Jesus Christ was not God, and Mary was not a virgin, according to a controversial new book written by an Australian Catholic priest.
In the booklet, ‘God is Big. Real Big’, which has gone on sale for $20 in several churches, Bathurst priest Peter Dresser argues Jesus could not have been God.
“This whole matter regarding Jesus being God ... not only does violence to my own intelligence, but must be a sticking point,” he says.
“For millions of people trying to make some kind of sense of the Christian religion ... No human being can ever be God, and Jesus was a human being. It is as simple as that.”
Father Dresser claims Joseph was Jesus’s father, Mary was not a virgin – and actually had six children – and that the story of the resurrection should not be taken literally.
The booklet has angered conservative Catholics, such as Sydney priest Anthony Robbie.
“What a breathtaking know-all, to claim he knows the mind of Christ contrary to scripture and tradition. His words rob Christianity entirely of its meaning and purpose,” Father Robbie told News Ltd.
“The Council of Nicaea settled the question that Christ was God in 325, so he is 1700 years out of date.
“The rest is a regurgitation of every discredited 19th-century liberal Protestant German cliche in the book.”
In the booklet, ‘God is Big. Real Big’, which has gone on sale for $20 in several churches, Bathurst priest Peter Dresser argues Jesus could not have been God.
“This whole matter regarding Jesus being God ... not only does violence to my own intelligence, but must be a sticking point,” he says.
“For millions of people trying to make some kind of sense of the Christian religion ... No human being can ever be God, and Jesus was a human being. It is as simple as that.”
Father Dresser claims Joseph was Jesus’s father, Mary was not a virgin – and actually had six children – and that the story of the resurrection should not be taken literally.
The booklet has angered conservative Catholics, such as Sydney priest Anthony Robbie.
“What a breathtaking know-all, to claim he knows the mind of Christ contrary to scripture and tradition. His words rob Christianity entirely of its meaning and purpose,” Father Robbie told News Ltd.
“The Council of Nicaea settled the question that Christ was God in 325, so he is 1700 years out of date.
“The rest is a regurgitation of every discredited 19th-century liberal Protestant German cliche in the book.”