Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament

by Bart D. Ehrman

Overview

While most people think that the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the only sacred writings of the early Christians, this is not at all the case. A companion volume to Bart Ehrman's Lost Christianities, this book offers an anthology of up-to-date and readable translations of many non-canonical writings from the first centuries after Christ—texts that have been for the most part lost or neglected for almost 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 Apocalypses and Secret Books, and several Canon lists. Ehrman has included a general introduction, plus brief introductions to each piece. This important anthology gives readers a vivid picture of the range of beliefs that battled each other in the first centuries of the Christian era.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195182507
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2005
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	1300L (what's this?)

About the Author

Bart D. Ehrman is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings and Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

"The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and early Christian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on early Christianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as they illuminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."—Library Journal (on Lost Christianities and Lost Scriptures)

"History, it's often said, is written by the victors. Bart Ehrman argues in a pair of intriguing new books that the same could be said of the Bible's New Testament.... Will shock more than a few lay readers."—The Boston Globe

"Lost Scriptures provides a good sample of the literature and illustrates nicely the complex and often exotic world of second- and third-century Christianity."—America

"Fresh authoritative translations of the texts that fell outside in the canon."—Christian Science Monitor

From the Publisher

Many Christians believe that the 27 books of the New Testament comprise the only sacred writings of the early Christianity. Dr. Bart Ehrman, the chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, disagrees. He has edited an anthology of 15 Gospels; 5 non-canonical Acts of the Apostles; 13 Epistles; a number of Apocalypses and Secret Books; and several Canon Lists.