THOMAS DE WESSELOW

Christianity was born nearly two thousand years ago in ancient Palestine. It has shaped the course of human history. Yet historians still cannot say how it really began. How did a first-century Jew called Jesus manage to spark a new religion?It is one of the biggest and most profound of all historical mysteries. This extraordinary book finally provides a convincing answer.Traditionally, the birth of Christianity has been explained via the miracle of the Resurrection. After Jesus died he was raised from the dead by God and appeared to his disciples, telling them to spread the gospel. Once they saw the Risen Jesus, nothing could shake their belief. Within a few generations Christianity had spread throughout the Middle East and Europe; within a few centuries it had taken over much of the world.But historians have been unable to account for Christianitys remarkable success without the Resurrection to spark it. If no one really saw the Risen Jesus, how were his followers convinced that he was their immortal Messiah?Art historian Thomas de Wesselow has spent the last seven years deducing the answer to this puzzle, and in doing so he has pieced together an entirely new picture of the birth of Christianity. Reassessing a familiar but misunderstood historical source and reinterpreting many biblical passages, de Wesselow shows that the solution has been staring us in the face for more than a century.The Shroud of Turin, widely thought to be a fake, is in fact authentic. And it holds the key to the greatest mystery in human history.

The Sign by Thomas de Wesselow finally solves Christianitys greatest mysteryThe thinking mans Dan Brown Sunday TimesHow did Christianity really begin?In this powerful and controversial book, art historian Thomas de Wesselow reveals that the answer to this puzzle lies in one of the most mysterious images in the world - the Shroud of Turin.Re-examining the Shroud and New Testament texts, he argues that the traditional Christian view - that the apostles were inspired by seeing Jesus raised from the dead - is a profound misconception. Using scientific, archaeological and historical evidence, The Sign demonstrates that the Shroud is the actual burial-cloth of Jesus. That haunting image - which is a natural stain - holds the key to the greatest mystery in human history. This astonishing book will appeal to readers around the world and is a must for fans of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, Inferno by Dan Brown and Diarmaid MacCullochs A History of Christianity. Very intriguing Mail on SundayA fascinating account of the Shroud as an image BBC History MagazineThorough, well-researched and fair-minded. Persuasive... much more than just an addition to the canon of Shroud literature Irish TimesThomas de Wesselow earned his MA and PhD at Londons Courtauld Institute, researching the controversial Guidoriccio fresco in Siena, before becoming a Scholar at the British School in Rome where he worked on another of the great mysteries of Italian art history, the Assisi Problem. He has written on a number of famous Renaissance pictures whose meanings have hitherto defied analysis, including Botticellis Primavera and Titians Sacred and Profane Love. Since 2007 he has been researching this book full-time. He is 40 years old and he lives in Cambridge.