"Christianity's Origin as a Flavian Secrecy Cult," by Michael Menasgotz, proposes that the Roman government, specifically the Flavian emperors Vespasian and Titus, created the story of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke as a sophisticated form of religious propaganda. The ultimate aim was to pacify the rebellious Jews, and aquire the Legion's loyalty by establishing a secrecy cult ultimately leading to the worship of the Flavian emperors as gods. Their goal was to prevent another civil war in Rome, and another destabilising war in Judea, and thereby secure their grip on the throne, and avoid the grim fate of their four predecessors (famously known as the 'year of four emperors').

The Core Thesis

The book's central argument is that Christianity did not originate as a grassroots movement but was instead a meticulously crafted tool of imperial control. Vespasian, capitalizing on his victory in the Jewish War and his ascension to the throne, sought a way to solidify his power and prevent future uprisings. He believed that by creating a messianic figure who mirrored his own military victories and subtly promoting him as a god, he could command unwavering loyalty from both the Jews and the Roman legions.

Multi-Layered Revelation

The Flavian plan, according to Menasgotz, was not to immediately reveal the fabricated nature of Jesus' story. Instead, they intended to utilize a Mithraism-style secrecy cult, gradually revealing the truth to initiates as they climbed through its ranks. This multi-layered revelation would unfold as follows:

 Level 1: Newcomers would be introduced to Jesus as a miracle worker and prophet, emphasizing his message of peace and acceptance of Roman rule.

 Level 2: Initiates would be shown evidence, under oath of secrecy, that Jesus was the son of God, solidifying his divine authority.

 Level 3: Further evidence would be revealed, demonstrating that Jesus was actually the first coming of Titus. This would rely on the parallels between Jesus' and Titus' stories, emphasizing how Titus fulfilled prophecies about the second coming.

 Level 4: The highest rank would be exposed to the evidence proving the fabricated nature of Jesus' story, leaving them as pure Flavian emperor worshippers.

Forms of Evidence

Menasgotz offers five key forms of evidence to support his thesis, each designed to be revealed at different levels of the secrecy cult, and he provides a sixth form of evidence himself for the benefit of a modern audience:

1. Parallels Between Jesus' and Titus' Stories:

This evidence, first explored by Joe Atwill, reveals how Jesus' story in Luke mirrors Titus' military campaign in Judea, as documented in the Roman government's official record, "Jewish War." Jesus and Titus (or in some cases Titus' father Vespasian) visit the same locations, perform conceptually linked actions, and their narratives unfold in a similar order. This, Menasgotz argues, strongly suggests a Roman origin for Luke's Gospel.

Example: Both Jesus and Titus walk on Lake Galilee, present themselves there, tell their followers not to be afraid, get in a boat, see boats sinking, enclose and capture a great many things, see at least one Jew jumping into the water in amazement at how many they caught, and whilst Jesus says there that he will make his men becomes fishers of men in the future, Titus' story (which is set in the future with respect to Jesus' time) has him physically making his men become fishers of men - literally spear fishing them in the water of the lake.

The parallels between these short sections of each story continue though, with both Jesus and Titus' father going across that same lake - Lake Galilee - to hold council, and discuss doing what is right, but get told to do differently with evil being spoken, but then they both give an ambiguous liberty to leave, with the subject of that permission then taking up their effects and going, but then being amazed and afraid.

2. Hidden Meanings within the Parallels:

Menasgotz contends that these parallels are not merely superficial similarities but contain hidden messages and riddles designed to point towards the divinity of Titus and Vespasian. Deciphering these riddles would lead initiates to accept Titus as the true Messiah.

Example: Menasgotz shows that in literally dozens of respects, Josephus' life mirrors that of Jesus Christ in the Gospels (and Acts), with both of them prophesying the demise of their city and the time it would happen, and a Jew betraying them in relation to the hour his disciples would be asleep, but being hanged for it, leading to a field of blood and guts being spilled, and in both stories him (i.e. in Jewish War it's Josephus, and in the Gospels it's Jesus) ending up confined in cavern under his city, that was a new grave and which was formed in the shape of a sepulcher, and then being there two days before being raised up alive, by a man who was to be seen as god, with romans guarding its entrance, whereupon in both stories the people entered that grave and found two people alive, who were either actually or implicitly kneeling wearing shining garments, in the place that they were looking for dead people.  

3. Mutual Parodies of Luke and "Jewish War":

Menasgotz claims that Luke and "Jewish War" not only contain parallels but also parody each other in subtle ways. This mutual parodying, he argues, is only possible if both narratives were created together, cementing the Roman origin of Luke.

The point here is that if you were to write a story yourself, you could certainly make it detailed parody of any existing story you liked. However you couldn't make that existing story be a detailed parody the one you were writing. Therefore the only way for two stories to be detailed parodies of each other's core narratives, is to write or edit both stories with this intention - i.e. it requires editorial control over both documents. This is why the way they mutually parody each other, proves that they have the same origin. 

Since Jewish War, which is the official roman account of Vespasian and Titus' victories in Judea, undisputably (and also explicitly) originates from the roman government under Vespasian and Titus, it follows that the story in Luke does to.

4. The APTVS Pattern:

When the locations of the parallels between Luke and "Jewish War" are plotted on a chart, they form a pattern spelling out the Latin word "APTVS," meaning "apt" or "fitting." Menasgotz argues that this pattern is too deliberate to be coincidental, providing conclusive proof that the parallels are intentional.

Example: A series of parallels between Josephus' life and Jesus' life are all arranged to form the 'T' and the left hand side of the 'V'. This demonstrates how seemingly unrelated events are strategically positioned, to reinforce the overarching APTVS message.

5. Exodus 12 Parallels:

Both Luke and "Jewish War" contain passages that subtly evoke each step of the Passover ritual as described in Exodus 12. Menasgotz shows that 21 of them in particular are remarkable unsubjective, and since all 21 (and indeed all 40) of them align with the APTVS pattern, this means that both stories had to be edited to include them, and to position them in this way. Since neither story indicates that there is any reason why it would have a section evoking each step of the Exodus 12 ritual, this alone shows a common design, however their placement to match the APTVS pattern offers a further demonstration of a single authorial hand being behind both texts.

Example 1: The application of the herb hyssop to the sacrificial lamb's blood, as required in the Passover ritual set out in Exodus 12, is echoed in both narratives. In "Jewish War," it appears in the story of Mary who prepares and cooks her sacrificed son, and whose bloodline derives from the "House of Hyssop". In Luke, hyssop is presented directly to Jesus' mouth as he dies at Passover, as (as John puts it) the lamb of God. In both cases, this evokes one of the steps required in the Passover ritual, namely to add hyssop to the blood of the sacrifice lamb. The positions of the text in Luke and Jewish War are arranged so that when plotted, this parallel contributes to the APTVS pattern.

Example 2: Exodus 12 requires that the Passover lamb sacrifice's legs must not be broken. In Jesus' story this is achieved by the romans breaking the legs of the other two men on the crosses, but deciding not to break Jesus' legs "such that the scripture would be fulfilled". In Jewish War it is a different man also called Jesus, who acts in many ways as a parody of Jesus Christ before then being whipped "to the bone" - i.e. an injury that falls short of breaking bones. Again, the locations of the two evocative passages aligns with the APTVS pattern.

6. Statistical analysis of the APTVS pattern:

Menasgotz offers four different statistical analyses of the APTVS pattern, showing that it cannot be coincidences, cannot be the result of a biassed selection or 'finding patterns in noise', and thus must be genuine and intentional. This of course goes far beyond what would be shown to a 1st century audience.

Example 1: Menasgotz shows that the APTVS pattern involves 250 parallels, and the pattern neatly fills just under a quarter of the chart area. He shows that this cannot be the result of coincidence or biased selection from a larger group, by discussing the following two scenarios:

• Scenario 1. A critic supposes there were about 500 coincidental but similarly detailed parallels, in order to argue that it is less impressive that 250 of them align with the APTVS pattern: Menasgotz shows that in this scenario the odds of 250 of them aligning with the APTVS pattern (or indeed any pattern with the same remarkable characteristics) by coincidence (i.e. each having a one quarter chance) are astronomically small. 
• Scenario 2. The critic responds by supposing there were 600 or more coincidental but similarly detailed parallels: Menasgotz rules this scenario out by showing that these alone would fill 1200 or more verses of Luke, which is impossible because Luke only has 1151 verses.

Example 2: After essentially completing his research Menasgotz became aware of an independent researcher Cliff Carrington, who had published a blog over a decade ago, in which he discussed thematic (rather than character) similarities between the Gospels and and the works of Josephus as a whole. Menasgotz shows that the parallel topics Carrington mentions that can be identified in Jewish War and Luke, are highly correlated with the APTVS pattern to the point that for this to occur by chance has odds of less than one in 25,000.

Conclusion: The Flavian Propaganda Team's Masterpiece

Menasgotz concludes that the Gospel of Luke is not a divinely inspired text but a product of a highly sophisticated Roman propaganda campaign. The intricate web of parallels, hidden messages, and the APTVS pattern all point towards a deliberate effort to manipulate religious beliefs for political gain. The story of Jesus, in this reading, becomes a tool to legitimize Flavian rule and establish the emperors as gods.

The book emphasizes that this elaborate scheme was never intended for public revelation. The truth was to be unveiled gradually within the confines of the secrecy cult, ensuring complete control over the dissemination of information and maintaining the illusion of a divinely ordained religion. This calculated approach, Menasgotz argues, is a testament to the Flavian emperors' mastery of propaganda and their ruthless ambition to solidify their power, and avoid the grim fate of their predecessors.

What Menasgotz doesn't claim:

For the avoidance of misunderstandings - Menasgotz does not argue that the Flavian government invented Jesus per se. He accepts that the Pauline literature predates the Flavian era, although he notes that it exhibits no awareness of almost the entirety of Jesus' life story, barring that Jesus was crucified. 

He also doesn't claim that the surviving (i.e. second) version of Jewish War was written with Luke - only that the story of Vespasian and Titus' victories that is found in the second half of Jewish War was written jointly with the story of Jesus' life that is found in Luke and the other synoptic gospels.

Where to get the book?
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