Documents for the Study of the Gospels [Paperback]

David R. Cartlidge (Editor), David L. Dungan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1994

This collection of freshly translated texts leads to a new appreciation of the richness and variety of the religious world within which Christianity emerged as a powerful new force. Bringing together for the first time under a single cover documents from Jewish, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Syrian, and little-known early Christian sources, the material is arranged to bring out as clearly as possible the ways in which early Christian worship of Jesus Christ as Savior and God both echoed contemporary worship of other savior gods and at the same time stood in sharp contrast to such worship. This revised and enlarged edition contains a new introduction on texts and traditions in late antiquity, a reworked translation of The Gospel of Peter, selections from Ovid's Metamorphoses, plus such documents as Papyrus Egerton 2, Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 840, and The Apocryphon of James. In addition, the table of contents has been expanded to allow easier access to the documents contained herein.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers; Rev Enl edition (February 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800628098
• ISBN-13: 978-0800628093
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating collection of texts; a must-read for people studying the gospels, June 11, 2006

By 

Alexander C. Zorach "Alex Zorach" (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Documents for the Study of the Gospels (Paperback)

This book is a collection of texts from time periods and genres similar to the gospels of the new testament. While some of the texts consist of things that "didn't make it into the Bible" so to speak, others are texts of a different sort, more tangentially related (i.e. less related to Christianity).

There is not much discussion: this book is pretty much just the texts. Each text has a brief introductory paragraph which is quite useful for understanding its role, but these introductions are very helpful.

I think this book would be an excellent read for anyone who is seriously studying the gospels. It is also be interesting to study these texts from a religious perspective. Some, such as the infancy gospel of Thomas, present a picture of Jesus which is provocative and even outrageous, and which many people, such as myself, would have strong disagreements with. However, they're still interesting to read. My favorite text in the collection is the (coptic) gospel of Thomas, which seems almost like a blend of some Buddhist ideas with Christianity.

At the very least, this book provides some interesting and provocative reading material to anyone interested in the gospels, for any reason.