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Title: The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholar's Version by Robert J. Miller ISBN: 0-944344-49-6 Publisher: Polebridge Press Pub. Date: January, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.68 (25 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: New Translation of the four Gospels plus lesser known books.
Comment: This translation, called the Scholars Version, takes text from the original language, be it Greek, Herbrew, Aramaic, even Coptic, and brings it directly into modern American English. This method clarifies like no other translation I have ever read. The distinguished scholars who worked on this project succeeded in making in the four canonical Gospels exciting and understandable. In addition, many documents that had been lost for centuries are brought into the modern age. The Gospels of Thomas, Peter, Mary, the Hebrews, and others are presented from a historical prospective without comment on the content. That is left up to the reader. In addition, the Secret Book of James and other obscure documents reveal early Christian writings that will expose the reader to ideas and teachings that might conflict with the more common persecptions of Jesus' teachings. I highly recommend this book for anyone who continues to search for Jesus from both a spiritual and historical point of view. But please be warned that thi
Rating: 4
Summary: Helped to Restore My Faith
Comment: This book and the scholarship that is behind it is finally giving much of humanity relief from the hard-core literalist interpretation of the gospels and the world. These scholars are definitely breathing new life into Christianity and are greatly aiding its transformation into a realistic religion.
The four main gospels are presented here in new translations, Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. There are some little things I don't like, such as the rendering of 'the Kingdom of God' as 'God's Imperial Rule'. But remember, the authors are doing what they can to be as true to history and the real meaning behind the words as possible.
There are extensive footnotes, and references given to other writings, chiefly the Old Testament. Other Gospels include the 'Signs' gospel, a listing of Jesus' miacles, and the Gospel of Q, which is more of a scholarly creation since it is a theoretical source for the common material in Luke and Matthew that is not in Mark. Also presented is the now-famous gnostic Gospel of Thomas, as well as another Greek Fragments of Thomas, the Secret Book of James, the Dialogue of the Savior, and the Gospel of Mary. Some think these are heretical because the church leaders didn't canonize them or condemned them, but everyone has to decide for his or herself. No one can decide for anyone else what is spiritually valid for them.
There are also the infancy Gospels of Thomas and James, and the Gospels of the Hebrews, Edionites, and Nazoreans, Other fragmentary Gospels included are the Gospel of Peter, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Egerton Gospel, and some other items.
There is also a load of information about the times in which the gospels were written and methods the scholars use.
Overall, this book is a good start for anyone looking to investigate the wider range of scriptures that are out there. Do so with an open mind and you will surely find reward.
Rating: 3
Summary: Useful reference, nothing more
Comment: However you feel about the Jesus Seminar, it's worth looking at all the early accounts of Jesus, if only to deepen one's understanding of early Christianity. In that sense, "The Complete Gospels" is worth the investment. There's the strange imagination behind the Infancy Gospels, and more importantly, there's a critical missing passage from Mark which explains why a youth in a sheet tears off naked into the night after Jesus is arrested. Those accounts, and others in the book, give you a window into the mind of the first Christians, from their view of the Messiah to their beliefs.
In some cases, those beliefs are strange. The Gnostics, for example, are usually seen as victims of orthodoxy's triumph, but the Gospels the Gnostics left behind leave doubts about the sect's long-term viability. Gnosticism was a classic Mediterranean mystery religion, with an impersonal, enigmatic figure (Jesus, in this case) at its center. Christ is a literal talking head in The Gospel of Thomas and a font of bizarre "wisdom" in the Secret Gospel of James. Those books, of course, reflect the Gnostic view of Jesus as a ghostly teacher of wisdom, but that Jesus can't compete with the human Messiah of the canonical Gospels.
Speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, "The Complete Gospels'" rendering of those works is awful. Whoever said the prose "leaps of the page" is right -- it leaps, trips, falls on its head, rolls down the stairs and breaks a hip. The translators say they wanted to modernize the "archaic" prose of the Gospels, and you can argue the Seminar is less interested in the poetry of the gospels than the literal, historical text. But it's hard to see how Christianity triumphed if early Christians read "Blessed are the poor" or "Blessed are the peacemakers" as "Congratulations, poor!" or "Congratulations, peacemakers!" It gives the Sermon on the Mount all the comfort and inspiration of a dinner at the Rotary Club.
Still, people won't buy "The Complete Gospels" for its style. Take a look, if only to see non-Biblical visions of Christ and get an acquaintance with the Jesus Seminar's work. And try not to squirm when "kingdom of God" becomes "God's Imperial Rule."
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Title: The Five Gospels : What Did Jesus Really Say? The Search for the AUTHENTIC Words of Jesus by Robert W. Funk ISBN: 006063040X Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 29 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: The Gnostic Gospels by ELAINE PAGELS ISBN: 0679724532 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 19 September, 1989 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Nag Hammadi Library in English : Revised Edition by James M. Robinson ISBN: 0060669357 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 21 November, 1990 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: The Historical Jesus : The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant by John Dominic Crossan ISBN: 0060616296 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 26 February, 1993 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup, Joseph Rowe, Jacob Needleman ISBN: 0892819111 Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: 30 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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