THE DOUBTING THOMAS DIARIES

This is not The Chosen. This is not the fabled Jesus of the Gospels in the Bible. This is what Jesus probably was: an apocalyptic preacher expecting the world to end during his lifetime, when God would descend on a cloud to save the chosen few and punish the rest of the world; an illusionist showman who made people believe miraculous cures and events had taken place; an exorcist in an age when disease and earthquakes were believed to be caused by demons; a man of his time, when there was no separation of secular and spiritual.. Jesus didn't think he was God, or God's son. It was his followers who made him a mythical figure after his execution, making sense of their devastation through cognitive dissonance, reframing his acts, his sayings, his whole life and his death as a fulfilment of the ramblings of ancient prophets.. This is the Jesus story as seen through the sceptical eyes of his close friend Thomas. Despite his doubts - he doesn't buy the stuff about demons and the end of the world - Thomas agrees to manage his friend's campaign to prepare for God's imminent arrival in their corner of Palestine. We follow the rise of Jesus of Nazareth, with the help of inspired PR and credulous followers, from small-town preacher to cult leader. But when frictions grow and God doesn't turn up, everything starts to unravel.