Downsides to this book include the lack of a bibliography and index, as well as the format, which can be difficult and confusing to follow at times. Not infrequently, I found it challenging to discern who was saying what, a difficulty that could be fixed by changing the formatting of quotes and annotations. Fortunately, of course, there are many citations with bibliographical material.
Also, the chapters are in need of subheadings for different sections. The lack of chapter headings and the book title in the page headers is unfortunate as well. The print is a bit on the small side, which is difficult on aging eyes especially.
As concerns the actual content, the reader is directed to the numerous comments I have made throughout this review and summary. Substantially, I concur with the thesis of Buddhistic texts utilized in the creation of much Christian tradition, doctrine and ritual, an effort largely undertaken at Alexandria. I disagree with some of the details, and I find other parallel-pieces that also would have been available to the gospel writers and that seem to fit the puzzle better. In my opinion, some adjustments here and there are needed in the overall thesis.
Gematria?
Moreover, the gematria angle of the theoretically Sanskrit-inspired Greek texts (“Christian Lindtner Theory” or “CLT”) is difficult for a non-specialist to follow and appreciate. The numerical part of the CLT is too esoteric for most, but its inclusion may be instrumental to others who wish to see an illustration of typical Sanskrit memorization techniques that may have been used in the writing of the Greek New Testament.
Indeed, it must be kept in mind that Hindu Sanskrit-singers in fact have composed their sacred poems in this careful and meticulous manner, being conscious of the sacredness of the subject and task, as well as mastery of the ability to pass along these sacred texts over a period of centuries without benefit of relatively nonperishable writing materials. In other words, the sacred texts were meant to be repeated orally and to be memorable even to small children. If we keep this practice in mind, along with all the other factors, the contention becomes plausible that at least some of the Greek New Testament was composed in this manner.
Shortcomings aside, this book represents a very valuable research tool, particularly for the fields of Jesus mythicism and comparative religion and mythology.