Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It Into the New Testament

If you come into this book with a good knowledge of the Bible but a fairly vague knowledge of other ancient Christian works, as I did, you're in for a mind-bending treat. Ehrman picks a number of "Lost Scriptures" -- that is, books which were at one time considered sacred or near-sacred Christian works but have, for various reasons, not been included in the current Bible -- and he gives a brief prelude to each before offering their English translations. He breaks these books up into 5 groups: the Lost Gospels (think Gospels), Acts (think Acts), Letters (think Paul's Epistles), Apocalypses (think Revelations), and Sacred Cannons. The last section is merely a sample of some lists of what ancient Christians considered sacred books. What this book deals with is primarily the source documents. That is to say, assigning context to said documents is not this book's mission. Instead, it tries to give a survey of what we now call lost Scriptures. Confoundingly, many of the books are only published in fragmentary form. In many cases, this was not optional because of the fact that only small fragments of the source documents exist; in the astounding Gospel of Peter, for example, we have only what appear to be the last few chapters, beginning with Pilate at the trial. While this was usually not Ehrman's fault, it was rather frustrating at other times when he truncated some of the books himself, presumably in the interest of saving space. I read this book in tandem with Ehrman's "Lost Christianities," and I highly recommend doing so. "Lost Christianities" provides historical context for the raw materials of "Lost Scriptures." Brace yourself before beginning, however, because both books are dense and demand considerable attention to detail. If you are already versed in this genre, I'm not really sure that Ehrman intended these books for you. He essentially writes this book as a source book. On a personal level, the number of references to Mary Magdalene in these works, the varieties of Christianities that they represent which are totally foreign to us, and the general fuzziness between the denouncement of books as forgeries or heresies versus thier acceptance divinity was eye-opening. These books ran the gammit from agreeing with the New Testament to disagreeing with it to being too crypitc to decipher to being... well, downright creepy. The measures that were taken by groups in history to ensure that some of these works would remain hidden is also disturbing. To conclude, if you're looking for a general primer into the nuts and bolts of lost Christian writings, this is as good of a place as any to begin.

In my view, Bart Ehrman is the most important New Testament scholar of this generation. I have heard him speak, have listened to his tapes and have read his books. He absolutely exudes competency, always pointing out that he is looking at his subject from the point of view of a historian. In the case of "Lost Scriptures," this means he will not be an advocate for or against any particular book that did not make the cut. Instead, he will try to put each book in its historical perspective considering the political tone of the times: "We should not overlook the circumstance that in some times and places these 'other' writings were in fact sacred books, read and revered by devout people who understood themselves to be Christians...for the New Testament itself is the collection of books that EMERGED from the conflict, the group of books advocated by the side of the disputes that eventually established itself as dominant and handed the books down to posterity as 'the' Christian Scriptures...moreover, the victors in the struggles to establish Christian orthodoxy not only won their theological battles, they also rewrote the history of the conflict; later, readers, then, naturally assumed that the victorious views had been embraced by the vast majority of Christians from the very beginning." I was reared in a setting of somewhat fundamentalist preaching, yet values at home were those of inquiry and evidence toward the world in general. Ehrman's approach is much more to my liking than reiteration of a dogma I've already heard, documented by passages from scripture pre-selected to prove a certain view. Consider these books subjected to the same kind of scrutiny one of Shakespeare's plays might receive from a college professor of western world literature - in which speculation is kept to a minimum and explanation is made as to the historical and political context of the book. In this book is a collection of remarkably varied writings from early Christian groups - fifteen gospels, five Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles, seven apocalypses, and five canonical lists. This final category shows how even within "orthodox" circles there was considerable debate concerning which books to include. Where does Ehrman stand? He is so non-committal, it is impossible to tell, although it is obvious that he takes a liberal stance of of some sort. He approaches each subject strictly as a historian. Perhaps not for all readers, but certainly for that segment of curious Christians and non-Christians who wish to enjoy a scholarly account of issues surrounding the New Testament - especially the gospels, acts, letters and apocalypses that didn't make it - this is your book.

This book, along with Ehrman's "Lost Christianities", is an excellent introduction to the complexities of early Christianity. Not as technical and "foot-note-y" as Schneemelcher and Wilson's "New Testament Apocrypha" but more detailed than Barnstone's "The Other Bible" and "The Gnostic Bible", this is a handy anthology for both scholar and layman.