"Who was Jesus Christ?" This is one of the most important problems for world history and human thought. His parents are the God and a virgin. Born in a jewish village two thousand years ago, preaching the way and healing sick people for some years, then nailed on the cross for atonement for people's sin, and after that he resurrected from death and ascented to the heaven. This is the Christ, they say.

Thus speak most of forty million chiristians all over the world indeed. I also often read books so written, heard people spoke so. Ordinary people as well, except few scholars, don't seem to have doubt on that.

However should we believe that without serious considerations? What and how many reliable reasons and evidences we have for believing that?

For example, that every dog barks the truth sometimes depends on that one dog barks against a lie. If we believe all books, it's even worse than we have no books at all. Before we blieve that, we should seek reliable and unbiased investigations first, don't we?

1.2: Did the Christ really exist?

Then, let me ask the same question: who was Jesus Christ? Did he have such a birth, live such a life and died such a death? Nay rather, did the person called Jesus Christ really exist in this world?

In Europe so-called "liberal" scholars free from christian restraint have investigated and discussed this problem, and almost solved it indeed. In Japan, on the other hand, no one even takes one step to this problem, as far as we know.

This is the most important problem for the world history and human thought, even for the Japanese people as well, because the basis of our folk morality was shaken but the idea of new ethics is not yet established and, to make matters worse, our people want faith and mental peace these days, as if thirsty people want anything to drink and sterving ones anything to eat. How much more important it is, because christianity has much stronger an influence on the Japanese world of thought than Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism have done so far, although the mission in Japan began only lately and can get only a little believers.

1.3: An important problem for the ordinary people

Thus considered, this is not only a problem on a desk for philosophers, historians and religious scientists, but also so much practically important a probrem in the ordinary people's social and spiritual life that I'm much eager for a right and evident solution for it.

The one and only purpose of this book is giving this solution. For this purpose, firstly I read through the whole books of New Testament for criticizing it's value as historical documents, secondly investigated Christ's deeds appeared in historical documents other than Bible, thirdly grasped the character of Christianity itself by comparing doctorines and rituals of pre-christian paganisms with christian ones, and lastly researched the rise of christianity, so that I can decide what was the Christ. I wish my procedure didn't seriously fail.

While lacking deep and wide knowledge and being entirely outside of science of religion, I planned this big plan, just like, as a proverb says, a blind snake cannot know fear. With some confidence, however, I dared to bring this plan out, as a first planner. If you get some interest on this plan, listen to this talk of an untalented man.