really were at the time, including the historical figure of Jesus himself; and shows how the religion we call Christianity evolved from Roman misunderstanding of Jewish messianic belief. Most important of all, it provides an account of people and events that is not just intellectually plausible, but psychologically satisfying.It will become required reading for anyone who cares about the roots of western civilisation, and the fight for a secular society.