The Hidden Life of Jesus Christ: A Memoir, is a metaphysical novel that speculates on what Jesus was doing between the age of 12, when he appeared in the temple in Jerusalem; and age 30, when he began his ministry in Galilee.The novel was written by Bill Worth, a retired Unity minister and a former newspaper editor and publisher. Worth believes Jesus was born a human being, like the rest of us, and learned how to perform the "signs and wonders" of the New Testament by studying with the mystical Essenes in Israel and traveling to Egypt, India, and the Himalayan mountains, where he spent years at the feet of sages and avatars.What he learned there enabled him to create the “miracles” as related in the New Testament gospels: raising the dead; healing the blind, the sick, and the lame; and calming storms. From the masters of the Far East, he learned to access higher physical and spiritual laws – so much so that he was able to raise the vibration of his own body and escape the tomb.This novel features unforgettable characters, including Mary Magdalene, the love of Jesus' life; Amad, the bandit trader who kidnapped Jesus but later became a fast friend; John the Baptist, who constantly challenged Jesus' belief system; Maya, Amad's feisty mother-in-law who taught Jesus about the Buddha; and Om, the irascible dwarrow who forced him to learn how to access – and use – the higher laws. And the novel answers these controversial questions: did Jesus have an intimate relationship with Mary Magdalene? If so, what was the outcome? Did he really die on the cross, or did he spend his old age in India?The central theme of this novel centers on the words of Jesus, as recorded by the apostle John, in Chapter 14, Verse 12 of his gospel: "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father."

The discovery of the so-called Nag Hammadi Library rocked the world. Among the texts discovered in 1945 were some Gospels that modern eyes had never seen. Since then, studies regarding the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth have made significant advances. As this new light was cast on one of history's most influential figures (if not the most influential), a dark cloud of doubt moved in almost simultaneously. Had the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John reflected the real Jesus, or was this new attention on the ""hidden"" Gospels about to unveil the ""hidden life"" of the Revealer? The canonical Gospels say very little about the early years of Jesus' life. In fact, Mark and John say nothing. The so-called apocryphal Gospels, on the other hand, say a whole lot. After an analysis of the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke (Part 1), the information found in the so-called apocryphal Gospels is synthesized in story form (Part 2). What should we think of this hidden life? In the end, the reader must decide. But this hidden life is hidden no longer. Of course, that all depends on whether the events they describe actually happened. ""Antonio Pinero's colloquial retelling of legends about Jesus' birth and childhood is taken not only from the New Testament but, more particularly, from a synthesis of many apocryphal gospels. The book is a fascinating introduction to Jesus' career prior to his ministry and is aimed at readers unfamiliar with these 'hidden' years. Editorial chapters provide helpful introductory material. --J. Keith Elliott, Emeritus Professor, The University of Leeds, UK; Editor of A Synopsis of Apocryphal Nativity and Infancy Narratives ""Professor Antonio Pinero deserves to be better known in English-speaking New Testament scholarly circles. In this volume, Professor Pinero plays to his strengths by bringing together discussion of both the canonical Gospels and the non-canonical early Christian gospels. There is plenty here to agree with, as well as a number of things to disagree with, regarding Professor Pinero's various historical and theological assessments, but all readers will benefit from being able to have access to such illuminating and challenging discussion in one compact volume."" --Stanley E. Porter, President, Dean, and Professor of New Testament, Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Antonio Pinero is Chair and Professor Emeritus of Greek Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid. He is an internationally-renowned New Testament scholar, specializing in the language and literature of early Christianity. In 2007, Antonio won the I Finis Terrae Award for his book Los cristianos derrotados.

In this unique introduction to the hidden life in Christ, James Bryan Smith walks readers through a thirty-day immersion in Colossians 3:1-17. Each of the thirty short chapters hones in on a single word or phrase from this life-changing passage, followed by a simple daily practice, a prompt for reflection and small group follow-up questions.