John Smelcer 
The Gospel of Simon 

2, 000 years ago an itinerant Jewish preacher was condemned to crucifixion. A man named Simon, from Cyrene, was compelled to help Jesus carry the heavy cross. What did he and Jesus talk about? Eager to learn more about this “rabbi, ” Simon returned to Jerusalem the next day. What he learned changed his life, and gave his descendants an incredible secret.

About the author

John Smelcer, Ph.D., is the author of over fifty books, many translated and published worldwide. His bestselling book of mythology, The Raven and the Totem, includes a foreword by Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth). With Russian Orthodox Archbishop Benjamin, John contributed to the revised map of global Christianity in the 10th edition of Living Religions (Mary Pat Fisher, Ed.). With the Dalai Lama, John co-authored a poem on compassion. He is currently writing a book about how war corrupts and unhinges conscience. Dr. Smelcer’s education includes postdoctoral studies at Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard, where he studied Buddhism, Islam and Sufism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, including the historical Jesus of Nazareth.