The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts [Hardcover]

Robert M. Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2006

Through to the mid-fourth century AD, there were twice as many sacred writings in circulation in Christendom as were ultimately canonized for the New Testament. Not until AD 367, forty-two years after the famous Council of Nicea, would Saint Athanasius begin sorting through and determining which works should be granted special status. Prior to that time, Christians had recognized only the Hebrew Bible as scripture, all other works being seen as expressions rather than as sources of faith. Out of political necessity, and for the sake of unity and order in the church, canonization was harshly imposed on the churches. For scholars today, seeking to understand the breadth of early Christian teachings, it is important to consider all available sources. To that end, Professor Price offers the earliest extant versions of fifty-four books, all of which were once considered sacred, including both the New Testament books and lesser known works. These have been compiled into a single convenient, readable, and reliable volume.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This staggering book, out-Bultmanning Bultmann, inaugurates an era. Long nurtured, a conception of "a New Testament," not confined to "our New Testament," leaves the harbor of theology and displays a new genre. "Study of religion in late antiquity" will not serve for it, being too blunt and too bland. Our New Testament canon, made somehow by men, of anonymous works usually dated too early, is a selection from multiple sources, many helpful to evaluate how that selection was made. In his Pre-Nicene New Testament, Price includes many texts that have hunched under the aegis of theology, this non-science barely tolerating a mishmash of apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and he amuses us by including a known forgery (pp. 634-38). He reconstructs and paraphrases, italicizing interpolations by others and himself. Playing with mythemes, ignoring churches, drawing on D. F. Strauss, F. C. Baur, E. Stauffer, and others, he confronts New Testament passages with pagan and Jewish parallels, the result intimidating a reviewer, a blind man evaluating an elephant. The skeleton alone intrigues. Part I: Prehistoric Writings, including the Book of the Baptizer, Revelation of Dositheus, Great Declaration of Simon Magus, and Sayings of Jesus apud al-Ghazali; Part II: Matthaean Cycle, including Mark, Matthew, Gospel according to the Hebrews, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and Toldot Yeshu; Part III: Marcion's Apostolicon, including Marcion's Gospel, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Thessalonians, Romans, Laodiceans, Ephesians, 2 Laodiceans, Colossians, Philemon (inauthentic), and Philippians; Part IV: To Theophilus, including Luke, Acts, Titus, 2 and 1 Timothy; Part V: The Testament of John, including John ("a mess," p. 667), Preaching of John, 3, 2, and 1 John, and Revelation; Part VI: The Petrine Corpus, including the Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter (Clementine Homily), 1, 2, and 3 Peter, 4 Peter, and Apocalypse of Peter; Part VII: Heirs of Jesus, including MMT (Qumran), James, "Jesus to Abgarus," Qumran Hymns, Hebrews, Melchizedek, Jude, Thomas, and Gospel of Mary Magdalene; and finally Part VIII: Pauline Circle, including Hermas, Paul & Thecla, Barnabas, Revelation of Paul, and 3 Corinthians. All annotated and compared, revealing many Christianities parallel to many Judaisms. Not wanting to disparage churches, our New Testament appears in its setting from Marcion onward. A pre-Nicene New Testament finds value in dumping any canon. But brave-hearted pioneers use an unproved hypothesis. What if there are New Testament parallels with Homer or Euripides? The latter need not be New Testament sources. Just as the Anointing at Bethany derives from 1 Samuel 25:2-41 and the Feedings from Ruth 2:14-18, the New Testament authors used Old Testament paradigms as mannequins on which to hang their verbal icons using familiar palettes. Having said this, one still greets Price's contribution with grateful awe, condoning his "fine thing" for "good work" as at Mark 14:6. --Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift, J. Duncan M. Derrett

Three translations of biblical texts belong in every scholar's library: Robert M. Price's The Pre-Nicene New Testament, Bart Ehrman's Lost Scriptures, and Robert J. Miller's The Complete Gospels. All contain documents that were at one time recognized as Christian scripture. While there is much overlap, each contains books not found in either of the others. Only Price includes the Gospel of Marcion (as well as the hostile Toldot Yeshu). Ehrman and Miller both include three Jewish gospels excluded by Price. Ehrman alone includes the Gospel of the Egyptians. Miller alone includes the Secret Gospel of Mark, presumably because his book was published before Morton Smith's alleged discovery was definitively exposed as a forgery, while those of Ehrman and Price were compiled after Smith was debunked. Only Miller includes the Q gospel, similar but not identical with the reconstruction included in my own Compact Fully Translated Bible. Miller also includes a "Signs Gospel" that he identifies as a source of John, closely matching "The Beloved Disciple's Memoir," likewise found in the Compact Fully Translated Bible. Price alone includes his own translations of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, more comprehensible than any authorized bible, while remaining a literal translation, not a paraphrasing. In Miller's words (p. vii), "The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar have taken a bold step in gathering all the surviving gospels and gospel fragments into one volume. ... The Scholars Version SV for short is free of ecclesiastical and religious control, unlike other major translations into English. ... It also differs from most other English versions in that it is not a revision of a previous translation." Price, also a fellow of the Jesus Seminar, could have written all of the above in his own introduction. His translations are likewise not falsified to preserve the pretense that gospel authors believed the same things Christians believe, as church-authorized translations are without exception so falsified. Equal objectivity is found in Ehrman, who as far as I can gather was still afflicted with the religion virus when his book was written, but is now cured. If economic considerations permit buying only one of the three, the choice based primarily on quantity (I see no difference in quality) should be Price's Pre-Nicene New Testament. But all three provide useful information not found in the others. And all are available at significant discounts from Amazon. --American Rationalist, William Harwood

One wonders if Robert Price ever sleeps. His output has been prodigious, and his reach is a broad one. But it can rightly be said that The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts is his magnum opus so far. It is nothing less than a new, indeed revolutionary presentation, with his own translations and commentary, of all the essentials of the documentary record of early Christianity, a Christianity that encompassed much more than what came to form the canonical collection, and much more than what came to be adopted as properly orthodox. The richness and variety of the faith and salvation movement which evolved into the Western world s dominant religion has only within the last several decades begun to emerge into the public eye, thanks to more open and critical New Testament scholarship. On the cutting edge of that scholarship today, if not at its very forefront, stands Robert Price, and as a bonus in all of his writings we get a generous helping of jargon-free clarity, humor, and illuminating ties to modern popular culture. Any serious student of the blinders-off realities of Christian origins should have his books in their collection, and especially this latest masterwork. ... The Pre-Nicene New Testament is a rich and splendid book, and I wish Robert Price many more sleepless nights. --"The Jesus Puzzle" Online, Earl Doherty

About the Author

ROBERT M. PRICE holds doctoral degrees from Drew University in both theology and New Testament. He is currently Professor of Biblical Criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute in Amherst, New York, and editor of the Journal of Higher Criticism. His books include Deconstructing Jesus, Paul as Text: The Apostle and the Apocrypha, and The Widow Traditions in Luke-Acts: A Feminist-Critical Scrutiny. He has published in the American Rationalist, Dialogue, Evangelical Quarterly, Journal of Psychology and Theology, Hervormde Teologiese Studies, Reformed Journal, and elsewhere.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1248 pages
• Publisher: Signature Books; First Edition edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560851945
• ISBN-13: 978-1560851943
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Apocrypha

More About the Author

Robert M. Price (Selma, NC), professor of scriptural studies at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, is the editor (with Jeffery Jay Lowder) of The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave and the Journal of Higher Criticism. He is also the author of Top Secret: The Truth Behind Today's Pop Mysticisms; The Paperback Apocalypse: How the Christian Church Was Left Behind; The Reason-Driven Life: What Am I Here on Earth For? and many other works.

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165 of 167 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive effort by a respected New Testament scholar, May 24, 2011

By 

Acharya S aka D.M. Murdock (Truth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts (Hardcover)

The first word that comes to mind when reading Dr. Robert M. Price's opus "The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts" is "massive." It is a massive undertaking, a massive amount of research and a massive volume of writing, comprising over 1200 pages. With TPNNT, Price has produced a book that could literally serve as a weapon in the pummeling of logic into the human mind. To review properly such an enormous and effective endeavor could in itself constitute the pursuit of a lifetime. Having said that - somewhat in jest - I have nonetheless put pen to paper to provide a proper analysis of a worthy effort.

There can be little doubt that Dr. Price is one of the leading luminaries in New Testament studies, bringing with him not only an impressive amount of erudition but also a fresh perspective of an old and festering dilemma, which is the probable condition of the New Testament prior to the First Council of Nicea in 325 AD/CE. Price does well to start off his exegesis of some 54 early Christian texts, both canonical and non, with a discussion of Christian bishop and Gnostic "heretic" Marcion (c. 110-160 AD/CE), as it is universally accepted that Marcion was the first producer of a "New Testament" canon. Indeed, in between Price's impressive translations of these texts, as well as in the footnotes, appear nuggets of material that help fill out the overall thesis of the work: To wit, the pre-Nicene New Testament essentially originated with Marcion, as was related in ancient times. This fact I also asserted in The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (1999), following the scholarship of other individuals over the centuries. Using virtually entirely different sources, including foreign-language sources as well, Price comes to the same logical conclusion. Why? Because this fascinating area of study is evidently more widespread and these facts more well known than mainstream academia lets on.

When these facts are clearly understood, it becomes abundantly evident that, rather than representing a free-flowing transmission of mystical and divine origin, the New Testament is a highly contrived text worked over numerous times for the specific purpose of establishing iron-clad dogma and doctrine. Fortunately, with this Marcionite recognition, the deconstruction and resurrection of the NT is all downhill from here, which is, of course, not to say that Price doesn't have his work cut out for him in disentangling centuries of intricately and often badly woven webs. Knowing such facts, one is struck by the gargantuan responsibility of possessing vision clear enough to see the project both as a whole and in its myriad details as well.

I did find myself perplexed at Price's definitive statements as to what Marcion thought, felt and believed as he created and circulated the first New Testament, particularly since we do not possess any original writings of the man in which he thus expressed himself. In my own studies, I did not gather several of the impressions Price did regarding Marcion, particularly since the pertinent data are not composed of Marcion's own writing and words but constitute reportage from his detractors and enemies. Hence, we are on shaky ground as to what Marcion truly thought, felt and believed. In any event, although I am uncertain as to these speculative conclusions, I was intrigued enough to let the evidence brought to light by Price speak for itself. Naturally, the pursuit is quite fruitful, as Price immediately steps into risky territory by making numerous other definitive statements that turn the orthodox history of the formation of the canon on its ear.

First of all, while discussing the non-canonical Christian texts that were presumably considered in some circles also to be divinely inspired, when Price emphasizes that the history of the formation of the New Testament canon is underestimated in importance, he is not exaggerating. For example, upon inspection the various Nag Hammadi texts must not be dismissed merely as the weird rantings of some bizarre Gnostic sect, as they were evidently as "orthodox" as any others prior to the decrees of Pope Athanasius of Alexandria in 367 AD/CE. These texts, then, must be factored into what constituted early Christianity, not just as examples of Gnosticism or even as "Gnostic Christianity." The fact that they were hidden indicates their concealers were squarely considered part of the Christian church and only "heretical" if they had belligerently retained these texts. Many of Price's conclusions, such as that the canonical Gospel of John itself was likely a Gnostic text, will come as a surprise to some, but such assertions are based on logic founded upon the evidence, not on irrational and prejudicial belief with no scientific basis. Concerning John's gospel, Price writes: "As for the vexing question of gospel authorship, we may immediately dismiss the claim that it was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus." (p. 667)

Other of Price's more interesting and surprising conclusions appear under the section exploring the date and authorship of the Gospel of Mark, concerning which Price states:

"Like the other gospels, Mark seems to come from the mid-second century CE. Probably the crucial piece of evidence for dating the book is the Olivet Discourse, or the Little Apocalypse as Timothee Colani dubbed it, constituting chapter 13 of the gospel. It appears to have been an independent apocalyptic pamphlet circulating on the eve of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. Mark picked it up and made it part of his text; but which destruction and which temple were portrayed? As Hermann Detering has shown, the warnings of dangers and dooms outlined in the text fit better the destruction of city and temple during the Roman campaign against the messianic King Simon bar-Kochba in CE 136 than in CE 70 as is usually assumed. This means that Mark has absorbed an earlier document that already stemmed from the third of the second century CE." (p. 69)

Thus, the suggestion arises that the gospel of Mark - considered by many to be the earliest of the canonical gospels - must have been composed after the destruction of 135 AD/CE. In supporting this late dating of the canonical gospels, Price cites various anachronisms within Mark, such as "the depiction of synagogues scattered throughout Galilee when in fact they seem to have been largely confined to Judea before 70 CE..." (pp. 69-70)

Dr. Price further makes the startling but logical connection between the "heretic" Marcion and the evangelist Mark. In his association of Marcion with Mark, Price comments:

"We may also note the clear Marcionite tendency of the gospel, with its unremittingly scathing portrayal of the disciples of Jesus as utter failures to carry on the Christian legacy. Indeed, it is not unlikely the subsequent choice of the ascription 'Mark' reflects the name of Marcion, the early-to-mid second century champion of Paulinism." (p. 70)

It is interesting that the word for "Mark" in Greek is "Markos" and in Latin "Marcus," the latter being the name of "three leading Gnostics," one of whom is depicted by Church father Adamantius (4th cent.) as a Marcionite defender. Moreover, in his "Dialogue" Adamantius concurred with the assertion of early Church father and bishop Papias (fl. c. 130 AD/CE) that the evangelist Mark had never heard or been a follower of Christ. (Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Mark")

After discussing the connection and confusion between the New Testament characters Simon Peter and Simon Magus, Price clarifies this suggestion of a Marcionite derivation for the gospel of Mark:

"This need not mean that Marcion the Paulinist was himself the author of the present gospel, but it very likely does preserve the memory of the Marcionite/Gnostic milieu in which it was written. A better candidate for authorship would be Basilides, a Gnostic who claimed to be the disciple of Glaukias, interpreter of Simon Peter, unless this too was a confusion with Simon Magus/Paul." (p. 70)

This theory of Mark being a product of the early Gnostic Basilides (fl. c. 120-140 AD/CE), rather than Marcion himself, may explain why Marcion's Gospel of the Lord differs from that of Mark, possessing more of a connection to the gospel of Luke. Indeed, several scholars and researchers over the centuries have posited that, rather than Marcion having "corrupted" Luke, as was charged by Church fathers such as Irenaeus (fl. 180 AD/CE), the author of Luke interpolated and edited Marcion's gospel. In another surprising move, after discussing a possible root text for Luke, an "Ur-Lukas" that possessed the same function of its more famous cousin "Ur-Markus," Price mentions research demonstrating a possible authorship by the early Church father Polycarp (69-155 CE). (p. 498)

Hence, Price shows that the canonical gospels date from a much later era than is currently believed, from the mid-second century in his analysis - and that their authors were in no way eyewitnesses to the events, apostles or disciples of apostles, as they are purported to be. These facts are not only singularly astounding to the average person but, after examining all the evidence, they clearly represent the only sensible starting point from which we may progress in order to discover who really wrote the gospels.

Price thus lifts the New Testament puzzle out of its current historical milieu, where it has always been ill-fitting, and places it smack dab in the next century, where it fits much better. A few things are still out of joint, but unraveling such a phantasmagoria as the NT has always proved itself too much for any one individual, no matter the intelligence or erudition.

In reality, despite all the wishful thinking of... Read more ›

100 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterful, Explosive Work, December 12, 2006

By 

Scott Knickelbine (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts (Hardcover)

Price has produced a massive volume with a jaw-dropping revelation on every page. He includes plenty of non-canonical works from early Christianity, including some -- like the Book of John the Baptizer -- that one rarely finds in print. But it is Price's own translations of familiar New Testament texts that make this book such an eye opener. Not beholden to any theological agenda, Price lets these texts speak for themselves, and what they say reveals the incredible diversity of early Christian thought. For just one example, his translations of the Pauline epistles reveal them to be full of docetic and gnostic references that led Tertullian to dub Paul "the apostle of the heretics." Price's footnotes often show how Gospel stories derive from Old Testament or pagan prototypes. If you're interested in early Christianity or the textual basis of the world's largest religion, you've got to have this book

66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening collection of ancient Christian texts, January 30, 2007

By 

P. Gangopadhyay - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts (Hardcover)

This is a collection brimming with information. The translation of the texts is superb. It is a great help that doubtful sections (possible interpolations or redactions) are given in italics. Footnotes are placed strategically and provide a very illuminating commentary on the text. There is a survey of higher criticism of the Bible at the end that is very helpful to the reader. A reader of this book can see the influence of Greek and Egyptian thought on these new testament texts. In all, this is a very satisfying and informative read.

However, staunch Christians will most certainly not like this book.