The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church [Abridged] [Paperback]

J. K. Elliott (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0198263848 | ISBN-13: 978-0198263845 | Edition: Abridged

From Jesus' birth in a cave to Saint Paul baptizing a lion, Elliott offers a selection of early Christian legends which did not get into the Bible, yet have had a profound influence on art, literature, and theology from the second century through the Middle Ages and even modern times. Some of these stories, especially those involving the Virgin Mary, have affected matters of doctrine. The apocryphal Acts offer a legendary history of the early church and some of the best examples of hagiography about Christianity's earliest saints. In this book Elliott provides introductions to each of the most important and significant of these remarkable and often bizarre apocryphal texts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an excellent collection..."--Professor Keith A. Burton, Oakwood College

"A well selected series of texts from a widely neglected body of early Christian literature. This book will serve as a useful introduction to the New Testament apocrypha for anyone interested in popular spirituality during the time in which the New Testament canon took shape."--Frank Thielman, Associate Professor of the New Testament, Beeson Divinity School

"A convenient selection of excerpts from his erudite and invaluable The Apocryphal New Testament. A nice handbook for students, as well as an invitation to the larger work."--Roy D. Wells, Professor of Religion, Birmingham Southern College

"...informative and well designed to introduce someone to a broad sampling of Apocryphal literature."--Gary Derickson, Western Baptist College

"An excellent low-cost collection."--Michael T. McEwen, St. Gregory's College

About the Author

J. K. Elliott is Reader in Textual Criticism for the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at the University of Leeds. He also edited The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation (OUP, 1994).

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Abridged edition (January 4, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198263848
• ISBN-13: 978-0198263845
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,305,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, April 23, 2004

By 

Jason (Morenci, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church (Paperback)

While some of the stories do tend to be moderately entertaining, this book consists mainly of nice safe stories that are often simply speculation on (and expansion of) stories found in the canonized New Testament. Even the Gospel of Thomas is reduced down to sayings that can pretty much be found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The author/editor goes to lengths to avoid anything Gnostic or otherwise "heretical" and always warns the reader if something that comes close to that category will be mentioned. Basically it is just clean and friendly reading for the cautiously rebellious Christian. No worries of burning in hell for reading this one. In fact, you might as well just read the New Testament again.
The one slightly redeeming quality, which was likely not intended, is that it allows the reader to see where the roots of much anti-Semitism and persecution of all non-Christian thought has it's origin. More than a few of the stories harp on how evil Jews are or how stupid Pagans are.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colourful and entertaining, February 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church (Hardcover)

The Apocryphal Jesus is a wonderful and colourful collection of stories gleaned around the early Church. I found much that I hadn't come across before. If it were only for this it would be worth buying, but it is more. Elliott has done a masterful job in clearly presenting the stories against their contemporary settings. However, after reading the wonderful and revelatory account of "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton I now view most 'authenticated' offerings around the man we know as Jesus with a degree of skepticism. Elliott's "Apocryphal Jesus" is a colorful delight but is up against the wonderful and profound offering by Richard G. Patton.