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Midwest Book Review
The major apocryphal sources of the Jesus tradition are brought together in a consecutive narrative in The Secret Gospels: A Harmony Of Apocryphal Jesus Traditions. Composed between the second and seventh centuries C. E. , these "secret gospels" were a powerful influence in shaping Christian belief and doctrine for well over a thousand years. They include clearly written stories of the birth of Jesus Christ, his "lost" years as a boy in Nazareth, the wanderings of the holy family, the death of Joseph, and the ascension of Mary into heaven. These writings were excluded from the official canon of the church -- yet each one of them at some point in early Christian history was accepted on par with the eventually canonized gospels and writings by one group or another of the Christian faithful somewhere scattered over the world. Standing as a comprehensive introduction to the apocryphal tradition, The Secret Gospels is essential reading for anyone interested in the life and thought of the formative period of Christian belief. Enhanced by running notes and commentary, The Secret Gospels includes information on long-unavailable sources from Eastern, Coptic-Egyptian, and Arab-Christian traditions.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews   3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Introduction to the apocryphal literature, May 27, 2002 By  M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews       Contrary to one of the editorial reviews this book contains a bibliography, although not an extensive one. The author is translating for a general readership, not for other experts. Therefore his harmonizing of the various sources is designed to be readable - which it is. He is concentrating on the sources that represent his speciality - Arabic and Coptic; therefore, some familar stories are omitted as are most gnostic sources. The stories included are histories of Joseph, Mary and substantial infancy materials. Also included are a number of early nativity hymns and excerpts of the infancy material in the Quran. The weakness in the book is solely in the Introduction where the author displays a consistent post-Christian, reformation bias, especially with regards to the creation of the New Testament canon. He does acknowledge the diversity of the canon in Syriac and Coptic versions but never allows that acknowledgment to mitigate his "Catholic power-grap" mentality. While I prefer Maire Herbert's Irish Biblical Apocrypha for fun stories, this volume is far more representative and readable. It provides excellent background for Medieval mystery plays and some poetry without expecting background in Biblical studies.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers:  › See all customer reviews...		Search Customer Reviews