Killing Jesus

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, through Henry Holt and Company. The book was a commercial success, debuting at number one on The New York Times bestseller list and remaining on the list for 52 weeks. Popular reviews of the book were mixed, with both Christian and non-Christian reviewers faulting the book for its tedious writing and its claims of historical objectivity. Scholars and historians have criticized the book for its inaccurate, politically-motivated portrayal of Jesus as a "Tea Party Son of God", its uncritical approach to primary sources, its omission of some of Jesus's teachings, and its oversimplified, sensationalist portrayal of history. Like both its predecessors, the book was adapted into a television film with the same name for National Geographic Channel. Writing and research According to The Washington Times, while writing Killing Jesus, O'Reilly and Dugard found that sources were far less plentiful than for the previous books in their Killing... series. They stated that the Internet was "a treasure", but complained that the information on various websites was "contradictory", that "hearsay was often quoted as truth", and that information from one website was frequently shown to be unreliable when checked against information from more reliable sources. Bill O'Reilly stated that he believes the book was inspired by the Holy Spirit.