We argue in the book that modern Christianity has lost the secret Inner Mysteries of the original Christians, which led from faith to Knowledge. It only has the Outer Mysteries of faith. It teaches that what matters is that we believe in the historical existence of Jesus. But we feel this whole approach to Christianity completely misses the point. Original Christianity was not about being a 'Christian' but becoming a 'Christ' through understanding the secret teachings encoded in the Jesus myth.
Organized religion is often concerned only with upholding and justifying the status quo.
This is ironic as religions are often begun by mystics who are vehement critics of institutional religion. As we chronicle in The Jesus Mysteries , the original message of Christianity was one of personal liberation and salvation. But when Christianity was adopted as the one religion of the Roman Empire it was turned into a message of terror and intimidation. Bringing the church and the state into alliance was fatal. Despotic rulers, such as the first Christian emperor Constantine, were able to claim that God sanctioned their absolute power.