Documentation, documentation, documentation. The bottom line on this book is that it cannot be taken seriously because not enough documentation is provided.

For example he says that the Jews were expecting a Messiah of type X, in this case, a political ruler who would re-establish the David throne and kick out the Romans. He doesn't provide documentation for this claim, though. He then says, "Because Jesus claimed to be Messiah and the Jews were expecting type X, he must have been claiming to be just that, and not type Y." Type Y is then explained to be Paul's invention, a pagan-informed, Gnostic-based god-human.

Maccoby has a habit of saying things like, "Acts' description of what happened here is unlikely because of x and y." Fine. He then continues his argument, "What probably happened was not x and y, but rather z." Again, fine. Speculation is okay I suppose, as long as it's recognized and treated as such. Maccoby's problem, though, is that he then goes on to use this speculation as established fact (both words should be in their own quotes) in making his argument. "Probably," or even "possibly," equals "definitely" for him.

The most than can be said about this book is that, like Morrison's "real poetry," it just ticks off the possibilities. Important issues that it does raise:

• The Gospels were written after Paul's epistles. It is possible, then, that Pauline theology informed the Gospels. In other words, Christianity as we know it could very well be an invention of Paul.
• There are striking similarities between the pagan mystery religions' "theology," for lack of a better word, and that of Pauline Christianity: the risen god, the self-sacrificing god, the cannibalistic nature of the central sacrament.
• There are contradictions between certain descriptions in Acts and how Paul describes them.

Are these things enough to over-throw Christianity? Not really. But they do raise enough questions to make a serious Christian think, I should hope.

It was suggested in one review that Maccoby had a certain agenda: provide a source for Christian anti-Semitism. The source that Maccoby finds is Paul himself. I can't comment on this because I don't have enough background info, but it does seem possible.

In the end, if Maccoby had indeed provided documentation (perhaps not possible because he was "creating" things), he would have delivered a very serious blow to Christianity with this book.

As it is, he just barely raised an eyebrow.

This review originally appeared on Amazon.com.