A fascinating history of literary forgery in the ancient world, written by one of the world's most renowned experts on the Bible and early Christianity. Why were the authors of many Christian gospels, epistles, treatises, and revelations completely different from the people to whom they are attributed? Can biblical texts be considered forgeries? Why did unknown Christian authors deliberately deceive their future readers? How did the falsifiers of early Christian texts work? “The Great Deception” is a beautifully presented, scientifically based, rich in facts and examples, dramatic story of the struggle for truth. To win this fight, Christian authors had to become liars and criminals even by the standards of the world in which they lived.

© 2011 by Bart D. Ehrman. Published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.© Puchkov S.G., translation into Russian, 2013© Edition in Russian, design. Eksmo Publishing House LLC, 2013