The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity Quotes

“If and when it is ever fully realized, the emerging paradigm shift presented here could forever change how the three great Western religions—the “people of the Book,” as the Qur’an calls the descendants of Abraham—understand their holy scriptures and their relationship to each other. This paradigm shift could even help to usher in—at long last—peace in the Middle East.”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“As we enter the third millennium, our human community is rent by war, increasing distrust, and the loss of a sense of our common nature and past. We seem to be more tempted than ever to define ourselves in opposition to the Other and more threatened than ever by a paradigm, or worldview, that separates rather than unites us.”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“If more open-minded Christians, Jews, and Muslims were to sit down at a round table to try to achieve the holy grail of peace and unity, they would certainly have to be people of vision, willing to compromise.”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“Neither George Washington, nor Thomas Jefferson, nor Benjamin Franklin believed that Jesus was anything more than a divinely inspired and chosen human being—which is exactly what James and the earliest Christians believed.”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“Paradigm challenges are never suffered lightly by the orthodox establishment in any field.”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“[E]verything points to the conclusion that the leaders and members of the so-called “Jerusalem Church” were not Christians in any sense that would be intelligible to Christians of a later date. They were Jews, who subscribed to every item of the Jewish faith. For example, so far from regarding baptism as ousting the Jewish rite of circumcision as an entry requirement into the religious communion, they continued to circumcise their male children, thus inducting them into the Jewish covenant. The first ten “bishops” of the “Jerusalem Church” . . . were all circumcised Jews. They kept the Jewish dietary laws, the Jewish Sabbaths and festivals, including the Day of Atonement (thus showing that they did not regard the death of Jesus as atoning for their sins), the Jewish purity laws (when they had to enter the Temple, which they did frequently), and they used the Jewish liturgy for their daily prayers . . .  . . . the first follower of Jesus with whom Paul had friendly contact, Ananias of Damascus, is described as a “devout observer of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews of that place.” (Acts 22:12)”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:17–20)”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

“But my overriding goal all along has been a quest for truth—no matter where it may lie, and no matter what inherited dogmas may need to be abandoned in order to attain it.”
― Jeffrey J. Bütz, The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity