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Lost Scriptures and Lost Christianities by Bart D. Ehrman - New book Set About these productsLost Scriptures : Books That Did Not Make It Into the New Testament Product InformationWe may think of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as the only sacred writings of the early Christians, but this is not at all the case. Lost Scriptures offers an anthology of up-to-date and readable translations of many non-canonical writings from the centuries after Christ--texts that have for the most part been neglected or lost for nearly two millennia. Here is an array of remarkably varied writings from early Christian groups whose visions of Jesus differ dramatically from our contemporary understanding. Readers will find Gospels supposedly authored by the apostle Philip, James the brother of Jesus, Mary Magdalen, and others. There are Acts originally ascribed to John and to Thecla, Paul's female companion; there are Epistles allegedly written by Paul to the Roman philosopher Seneca. And there is an apocalypse by Simon Peter that offers a guided tour of the afterlife, both the glorious ecstasies of the saints and the horrendous torments of the damned, and an Epistle by Titus, a companion of Paul, which argues page after page against sexual love, even within marriage, on the grounds that physical intimacy leads to damnation. In all, the anthology includes fifteen Gospels, five non-canonical Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles, a number of Apocalypes and Secret Books, and several Canon lists. Ehrman has included a general introduction, plus brief introductions to each piece. Lost Scriptures gives readers a vivid picture of the range of beliefs that battled each other in the first centuries of the Christian era. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in the Bible or the early Church. Product IdentifiersPublisher Oxford University Press, Incorporated ISBN-10 0195141822 ISBN-13 9780195141825 Product ID (ePID) 2512408 Product Key FeaturesBook Title Lost Scriptures : Books That Did Not Make It Into the New Testament Format Hardcover Language English Topic Christianity / History, Biblical Studies / General Publication Year 2003 Genre Religion Number of Pages 352 Pages DimensionsItem Length 5.9in Item Height 1.2in Item Width 9.4in Item Weight 23.6 Oz Additional Product FeaturesLc Classification Number Bs2832.E37 2003 Reviews "Lost Scriptures provides a good sample of the literature and illustrates nicely the complex and often exotic world of second- and third-century Christianity.... The texts presented in Ehrman's anthology and his incisive analyses of them constitute a solid contribution to showing thediversity of thought and practice within early Christianity."--America, "Lost Scriptures provides a good sample of the literature and illustratesnicely the complex and often exotic world of second- and third-centuryChristianity.... The texts presented in Ehrman's anthology and his incisiveanalyses of them constitute a solid contribution to showing the diversity ofthought and practice within early Christianity."--America, "Fresh authoritative translations of the texts that fell outside in the canon."--Christian Science Monitor, "Fresh authoritative translations of the texts that fell outside in the canon."--Christian Science Monitor "A companion toLost Christianities, this volume provides substantial selections from over three dozen of the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Apocalypses and revelatory treatises not included in the New Testament canon, but which reveal the diverse and competing forms of early Christianity. Ehrman's introductions helpfully situate the documents in their presumed original settings. An invaluable collection of texts for both students of early Christianity and general readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University "Lost Scripturesprovides a good sample of the literature and illustrates nicely the complex and often exotic world of second- and third-century Christianity.... The texts presented in Ehrman's anthology and his incisive analyses of them constitute a solid contribution to showing the diversity of thought and practice within early Christianity."--America, "A companion to Lost Christianities, this volume provides substantial selections from over three dozen of the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Apocalypses and revelatory treatises not included in the New Testament canon, but which reveal the diverse and competing forms of early Christianity. Ehrman'sintroductions helpfully situate the documents in their presumed original settings. An invaluable collection of texts for both students of early Christianity and general readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University, "Fresh authoritative translations of the texts that fell outside in the canon."--Christian Science Monitor "A companion to Lost Christianities, this volume provides substantial selections from over three dozen of the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Apocalypses and revelatory treatises not included in the New Testament canon, but which reveal the diverse and competing forms of early Christianity. Ehrman's introductions helpfully situate the documents in their presumed original settings. An invaluable collection of texts for both students of early Christianity and general readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University "Lost Scriptures provides a good sample of the literature and illustrates nicely the complex and often exotic world of second- and third-century Christianity.... The texts presented in Ehrman's anthology and his incisive analyses of them constitute a solid contribution to showing the diversity of thought and practice within early Christianity."--America Table of Content General IntroductionNON-CANONICAL GOSPELSThe Gospel of the NazareansThe Gospel According to the EbionitesThe Gospel According to the HebrewsThe Gospel According to the EgyptiansThe Coptic Gospel of ThomasPapyrus Egerton 2: The Unknown GospelThe Gospel of PeterThe Gospel of MaryThe Gospel of PhilipThe Gospel of TruthThe Gospel of the SaviorThe Infancy Gospel of ThomasThe Proto-Gospel of JamesThe Epistle of the ApostlesThe Coptic Apocalypse of PeterThe Second Treatise of Great SethThe Secret Gospel of MarkNON-CANONICAL ACTS OF THE APOSTLESThe Acts of JohnThe Acts of PaulThe Acts of TheclaThe Acts of ThomasThe Acts of PeterNON-CANONICAL EPISTLES AND RELATED WRITINGSThe Third Letter to the CorinthiansCorrespondence of Paul and SenecaPaul's Letter to the LaodiceansThe Letter of 1 ClementThe Letter of 2 ClementThe "Letter of Peter to James" and its "Reception"The Homilies of ClementPtolemy's Letter to FloraThe Treatise of the ResurrectionThe Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve ApostlesThe Letter of BarnabasThe Preachings of PeterPseudo-TitusNON-CANONICAL APOCALYPSES AND REVELATORY TREATISESThe Shepherd of HermanThe Apocalypse of PeterThe Apocalypse of PaulThe Secret Book of JohnOn the Origin of the WorldThe First Thought in Three FormsThe Hymn of the PearlCANONICAL LISTSThe Muratorian CanonThe Canon of Origen of AlexandriaThe Canon of EusebiusThe Canon of Athansius of AlexandriaThe Canon at the Third Synod of Carthage Copyright Date 2003 Target Audience Trade Lccn 2003-045965 Dewey Decimal
Lost Christianities : the Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew Product InformationThe early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human butnot divine, while others said he was divine but not human.In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that boreout their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, and as Ehrman shows, these spectacular discoveries reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners. Ehrman'sdiscussion ranges from considerations of various "lost scriptures"--including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus's closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus's alleged twin brother--to the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-JewishMarcionites, and various "Gnostic" sects. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between "proto-orthodox Christians"-- those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief--and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame.Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail. Product IdentifiersPublisher Oxford University Press, Incorporated ISBN-10 0195141830 ISBN-13 |