Customer Reviews

The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A decent collection of books which, for whatever reason, were excluded by the early Church (Catholic) councils from what became the Old Testament and New Testament. Initially published in 1926, each one of the "Lost Books" includes a brief introduction giving background and history. Like the editors of this two-part volume, I do not feel it is necessary to share my opinion of the historicity of these works, each reader can decide for him or herself what is shadow and what is reality, and consider the debate which at one time engulfed some of these books.

This volume is divided into two sections. The first is called "Lost Books of the Bible", and includes works which deal with Jesus & company, and may at one time have been considered part of the New Testament Gospel. Includes are the following 26 "lost" books:

Mary, Protevangelion, I. Infancy, II. Infancy, Christ and Abgarus, Nicodemus, The Apostles' Creed, Laodiceans, Paul and Senica, Paul and Thecla, I. Clement, II. Clement, Barnabus, Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, Polycarp, Philippians, I. Hermas-Visions, II. Herman-Commands, III. Hermas-Similitudes, Letters of Herod and Pilate, The Last Gospel of Peter

Part the Second is titled "The Forgotten Books of Eden", and includes works which are suited to the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. They too were excluded by Jewish (and some Christian) councils due to doubts about their age and origins. Includes are the following 20 books:

The First Book of Adam and Eve, The Second Book of Adam and Eve, The Secrets of Enoch, The Psalms of Solomon, The Odes of Solomon, The Letter of Aristeas, The Fourth Book of Maccabees, The Story of Ahikar, The Testament of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin

This affordable book offers a thought provoking read for those with a general interest "outside of the box". While the translations are somewhat dated, they are not difficult to understand.

This book is a good choice to begin to learn about the amazing history of the Christian Church.

Especially Gnosticism and the early Christian Church, and especially the creation of the New Testament Bible. For a different review....here is my review of books that build on these interests, especially the "lost" books of the New Testament Bible and the concepts of Gnosticism.

Nearly all knowledgeable Biblical scholars realize there have been a wide range of writings attributed to Jesus and his Apostles..... and that some of these were selected for compilation into the book that became known as the Bible.....and that some books have been removed from some versions of the Bible and others have been re-discovered in modern times.

The attention focused on Gnosticism by Dan Brown's DaVinci Code may be debatable, but the fact is that increased attention on academics tends to be predominately positive, so I welcome those with first-time or renewed interest. At least first-timers to Gnosticism are not pursuing the oh-so-popular legends of the Holy Grail, Bloodline of Christ, and Mary Magdalene.

This is great......I seldom quote other reviewers, but there is one reviewer of Pagels' books who confided that he had been a Jesuit candidate and had been required to study a wide range of texts but was never was told about the Nag Hamadi texts. He said:

"Now I know why. The Gospel of Thomas lays waste to the notion that Jesus was `the only begotten Son of God' and obviates the need for a formalized church when he says, `When your leaders tell you that God is in heaven, say rather, God is within you, and without you.' No wonder they suppressed this stuff! The Roman Catholic Church hasn't maintained itself as the oldest institution in the world by allowing individuals to have a clear channel to see the divinity within all of us: they need to put God in a bottle, label the bottle, put that bottle on an altar, build a church around that altar, put a sign over the door, and create rubricks and rituals to keep out the dis-believing riff-raff. Real `Us' versus `them' stuff, the polar opposite from `God is within You.' `My God is bigger than your God' the church(s)seem to say. And you can only get there through "my" door/denomination. But Jesus according to Thomas had it right: just keep it simple, and discover the indwelling Divinity `within you and without you.'"

Here are quickie reviews of what is being bought these days on the Gnostic Gospels and the lost books of the Bible in general:

The Lost Books of the Bible (0517277956) includes 26 apocryphal books from the first 400 years that were not included in the New Testament.

Marvin Meyers' The Secret Teachings of Jesus : Four Gnostic Gospels (0394744330 ) is a new translation without commentary of The Secret Book of James, The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas, and The Secret Book of John.

James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English : Revised Edition (0060669357) has been around 25 years now and is in 2nd edition. It has introductions to each of the 13 Nag Hammadi Codices and the Papyrus Berioinensis 8502.

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (0140278079) by Geza Vermes has selected works....a complete work is more difficult to achieve than the publisher's marketing concept indicates. His commentary generates strong reactions.

Elaine Pagels has 2 books (The Gnostic Gospels 0679724532 and Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas 0375501568) that have received considerable attention lately. For many, her work is controversial in that it is written for popular consumption and there is a strong modern interpretation. She does attempt to reinterpret ancient gender relationships in the light of modern feminist thinking. While this is a useful (and entertaining) aspect of college women's studies programs, it is not as unethical as some critics claim. As hard as they may try, all historians interpret the past in the context of the present. Obviously there is value in our attempts to re-interpret the past in the light of our own time.

If you want the full scholarly work it is W. Schneemelcher's 2 volume New Testament Apocrypha.

Also, to understand the Cathars......try Barbara Tuckman's Distant Mirror for an incredible historical commentary on how the Christian Church has handled other points of view

This book is actually quite interesting. There is really no reason why it should be controversial.

Sure, there are those of the fundamentalist/evangelical view who have been taught that to even look at something like this will make one hellbound, but that's malarkey in my opinion. Many of these stories actually make for good reading.

The Adam and Eve tale is fascinating excercise in religious fiction which proports to explain where cain got his wife, what happened to Adam and Eve after they left the Garden of Eden, etc. The Infancy Gospel is a bizzare tale of a wayward young Jesus before he learned to use his powers wisely. The letter of Pilate gives the Roman leader's feelings after the crucifixion, etc. Among the best is the Story of Ahikar, which is somewhat of an ancient Hebrew mix of the Arabian Nights and Aesop's Fables. The Secrets of Enoch (not to be confused with the Book of Enoch) tells of Enoch's adventures in heaven.

As long as this book is taken for what it actually is, which is a collection of entertaining ancient "what if" stories and nothing more, no one should have any problem with it. A good read on a spare evening

The book was delivered in a rapid time frame and came in excellent condition. I will be willing to purchase another item from this company and recommend them thumbs up.

Well, first off i gave this five stars, though i havent read the book i'm afraid. But i like to think that anything that can encourage the teachings of God deserves 5 stars, if only for the effort.

But i am writing this mainly to clear up a review i just saw posted
here by a "eric burgess" who claims there are no other outlets to seek the word of God. you can look back and see his (i assume this person is male, but i appologize if they are female) review if you wish, but it specifically quoted 1st Timothy 3:15 saying:

"There is no evidence that any of these books where ever considered conanicle by the Church which is (1 Tim 3:15). All of Gods word is contained in the Bible."

Wow, sorry, but that is pretty innacurate. This is what 1st Timothy 3:14-16 says (15 alone is kind of vague, so i decided to include the previous and following verse):

"14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He[3] appeared in a body,[4]
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory."

I dont know about you, but i dont see anything about the rejecting of "lost books." so i checked 2nd Timothy, thinking he must have got the two confused:

"14But as for you[Timothy], continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Yeah, i'm not seeing anything regarding any kind of book or, well, anything our reviewer eric was talking about. But, while searching through the Bible for Timothy, i did find one of my old favorites from Mark 9:

"Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us

38"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us. 41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward."

I think the passage above kind of sums it up. Yes, God's breath is in the Holy Bible, but is there any thing saying it cant be found else where. all we are really left with is "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2nd Tim 3:16). I dont know about you, but i thought God gave man the Church so that the Holy Spirit could be among men. The Church is of God, not of man ("of" in context "from"). What is a church but assembled wood? it's the Spirit of God that makes it Holy. What i'm getting at is, the Bible was assembled by man, whether anointed by God or not. now who are we to say what is and what isnt scripture? If i remember correctly, Christianity is held together by faith, right? If there is new text concerning worship of God, they why not? why not read it? why not believe it? if it doesnt hurt your faith, or others, then why not?

arrogant humans, i tell ya -shakes head-

oh well, i hope this gets understood. sorry by-the-way, for affecting the score of the book, seriously, i really dont like having to do that. it was just the only why i could post.

Thank you, i hope this at least broadens some minds out there.

How are these "the lost books of the Bible?" We cannot forget that the Bible is the word of God. It was inspired by God Himself. This book makes it seem as though God did not do a good job in keeping His word together. The Bible is complete. Let nobody add or take away of His word! This book gets a big TWO THUMBS DOWN! I gave it one star only because that is the lowest rating I can give. I just don't like what this book claims to be.

People these books are not lost, they where discarded. The Church has always known they existed they where left out because they "ARE NOT THE WORD OF GOD." These books ARE either the writings of heritics or a later edition that someone wrote and slapped some Prophet or Apostles name on it(Matt 7:15, Matt 24:24, 1 John 4:1, Mark 13:22, 2 Pet 2:1.) There is no evidence that any of these books where ever considered conanicle by the Church which is "the Pillar and Ground of Truth" see(1 Tim 3:15-16). All of Gods word is contained in the Bible. If you want to read the lost books get yourself a copy of "The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha" NRSV. As for Photon1's review she/he cited Mark 9 and I presume she ment Mark 9:39 which is a lesson on gathering, it's not talking about two or more people with two or more different doctrines such as Titus 1:10-16, Matt 24:11, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1.