Customer Reviews

The Complete Gospels : Annotated Scholars Version (Revised & expanded)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is an absolutely fascinating book.

This is a very important compilation, both from a scholarly and a popular perspective. It has only been within the past generation that dialogue and interest in how the Bible came to be the Bible has grown beyond the narrow confines of academic analysts and theorists, and into the mainstream discussion of churches and independent readers.

While most of the material in Robert Miller's `The Complete Gospels' is available elsewhere (and thus Miller is more an editor than an author), this is the first time that a concentrated effort has been made to bring together all of the texts and fragments of the known gospels from the early Christian era.

The contents are as follows:

--Narrative Gospels--
Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Luke
Signs Gospel
Gospel of John

--Sayings Gospels--
Sayings Gospel Q
Gospel of Thomas
Greek Fragments of Thomas
Secret Book of James
Dialogue of the Saviour
Gospel of Mary

--Infancy Gospels--
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
Infancy Gospel of James

--Fragmentary Gospels--
Gospel of Peter
Secret Gospel of Mark
Egerton Gospel
Gospel Oxyrhynchus 840
Gospel Oxyrhynchus 1224

--Jewish-Christian Gospels--
Gospel of the Hebrews
Gospel of the Ebionites
Gospel of the Nazoreans

--Orphan Sayings and Stories--

These are all newly translated into what has been dubbed the Scholars Version, or SV, by leading academic figures, from the original languages, which (in addition to the dominant Greek) includes Coptic, Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew. The SV text strives to be understandable in modern English idiom, and so avoids poetic nuance in favour of presenting the meaning in clearest language.

`The Complete Gospels' has an introduction to each gospel which establishes context, origin, story and structure. Also, the gospel texts are heavily annotated, pointing out difficulties in the text, cross-references with other gospels (canonical and non-canonical), and historical and theological issues which arise from interpretations. Theories of textual development and communal use are also presented.

John Dominic Crossan argues that the successful inclusion of the canonical gospels in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) came about more due to a success of type of gospel, as opposed to any necessary message in the gospels (else how does one logically account for the difficulties in reconciling the synoptic gospels with the Johannine account?). This argument has some merit, as can be seen from the above list, in which four of five narratives became canonical, and none of the other types did.

It is interesting to play around with various statements such as

Simon Peter said to them, 'Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life.
Jesus said, 'Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the domain of Heaven.' Gospel of Thomas, 114

And people sometimes complain that Paul is anti-female!

This same conflict is reflected in the Gospel of Mary:
Then Mary wept and said to Peter, 'Peter, my brother, what are you imagining about this? Do you think that I've made all this up secretly by myself or that I am telling lies about the Saviour?' Levi said to Peter, 'Peter, you have a constant inclination to anger and you are always ready to give way to it. And even now you are doing exactly that by questioning the woman as if you're her adversary. If the Saviour considered her to be worthy, who are you to disregard her?'

The copy I have is the annotated scholars edition, which was updated with four new pieces from the previous edition (the three Jewish-Christian gospels and Greek fragments of the Gospel of Thomas).

This is a truly fascinating look at various stories and issues that were contemporary with the canonical gospels, and had an influence in various smaller communities which, for one historical reason or another, failed to make a major impact on the development of Christianity. Regardless of one's view on the canon of scripture, this book provides material of interest for study and consideration.

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.

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

For three years I have used this book in an upper level college section on the historic Jesus. It works very well, once students understand the principles behind this new translation. The introductions and footnotes prove valuable for students, as do the resources at the back of the book. The translation provides fresh insight into the teachings, the historic milieu and the perspective of the gospel writers.

The only drawbacks are that the book does not include Acts in Luke/Acts, which I consider vital to understanding Luke.

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."

This book is for serious gospel study. The word "gospel" comes from a Greek term "euangelion" which means "good news." Within the New Testament the term refers to the message of Jesus, but eventually the term was applied to numerous formats for carrying the message. _The Complete Gospels_, as Robert Funk writes in the foreward, is "a bold step in gathering all the surviving gospels (from the early Christian era)... into one volume." In addition to the canonical gospels, there are sayings gospels, infancy gospels, Jewish-Christian gospels, as well as gospel fragments. The translations are fresh and _very_ readable. Each text is introduced and notated with parallel readings and minor commentary. For example, the editors write that saying #82 of the Gospel Of Thomas may have been based upon a proverb of Aesop. And as a little extra there are cameo insertions on topics ranging from how to translate "basileia tou theou" (kingdom of God) to an English representation of a column of Codex Sinaiticus.
To put it simply, this is an outstanding work.

I have found the book very simple to read and understand. It does away with the conventional and difficult language of the conventional bible. For the first time that I was able to read the bible's gospels with such interest, passion and ease. I would even appreciate it if the old testament would be retranslated to accomodate the simple and exciting language adopted by "The Complete Gospels". The content itslef is obviously most interesting.

I have followed the work of the Jesus Seminar for a while now, and this book was long overdue. Finally, in one collection they have put all the various "gospels" together. Moreover, they have re-translated even the more common gospels into modern English, complete with quasi-idiomatic renderings, in other words they are ever so much easier to read now.
The authors also provide numerous mini-essays on topics that may be somewhat obscure -- two examples are "Establishing the text of Q," (how they attempt to do that) and "The Judeans" (which goes into the 3 major phases of Judaism's existence). Finally, preceding each gospel, there is a 3-4 page explanation of the major issues, dating, origins, etc.
This is THE most useful book I have read so far in understanding how the Jesus Seminar has arrived at its opinions.

There are not just four gospels written about Jesus there are more than twenty written in the first three centuries. This book presents all those gospels. In a translation that is a collaboration between many of the best scholars in this feild these gospels are imbued with dynamic life and variety. No stone is left unturned, these scholars also explain the histories of each gospel and in an extremely readable way they provide people with no scholarly background a view into the world of Historical Jesus study. It also makes an invaluable tool or those who are studying the historical Jesus. It is very readable and very thorough, the translators and editors walk a person through every step of the way. There is no good reason to not read this book and so many good reasons to read it.

....if we believe these 'other' gospels are pure fiction (and if we believe the canonized four as well). It is the first time that all the known gospels have been incorporated. Instead of having to hunt down books one-by-one the JS has done all the work for us. I strongly recommend this book.

Besides this, I felt there were a number of minor to substaintial flaws in the book. It all starts on the cover, where one of the leaders of the JS states that this book is:

"Everything you need to empower your own search for the historical Jesus." (John Dominic Crossan).

Now notice that this book contains the two infancy gospels (James' and Thomas'). If this book contains everything we need to find the "historical Jesus" we must strongly wonder why those two documents were included in this collabatation. In the JS' "The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?" they tell us that these two infancy gospels are entirely fiction:

"The two infancy gospels, composed in the second century C.E., are entirely imaginative constructs. Since they contain no reliable historical information, they have been omitted from "The Acts of Jesus." (pg. 499)

So if this book is all that we need to find the "historical Jesus" why the heck did they include documents which they only a few years later state are entirely fiction and contain no historical data?!

On page six of TCG, they also give their dating for the various gospels. Many of these dates will make conservative scholars actually laugh. Such as dating "Dialogue of the Savior" and the Gospel of "Peter" earlier than Luke and John (which in themselves are given unusually late dates). They also date Thomas to 50 A.D. which is ridiculous. They give these dates not based upon factual data analysis but upon "development" of the "early Christian tradition". I strongly recommend Wenham's "Redating Matthew, Mark, and Luke" for a solid response to these dates.

Overall -- good book that is well worth the money though I found some of their conclusions to be very unusual.