With the book "The Great Deception," the Protestant theologian Gerd Lüdemann bids farewell to Christianity once and for all. In a letter addressed to Jesus, he explains this step: "Most of what you are said to have said or done according to the Bible, you did not do at all." In an accessible manner, Lüdemann presents inauthentic words and deeds attributed to Jesus and compares them with the few but all the more impressive genuine words and deeds of Jesus. What remains of Jesus and his teachings in this way is no longer sufficient to establish a Christianity. It becomes clear that Christians have always shaped Jesus to fit their desires and interests. This disturbing judgment applies not only to the interpreters of Jesus in modern times but also to the authors of the biblical texts. The person and proclamation of Jesus have the author's deep sympathy, yet they can no longer hold the unique significance that they still possess according to church dogma. Lüdemann makes it clear that the three essential foundations of Christianity can no longer be upheld: the idea of creation from nothing, the belief in a resurrection, and the establishment of an ethics based on the proclamation of Jesus. It is precisely shown that the historical person of Jesus has been distorted beyond recognition in large parts of the New Testament. Only in a few places can a shadowy outline of his person still be discerned. Lüdemann's aim is to clarify the true origins of Western culture in understandable language.