Professor Jiang Xueqin argues that Jesus was a unique religious genius who synthesized the major global religions of his day to create a new religion, which we today refer to as Gnosticism. Like other great religious leaders, Jesus had a three-tier gospel. To the public, he taught that true faith demanded compassion. To his disciples, he taught that true faith demanded self-sacrifice. Then there were the secret teachings that he shared with his proteges. Jesus believed that we lived in a false reality, and it was only by seeking truth that we could escape from the darkness into the light.