In its early days, Christianity did not have the uniform, fixed form that we today - all too often unchallenged - consider to be its only true manifestation. Andrew Welburn, with keen intellectual insight and vivid narrative power, brings to light the diversity of the traditions that once coexisted, which soon faded from the consciousness of Christianity after the formation of the New Testament canon. The apocryphal texts, as the writings not included in the canon came to be known, demonstrate that Christ was experienced and interpreted differently against various cultural and religious backgrounds. The author also reinterprets the familiar four Gospels in a surprising way from this perspective. With the apocryphal texts from the Nag Hammadi library, the strong esoteric currents that influenced early Christianity have come to light once again.