Killing Jesus

Killing Jesus

Author	Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Subject	Crucifixion of Jesus
Publisher	Henry Holt and Co.
Publication date	September 24, 2013
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	304
ISBN	978-0805098549

Killing Jesus: A History is a 2013 book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard about the life and crucifixion of Jesus, referred to in the book as Jesus of Nazareth. It is the follow-up to Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln. Killing Jesus was released September 24, 2013^[1] through Henry Holt and Company.

Upon its publication, Killing Jesus debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list,^[2] and was on the list for 52 weeks.^[3] In its fall books preview, USA Today called it “a suspenseful thriller.”^[4] Of its sales success, The Washington Post wrote, “The most popular titles in the Washington area have a distinctly biblical glow: for the second week in a row, Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard is No. 1. This is the third in their spectacularly successful assassination series.”^[5]

Reception

A review in The Guardian by Selina O'Grady (author of "And Man Created God: Kings, Cults, and Conquests at the Time of Jesus") called it "a breathy retelling of the gospel stories by two conservative Catholics, one of whom, O'Reilly, believes that he was inspired to write the book by the Holy Ghost." The reviewer also stated that, "Everyone creates God in their own image, so it's not surprising that Fox television's aggressively conservative down-home-let's-hear-it-for-the-ordinary-guy talk show host should have created a Tea Party son of God. Jesus, the little guy, is an enemy of the big corrupt tax-oppressing Roman empire, which is itself just a version of Washington, only even more venal and sexually depraved. This Jesus is a tax-liberating rebel who incurs the wrath of the Jewish and Roman powers by threatening their joint fleecing of the people. As a member of the populist right, he is not, of course, in favour of redistribution: Bill O'Reilly's Jesus does not tell the rich to give away their money to the poor."^[6]

Television adaptation

National Geographic picked up the television adaptation of Killing Jesus, just as it had for Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy.^[7] It was written by Walon Green and directed by Christopher Menaul. Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker and Mary Lisio, who also produced Killing Kennedy, were executive producers. The series debuted on Palm Sunday 2015 (March 29), breaking viewership records set by Killing Kennedy.

Killing Jesus was nominated for an Emmy and a Critics' Choice Award, both for best television movie. It is also nominated as best television movie by the Satellite Awards.

References

External links

• Official website
• Reviews
  • Watts, Joel L. (Sep 25, 2013). "Review of Killing Jesus: A History". Huffington Post. Simply put, there is nothing here beyond an attempt at agenda-driven drivel produced for the lowest common denominator. I wish I had my day back. 
  • Delzell, Dan (Oct 1, 2013). "Review: Bill O'Reilly's Killing Jesus Spiritualizes the Historical Christ". Christian Post. In undertaking the noble task of writing a book about Jesus Christ, the popular Bill O'Reilly unfortunately ended up cutting Christ in half. He zeroed in on the historical Jesus, while completely missing the historical Christ. 
  • "Bill O'Reilly and Killing Jesus: So it is!". Washington Post. Nov 11, 2013. One reviewer came to find 16 or so “so it is” constructions in Killing Jesus. ... The mildly distracting literary quirk in Killing Jesus tends to show up at the beginning of sentences: “So it is that the tough, loyal, muscled men of Legio XIII are drilled in the art of battle strategy…” Several pages later: “So it is that the new Roman Empire is ruled by just one all-powerful man...” Plus: “And so it is that Simon — whom Jesus renames Peter, meaning ‘rock’ — becomes Jesus’s first disciple.