The Jesus Scroll. [Hardcover]

Donovan. Joyce (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st American Edition edition (January 1973)
• ISBN-10: 0803743009
• ISBN-13: 978-0803743007
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,892,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exploration Into The Possibility of A Living Christ, February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jesus Scroll. (Hardcover)

The book is based upon the auther's claim that he viewed a scroll that was apparently written by Jesus in A.D. 67 in Masada. If the author's claim is true (which I am inclined to think it is), this poses enormous implications for the foundations of Christianity as we know it today. Instead of focusing on the scroll's content (the author claims to have never actually read the scroll, only to have seen it), the book focuses on the implications of its existence and examines other evidence to verify if the scroll could be authentic. The book is an excellent read for anyone of moderate skill and should take no more than a week to get through. Despite the historical detail into which the book delves, Joyce explains all of his research in layman's terms and is easy to follow.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If true it is most profound, February 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jesus Scroll. (Hardcover)

It is difficult to tell if this is a fictional or actual story. If true it is by far the most profound book every written about Christ. If the information gets into the mainstream press it would for ever change Christianity. The author claims, among other things, that Jesus died at Masada at the age of 80 after committing suicide the night before the Romans overran this Jewish stronghold. He claims to have seen a scroll written by Jesus just before he died. He implys that this scroll was sold to either the Vatican or the Russians who subsequently used it to force recognition from the Catholic church. True or false it's a great tale that everyone can relate to.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting..., July 17, 2009

By 

Julie "A nurse of exceptional size" (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Jesus Scroll (Paperback)

I feel as a doubting and confused Christian I shoudl be intrested in the life of Jesus and get all the facts before making decisions about religion. I first heard of this book when I read a fiction novel (Cross Bones by Kathy Reich) and I was intrigued so I got it.

The concept is very interesting. The book is very interesting but poorly organized. It seems like a long, angry and sarcastic diatribe which takes away from the author's points. I looked up the author and found out he was a radio talks how host and that is more or less how the book is written.

The other problem I have is that he doesn not site his sources in the text so everything is based on his word alone. He gives the impression that the New Testament is misleading and over editied (which I can buy) but then he uses it to support his theories. I feel like you can't have it both ways BUT like I said the argument is hard to follow so I may have misunderstood it. It's hard to tell what is his opinion and interpitation of the facts and what is acutal historic fact.

I have learned so much about Roman and Jewish and Christian history because I have to keep looking things up! I think anything that increases learning is great! It makes me want to keep reading more books so anything that does that is worth reading. I have three books lined up already to read because I am so curious about these theories.

I would recommend reading this book but use it as a stepping point and not take anything too seriously.