TWOsday ~ two books by Freke and Gandy

A couple of months ago, I wrote about The Laughing Jesus by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, published in 2005.  Even though I have not yet read that book, I bought another one by this writing team, one which was published a few years earlier:  Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians, published in 2001.  Here are summaries of the two books I have on my bookshelves:

The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom (2005) ~ What if the Old Testament is a work of fiction, Jesus never existed, and Muhammad was a mobster?  What if the Bible and the Qur'an are works of political propaganda created by Taliban-like fundamentalists to justify the sort of religious violence we are witnessing in the world today?  What if there is a big idea that could free us from the us-versus-them world created by religion and make it possible for us to truly love our neighbors — and even our enemies?  What if it is possible to awaken to a profound state of oneness and love, which the Gnostic Christians symbolized by the enigmatic figure of the laughing Jesus?

Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians (2001) ~ Why were the teachings of the original Christians brutally suppressed by the Roman Church?  Because they relate the myth of the Christian goddess Sophia.  Because they portray Jesus and Mary Magdalene as mythic figures based on the Pagan dying and resurrectingn Godman and the fallen and redeemed Goddess.  Because they show that the gospel story is a spiritual allegory encoding a profound philosophy that leads to gnosis — mythical enlightenment.  Because they undermine all external authority by directly revealing the Christ within.  Because they have the power to turn the world inside out and transform life into an exploration of consciousness.

It appears this set includes two more books, which I have not (yet) bought.

The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? (1999)
The Gospel of the Second Coming: The Long-Awaited Sequel (2007)

Until I have these last two in hand, I won't try to write about them.  However, I may have to acquire them — or at least the older one — before I start reading this series.