'In another original, challenging and deeply learned book, Margaret Barker further consolidates her revolutionary rereading of the background of the New Testament. A welcome study, enlarging the mind and the imagination' Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

According to Margaret Barker's ground-breaking theory, temple mysticism underpins much of the Bible. Rooted in the cult of the first temple in ancient Judaism, it helps us to understand the origins of Christianity.

Temple mysticism was received and taught as oral tradition, and many texts were changed or suppressed or kept from public access. Barker first examines biblical texts: Isaiah, the prophet whom Jesus quoted more than any other in Scripture, and John. Then she proposes a more detailed picture, drawing on a wide variety of non-biblical texts.

The hypothesis of temple mysticism provides new answers to important questions: who did Jesus think he was and what did he think he was doing? Dow did Christianity understand their new faith and how did they express this in their worship. Temple Mysticism presents some remarkable results.