John of Gamala

John of Gamala was, according to Luigi Cascioli, an Italian ex-seminarian and now an atheist, a person whom the Catholic Church deliberately conflated with Jesus to build up their religion. Cascioli claims that his book The Fable of Christ is a decisive collection of proof demonstrating that Jesus is the result of manipulation and falsification of documents which in reality refer to a certain John of Gamala, son of Jude the Galilean and grandson of the rabbi Ezechia, a direct descendant of the Hasmonean dynasty founded by Simon, son of Mattathias the Maccabean.

The paternal lineage of Jesus/John of Gamala that is given by Cascioli is as follows:

• Mattathias (founder of the Hasmonean line, heir to the Davidic throne)
• Simon, son of Mattathias
• John Hyrcanus I, son of Simon
• Alexander Jannaeus, son of John Hyrcanus I
• Aristobulus II, son of Alexander Jannaeus
• Ezekias, direct descendant of Aristobulus II
• Judas of Galilean, son of Ezekias
• Jesus, son of Judas, Oldest brother of Simon Peter, James the great, Judas Thaddeus, Jacob, Menahem, *Eleazar, and two unnamed sisters. Husband to Mary Magdalene and brother in law to Lazarus. True name: John of Gamala, the Nazarite/Nazarene.

John of Gamala is also the name of a fictional character who features in a nineteenth century novel called "For the Temple" by G. A. Henty. The book depicts him as a heroic figure who fought the Romans especially when they made plain their plans to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem (70 A.D.). Later in the novel he becomes a follower of Jesus. Henty states in the preface to the book that John of Gamala is his own creation.

See also

• Cultural and historical background of Jesus
• Historical Jesus
• Historicity of Jesus
• Christ myth theory
• New Testament view on Jesus' life
• Religious perspectives on Jesus

Sources

• Prove Christ exists, judge orders priest / Jan 3, 2006 timesonline.uk article
• Case against Jesus' existence dismissed (February 10, 2006 MSNBC)