This is a skeptic's journey into the meaning of God and of human existence. At once an ironic rendering of the life of Christ and a beautiful novel, Saramago's tale has sparked intense discussion about the meaning of Christianity and the Church as an institution. Translated by Giovanni Pontiero.

Saramago's Jesus is the son not of God but of Joseph. Mary Magdalene is his lover not his convert. In the wilderness he tussles not with the Devil – a kindly and necessary evil – but with God, a fallible, power-hungry autocrat. And he must die not for the sins of the fathers but for the sins of the Father. By investigating these simple inversions Saramago has woven a dark parab...(展开全部)

The teachings of Jesus, their differences with those of his contemporaries, and their representation in modern Christian churches are discussed from the point of view of an unbiased historian

基督教信仰的救世主,基督教的創始人.其稱號基督為希伯來文彌賽亞(意為受膏者,原指上帝派來拯救以色列的救世主)之希臘文譯音.根據《新約》四福音書的記載,耶穌是上帝之子,由童貞女瑪麗亞受聖靈感孕,生于伯利恒城客店的馬廄之中.耶穌成年後從施洗約翰受洗,並經受了40天的考驗,後開始在猶太各地和巴勒斯坦的加利利傳教.他率領其12個門徒一方面宣傳天國將臨,悔改得救的福音,一方面治病救人,扶危助困.其教義宣揚"愛上帝愛鄰人","愛人如己",並抨擊了當時的當權者和猶太教的某些戒規,因而遭到猶太教上層分子的忌恨.在逾越節前夕,被其門徒之一猶大所出賣,以"誘惑國民"和"僭稱猶太人之王"的罪名,被釘死在十字架上.死後第三日複活,並顯現于眾門徒中,第40日升天.