The Virgin and The Priest Review

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(More customer reviews)I read this book while on a trip to New York a few weeks ago and was quite impressed with Gibbs' scholarship. Mark's work on the life story of Jesus is as well thought out and logical as anything I've read by the Schonfields and Baigents of the world.
The central thesis in this work is that Jesus and John the Baptist were actually brothers. As the pair grew up, the destiny of their birthright forced them into the Messianic mould. This was achieved by the hands of the Essenes shaping the pair into following Old Testament models of heroic brother's roles in Jewish society. John, feeling that he should be the Messiah, forsakes his scripted role and his brother in the process.
The stance is as controversial as Gibb's argument is compelling. Drawing from religious traditions and texts of "heretical" Christian groups, Islam, and present day Christian sects; Gibbs reads between the lines of the Gospel accounts of Jesus' birth and early years to make his argument. The views of the Gospel accounts are that they have sometimes been reworded to make Jesus into the figure many accept him as.
Supporting these assertions, Gibbs sites that Johannite thought has permeated into more modern times. The near veneration of John the Baptist by medieval artists, Freemasonry, and the Knights Templar are used as evidences of Gibbs views of the Gospels.
Much like Schonfield's works, Gibbs brings a sharp distinction between faith and reason. The Virgin and the Priest is not a text for those who unwaveringly incorporate Jesus as divinity into their belief system. However, if you wish to examine the life of Jesus in a more historical and alternative context, you will not be disappointed in what is presented.


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