HeresyIn the beginning was the Word, says the Gospel of John. This sentenceand the words of all four gospelsis central to the teachings of the Christian church and has shaped Western art, literature, language, and the Western mind. Yet, in the years after the death of Christ, there was not merely one word, nor any consensus as to who Jesus was or why he had mattered. There were many different Jesuses, among them the aggressive Jesus who scorned his parents