Political commentator Bill O'Reilly heavily criticised the new book "The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Truth Reveals Jesus" this week.
O'Reilly slammed the release during the "Tip of the Day" portion of "The O'Reilly Factor."
"There's a book out that says misleading things about Jesus of Nazareth," he began. "The book was done by dubious people who have zero credibility but, nevertheless, the national media is taking it seriously."
"The Lost Gospel" was written by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson, and is allegedly an English translation of a 1,450-year-old manuscript. The book asserts that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, had two children, and was connected to the highest leaders of the Roman Empire.
"There is absolutely no evidence, none at all, that Jesus was married to anyone or had any children," O'Reilly insisted. "In the past, some have written that Jesus had brothers and sisters, but there's no evidence of that either."
O'Reilly's book, "Killing Jesus," discussed Jesus' life and the events leading up to His death. He described Jesus' family as communal, and said that many people lived with them.
"At the time, if you were in that circumstance, everyone in your dwelling was referred to as a 'brother' or 'sister.' Everyone," he explained. "But that doesn't mean they were biological."
The television host called "The Lost Gospel" a "fraud simply designed to make money," and said the mainstream media "should be ashamed" for promoting the release as a serious work. During his segment, he played a clip of "Good Morning America" host Lara Spencer plugging the book.
"There are charlatans everywhere," he said.
"The Lost Gospel" was released on November 12, and is the No 1 Best Seller in Amazon's Ancient Civilisations category. The authors blame criticism of the book on ""theological protectionism," and their publisher, Pegasus, has defended the work.
"We stand behind our author's research," a spokesperson said.
