Customer Reviews

The Lost Gospel Q: The Original Saying of Jesus

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is based on the theory that the Gospel of Mark was written before any of the other synoptic Gospels. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke were then written with the help of those from Mark and another unknown source which is called the Gospel Q. In 1838 a German noticed that there were many sayings of Jesus which were common to Matthew and Luke but not included in Mark. The Lost Gospel Q is comprised of these sayings. Adding fuel to the argument was the discovery in 1945 near the Upper Nile River in Egypt of a codex called the Gospel of Thomas. It contained 114 sayings of Jesus. Over one-third of these sayings were similar to those found in the Lost Gospel Q.

If you accept the idea of the probable existence of Q, then you can look forward to reading sayings of Jesus which were recorded and used by some of His earliest followers less than two decades after His death and resurrection.

"The Lost Gospel Q"* is what many scholars believe to be the first Christian Gospel. Although this Gospel was never actually found, scholars surmise its existence because of over two hundred identical verses found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark. Since most scholars don't think Matthew and Mark knew each other, this material must have come from another source, what they call the Gospel Q. Then in 1945 early Christian manuscripts were found in Nag Hammadi. Among these was the Gospel of Thomas. One third of the sayings in it were found to be similar to those in Q. This demonstrated that Q was more than a collection of quotes. It was a handbook for early Christians, or pre-Christians.
The name Q comes from the German word Quelle, meaning source. It is believed this gospel was written only a couple of decades after Jesus died, and is therefore the closest thing we have to what he actually said, a real look into the spirit of Jesus.
The editors insert commentary on the text and time to help the reader picture what the historical Jesus and the day he lived in were like. It is a fascinating little book for anyone wishing to go back to the beginnings of the Jesus tradition.

Beth Avary
[...]

*Edited by Mark Powelson, Ray Riegert, and Marcus Borg consulting editor, with an introduction by Thomas Moore.

The whole concept behind "Q" was to reconstruct the original sayings of Jesus. Many quotes of Jesus found in scripture might very well have been embellished or outright forged. And so it is of interest to some to endeavor to find the original or "lost" sayings of Jesus. This can be achieved by digging through the gospels and comparing/contrasting their contents until a common thread is found which might better reveal Jesus' true words. Thus, the quelle or source of Jesus' sayings is found. This little book is a fine work and effort. It certainly lives up to its concept.

Having turned away from the Bible, I discovered the Lost Gospel of Q to be a wonderful way to experience Jesus as the humane, powerful, and mystical teacher. This is a perfect companion to Jesus books by Marcus Borg and Crossan. Beautifully presented and published! Stripping away the centuries of church interpretations makes Jesus much more compelling and alive.

This book's intended market is lay Christian readers with an interest in learning what scholars think the proposed ancient "Q" text contained. (I'll avoid going into all the details of how scholars determined that "Q" existed and what it contained, as many of my fellow Amazon reviewers have already done so.)

From that point of view, this is an interesting book. Each of the "Q" sayings of Jesus are presented alone on a page, with an occasional footnote providing some explanations or interesting background information relating to the saying. A cross reference is also provided at the back of the book, making it easy to cross reference "Q" with the parallel scriptures in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew.

However, this is not a scholarly work. The introduction, in particular, seems a bit sensationalist, and the footnoting is very sparse, at best. I also noticed that the cross reference table in the back of the book seems to indicate that some of Jesus' sayings in Luke or Matthew that are identified as being part of "Q" do not, in fact, exist in both Gospels, which the authors claim is a foundational requirement. No explanation is provided as to why this is so.

I'd recommend this book as a good resource for allowing you to meditate-on and appreciate Jesus sayings without the "distractions" introduced by the writers of those two gospels (in terms of the juxtaposition of these sayings with material from other sources). Doing so is something I found to be very satisfying and enlightening. Yet, the biblical scholar in me cringes a bit at how the material is presented, and the lack of supporting and explanatory material.

As a book meant for lay readers, this work hits its target. The major negative from that point of view is the bit of sensationalism mentioned above. I also think that more footnoting or other explanatory material would have been appreciated by all readers. Therefore, I'll rate this book as three stars: worth getting, but not as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be.

personal RATING: 3.25 stars

First of all, I think this book is going to divide more fellow Christians than to help them work together (a fundamentalist will never read it, and a skeptic will never consider anything else). As an evangelical Protestant (and conservative) I am grateful for the beautiful layout of the Q verses presented in this booklet (82 Q verses - verses that are common between Matthew and Luke but foreign to Mark). Reading the footnotes for various verses I learned quite a bit about the culture in Jesus' time, thus having a better understanding of his down-to-earth parables and what they meant to Jesus' audience of 1st century Palestine.

Allow me to explain my review title.

1) Purely hypothetical

I do agree with Dr. Marcus Borg that "Q is a hypothetical document," (pg.15) although I wonder why the publishers and editors decided to call it the LOST gospel Q ? And why the subtitle of "the Original Sayings of Jesus" ? The history section of hypothetical Q is well done (Q was first postulated in 1800s Germany and stands for Quelle (germ. for "source").

I do have to point out that the editors of this book repeatedly make references to Q as if it is already established (as if it exists but it is just a matter of time before it's found): "The Lost Gospel Q ... in the judgment of most scholars, it is the first Christian Gospel", "Q had become widely accepted by scholars involved in the study of Christian origins", "the Lost Gospel Q was possibly a codex", "it is older than the traditional Gospels, older than the Christian church itself", "Q is the closest we can come to the historical Jesus", "the discovery of the Lost Gospel of Q ...detective work by historians and theologians", "Q... a diamond in the rough", "What we have is a long-lost gospel with a very contemporary message." I count myself among those who think Q is simply hypothetical, and it is quite dubious to make further assertions that "Q can be separated into three layers or stages of development" branching off of a hypothesis (pg.16-17). As a history reader, I was surprised that there was no mention of the Gnostics and their Gospels when the editors discussed the condition of the early Christians and early church. I was surprised that considering the lack of archeological evidence, the lack of any secondary or ternary mention of such a gospel anywhere in antiquity or later periods. I would challenge the reader to view this as a good literary hypothesis (that strips a lot of layers from the canonical gospels) but a very bad historical hypothesis, which should never be qualified as "The Original Sayings of Jesus Christ" (as the subtitle reads) until such an archeological discovery is made.

2) Borg et all's theology

Regarding my second point, Borg and et all's theology. In the Introduction (by Thomas Moore) one simply reads the bias of this book in "I expect it to give me a Jesus who is ...." (pg.12) I appreciate Borg for his honesty and his passion for a vibrant faith (as expressed in his contemporary published works). Sadly, Borg's (as well as many of "Jesus's Seminar" scholars) Jesus is only a:
a) "wisdom teacher", and a
b) "radical cultural critic", and a
c) "religious ecstatic", and a
d) "healer and exorcist", and
e) "the Wisdom of God", and a proponent of
e) "apocalyptic eschatology and a sapiential eschatology."

As a lover of history and a Christian, I cannot just take at face value the statement that "the four Gospels are riddled with the interpretations, biases, and agendas of their editors." Unlike Borg, I would encourage every reader to consider the WHOLE of historical evidence and consider ALL points of view, and to question why these scholars cannot accept a Jesus who is the Christ, the Savior ?

3) Enjoyable and recommended read

Could not agree more with the editors of this little book that it provides an "extraordinary opportunity to approach with an open mind, fresh ears and new understanding the good news of the mysterious kingdom that Jesus announced." (pg.9) I do think the translators watered down the message of that kingdom by using alternate terms and words than ones used in historical Christianity and traditional translations (e.g. "blessed are you" becomes "fortunate are you", and "kingdom of God" becomes "realm of God", etc.). The cultural insights at the bottom of many Q saying are trully invaluable in allowing one to visualize what it was like to live in Jesus's time. The editors acknowledge that this translation is not "the" scholarly version, but rather "seek to re-create a text in contemporary language." For both, liberal and conservative, the resulting hypothetical Q CAN be a "diamond in the rough."

In CONCLUSION,
if you find this read too challenging to your faith in the Christ of Christ-ianity, I will wonder what is your faith based on. If you find this read as the only window or prism thru which you view or see Jesus, I will wonder if you are not just as subjective as the fundamentalists accused of being narrow-minded and using an alternative "tunnel vision".

The arguments for the existence of THE LOST GOSPEL Q put forth by Marcus Borg in the Preface are the most interesting and provocative part of this book. It is easy to understand why the work of the Jesus Seminar is challenged by skeptics. However, I do think it is important not to dismiss it too quickly before it receives the attention and scrutiny it deserves. THE LOST GOSPEL Q is a serious attempt to shed light on the historical Jesus.

From the introduction by Thomas Moore: "The haunting, inspiring and challenging words of Jesus have now been with us for two thousand years. During all that time they have been used to moralize, instruct, defend and condemn as well as to lead and guide. As scholars have pointed out for over a century, the four Gospels are riddled with the interpretations, biases and agendas of their editors. Amid the clutter of age-old conflicting readings, it often seems difficult to hear an original voice and to take to heart the wisdom of one of the world's greatest teachers."

If you're unfamiliar with Q, here's the idea: Matthew and Luke were written with the book of Mark open in front of them. 50% of Mark is repeated in Luke, and 90% is repeated in Matthew. But there are enough other commonalities between Matthew and Luke to determine that they shared another source, and this source appears to be a "sayings" Gospel. Just the words that Jesus taught. No such book has ever been found, so scholars have named this hypothetical book "Q," meaning "Source."

Written in the 50's only a couple decades after Jesus' death, presumably by his contemporaries, this is as close as we can get to Jesus' original teachings, away from the supernaturalism and moralizing of later Gospels. Q is the sacred "soul" of the Gospel message. Most of its sayings are about how to live "the way" that Jesus taught. Q is the Gospel for Liberal Christians.

Once past the introductory sections, Borg's book provides just one saying per page, sometimes with a bit of historical commentary. This is a short little book that you can read in a couple hours. Or, if you prefer reading one saying per day, the book would provide daily inspiration for three months.

The editors of this book add an interesting note at the end on the subject of the translation of the text. They point out that the sayings of Jesus contained in the book represent a 'paraphrase' since the principal of 'dynamic equivalence' was followed in producing their work. They do not seek a word-for-word translation but rather an overall meaning. Many scholars may be turned off by this approach.

The sayings of Jesus according to the audience tells as much about the audience as it does about the speaker. Factoring out their known expectations and biases, one can get a glimpse of the man who is sharing a new understanding of himself, of his people and his God. A man of great personal integrity, willing to die to be faithful to himself and the Divine within him.