Chapter 7: Visions of the Cosmic Lord Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 7, Mack looks at the books of the present New Testament that cultivated a mythology of Jesus as a "cosmic lord." Mack identifies four such mythologies.

The first cosmic mythology Mack identifies is in the gospel of John. The gospel of John is quite different from the three "synoptic gospels" of Matthew, Mark and Luke that all present a similar version of the life of Jesus.

John's gospel first appeared around 90 C.E. Its story began not at the birth of Jesus, but at the beginning of the universe, with the "logos," or "word" of God, placing Jesus at the very beginning of the cosmos. John's gospel was apparently developed independently from the other gospels, but does borrow the story of the trial and crucifixion from Mark. John also included...