User Reviews

Cameron's put together a wealth of research and interviews, mixed it all together with the trademark humour from his podcasting career, and gives a strong sense that the picture is so much bigger - that there's more yet to explore and discuss. It's got a lot of content, so be patient with it. And bear in mind this very much about the history of early Christianity and doctrine (and changes in historians' perspective), and less about the mythical or religious elements - although they do enter into it too. Maybe it should have a byline: How to fine-tune a religion for maximum market share and domination, if you're one of the Apostles.

I found it a interesting watch and I find the reviews even more interesting with how many outright bash people beliefs. Imagine this but it was the Koran, how tolerant do you think those believers would be of the movie? All in all worth watching but Christianity is a easy target and it does not take much courage at all to make a movie like this about it.

I actually learned quite a bit from the film, but was very off-put by the cringe humor. Maybe you need to be Australian... however, it was refreshing (as an American) to see someone other than Ken Ham speak about the Bible with that accent. I would much prefer less movie references and the animations to support the information being presented by the experts, not as silly gags. (Score is weighted to balance grumpy Christians)

An insightful look at early Christian beginnings. Bound to upset those who believe in the view that the Bible is literal.

Be warned Cameron does have a topically Australian sense of humour which may run some people the wrong way. Thank the Lord.

It's OK. I feel like the documentary made a lot of sense. I need to check the verses that they quote and probably should go through all of the Bible first but in any case I found it fairly thought provoking.

I came here to check the reviews and saw some ppl who have been offended by this and consider it "fake news". I don't think it's fake news I think it gives a fairly balanced approach to the reality of the situation.

My true rating is probably 7.5/10. It's good, worth a watch but won't say anything you didn't already knew.

I am not a practicing Christian so did not feel I had something to defend. I do have history degree so was interested in a non-religious view. You won't find it here. Be prepared. This isn't a fact based account. It is an argument for the writer's position. Fair enough by the way. Just know what you are watching.

It was informative! They just clearly don't understand WHY Jesus was misunderstood. No understanding of Christian theology, except for "Jesus was called the Messiah and Son of God" lol.

This is definitely a light-hearted attempt to try and explain away Jesus and who he was. I had a few giggles here and there and thought, ok that's pretty funny. However, I can't believe I actually contributed to the making of this film expecting something that was seriously going to contend with the authenticity of Christianity and its origins.

When it got to the point where it was suggested that Paul became a follower of Christ for the money I pretty much switched off.

Paul was a hater and chief persecutor of Christians. Becoming a follower and believer of Christ for him meant certain death. And for Paul, to think I'll get into this Jesus stuff for money, overnight (literally), is just plain silly. Paul, the apostles and many of the original disciples died for their faith, not for money.

The rest of the points made in this film can be easily refuted with a bit of googling.

#MarketingTheMessiah #film #documentary #Jesus #Christianity

Many heavy hitters of the Jesus Mythicist movement are prominently displayed here. And that's what people are realizing more and more; that the NT is a collection of fables and allegories not unlike Greek mythology.

I mean, I'm agnostic and I expected more serious documentary. Actually, this is one sided scholars documentary mixed with animated humor and cheesy music. Scholars sounds very serious and they all have same short sentences. But where is other side? Where is N.T. Whright, one of leading Biblical scholars today, along with William Lane Craig, David Bloomberg, Norman Geisler, Frank Turek, DAvid Habermas and many others catholic or protestant scholars or well readed experts today who are not so well known to academia circle. Where is Barth Erhman, an agnostic, who can also contribute to this topic since he is one of the most prolific authors on subject of early Christianity in western world.

And the red flag about reviews. Most 10/10 reviews are new accounts that written only this review and that rings bells that this is marketing from crew team and producers. I have watched many documentaries and live debates about origin of Christianity and ressurection of Jesus and this documentary bringing nothing new and insightful - it's marketing for those who only just want to confirm they agnosticism or better say atheism. It's much easier to watch this fun documentary than read book tetralogy of Jesus and Paul by N.T.Wright which is more than 4000 pages long. Think about it!

Nice to watch something on Christianity that looks at Jesus from a human perspective and historical. It's still annoying that they talk about the Bible as if it's what Jesus actually said when that is not the case, it would be nice if they would acknowledge that the new testaments are not actual words from Jesus but from the many many people who actually created Christianity over the couple hundred years after Jesus died.

To be clear, I am not a Christian and have no theological quarrel in this review. However, I still have an interest in religious history. I listen to talks (and debates) about Jesus and the Bible from such scholars as Bart Erhman (Atheist) and N. T. Wright (Christian).

Marketing the Messiah starts off as a good popular-level introduction to modern scholarship about Jesus, Paul, and the New Testament. I agree that Paul was a heavy influence on what Christianity became, but there isn't much debate on that.

The documentary opens by stating that the modern Christmas story is a caricature of what is actually in the Gospels, which is absolutely true. However, I felt that the host did the exact same thing with other topics at times.

There is some decent comedy, though sometimes it also fell flat. I appreciated the use of "Jesus is a Friend" song, which was a minor viral video that was going around the Internet a few years ago.

Despite some minor complaints, I liked the documentary for the most part and would have given it a rating of 7. Unfortunately, the final 20 minutes takes a turn for the worst.

The documentary ends by pushing fringe theories of rejected Bible books (from the late 2nd Century) and the Christ Myth Theory (Jesus never existed). These positions are held by no serious Biblical scholar (Christian or Not).

They spend time supporting the views and give minimal criticism of them. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise decent documentary. I recommend looking up the debate on Youtube between Erhman and Price about the Christ Myth Theory.

I have struggled to watch documentaries for years now. Most lose my interest because they don't ask compelling enough questions about the topic they're exploring. I couldn't make it through Religulous for this very reason-it was just too easy. I'm one who doesn't consider Christianity-or religion in general-to be some joke that any adolescent can dismantle with a couple of clichés. But I very much appreciate sophisticated questions, and that's exactly what this documentary is chock full of. It's also fun to watch from beginning to end. I laughed out loud several times and had to rewind. One of the best things is that this documentary is CLEAN. I very much appreciated this as I have little kids crawling all over me at all times. I am definitely looking forward to the next Deep Dive production!

Cameron provides a thorough coverage of Christianity telling the story of how the religion came to be what it is today. He exposes the disparities in the bible which most tend to ignore or sheer away from. The documentary leaves you questioning what else in the bible doesn't hold up. 10/10 A great watch, and a great film debut for Cameron.

Cameron Reilly has been an early history podcaster and on the top of that game for well over a decade. He finally made a documentary about ancient history and a topic dear to his heart. The vast amount of historical facts and funny anecdotes makes this a must-watch documentary for anyone interested in religion or history. Very impressive line-up of international experts and scholars too. 10/10

I thought id have a look at this to see some real fact based insight into Christianity and its history.Sadly this is a very, very poor attempt at discrediting Christianity. If you purposely miss put context and purposely leave out the meanings of scripture then you will find it easy to paint the gospel as the ramblings of mad men. If you are looking for the 'truth' about Christianity then this is not the place to find it. Cameron Reilly just comes across as smarmy, patronising and self indulgent. We have all met them down the pub. Purposely missing out rafts of information to support their false opinion.Injecting a, c and d whilst conveniently missing out b.

Pretty poor attempt and supported by lazy people who either havn't read scripture or are are angry because they havn't quite grasped its meaning.

Marketing the Messiah is a fresh and compelling look into the history of Christianity. This documentary asks questions that many adherents to the religion may be uncomfortable with, but does so objectively with some needed levity.

Cameron has humor, has made some research and has mainly managed to tell the story in a scientific way but... at least at two points he has made a mistake telling things not documented.

The one is the point where he says that Jesus never said to his gentiles to go to Gentiles to teach the testament.

This is wrong. In Marks gospel at 16, 15-16 Jesus supposed to say to his followers "15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

There are numerous other errors in this documentary which are making great damage to its scientifism.

As you might guess from the title, anybody who is personally bought into the (better: a version of the) religious story of Jesus will not like this movie very much. Which is a pity, in a way, because it does provide a great deal of historical background of that figure and the genesis of its story which could be instructive even to believers. However, its irreverent presentation, its use of humor in places the devout might find inappropriate, and also some of the questions it asks and answers it gives will make it difficult for many Christians to enjoy. They do, however, make it a great little documentary for the rest of us with some interest in those early days of nascent Christianity that many people (including most believers) know precious little about, even though they are really a key to understanding some of the more bizarre facets of that faith --- chiefly among them the central question of this film: how does a fringe cult of a marginalized Middle-Eastern people become the state religion of the empire that executed its founder? Assembling a range of perspectives from a variety of interviews with scholars in the field, and providing some background on the times during which this remarkable development took place, this film attempts to give an answer to this question. Well worth watching.

This production deserves a countering documentary that exposes how many lies and distortions it contains. I mean to include the opinions of Richard Carrier and Richard Price to define who Jesus really was is like letting Karl Marx and Joseph Stalin lecture on the life and times of Thomas Jefferson.

And if you want a blantant bit of evidence this this was designed to mock and discredit Christianities history, just give a listen to the music soundtrack. The bumper music between segments screams "Christianity is a clown show!"

Not objective, not balanced, not representative of the full body of scholarly and historical evidence.

But will it give a bunch of armchair scholars more excuses to dismiss Jesus and God? Not a tall order to fulfill.

An enjoyable take on a fascinating topic. The director is clearly attempting to be fair and appeal to both believers and non-believers. It's a well constructed documentary with high production values. And it races along. Great stuff.

Did Jesus exist?

Cameron Reilly has created a fantastic historical analysis of how Christianity was formed, grew, and the internal conflicts inside the religion. There are fantastic interviews with many notable religious studies and history professors from around the world.

This is a wonderful scholarly work, and really casts new light on to the development of who wrote the bible, when, and how this evolved over 2,000 years. Discussions of how Judaism and Christianity are fascinating.

Highly recommended. Also there are many funny parts. It is really an engaging movie for anyone who enjoys history, religion, etc. This is not boring, it is a really fun movie and will intrigue you and educate you. Great for any night of the week.

Like religious institutes this documentary also selects specific passages from the bible. Depicting a half baked picture of the meaning of Jesus and who he is. It also quotes erroneous modern bible translations in order to appeal itself and inorganically attempts to explain circumstances, presenting them as false. For example, the show tells us Paul was visited by Jesus's Ghost, which is incorrect as it is said Jesus rose as a material being from the grave. It is often trying to find contradictions that are based on fallacious interpretations which makes them nothing more than confusions on part of those attempting to reveal it as contradiction. A thorough understanding of contextualized scripture is missing, as usual and thus a mundane interpretation is put forth which is completely inappropriate because one hundred percent of the bible is not in reference to mundane scenarios but divine ones.

It would be nice to think finally, a documentary revealing the discrepancy of Christianity but that is most certainly not what you are being given, sorry.