For millennia the world has been driven by the differences between the great patriarchal religions. Western civilization–or Christendom, as it was once called–received its values and its confidence from a belief in God, the Father, and Jesus, his only son. But what if this conviction were founded on an error?

Who is the man in the factually inconsistent Gospel stories? And who is the man who makes a brief appearance carrying a jar of water? This extraordinary study by a Unitarian minister suggests that Jesus never existed historically; he was simply a representation of an astrological theology–a representation, simply put, of the zodiac sign of Aquarius. In The Gospel and the Zodiac, Reverend Bill Darlison demonstrates that all the other signs are present too, in perfect zodiacal order. The Gospel story is not the product of historians or eyewitnesses, but an older, mystical text produced by an ancient, esoteric school as a guide to the Age of Pisces.

Every bit as revelatory and controversial as it sounds, The Gospel and the Zodiac will shake up the religious status quo, and in doing so, provide both a new look at a religious icon and a deeper understanding of the faith that binds millions together.