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

i gave 3 stars for the work rendered in this book. BUT for the content this is like 10th hand generation of informations & hearsays. And it is very much Catholicism.

During my first 50 years on this earth, I often wondered if there wasn't more to the Bible than we were receiving. It always seemed odd that a group of men could decide what should and should not be in the Bible. These additional gospels, letters & stories seem to tie up some loose ends, at least for me. More of Jesus's childhood days are written about as well as a detailed history of Adam and Eve and their descendents and how the "family tree" ties all of the Old Testament together. One must, however, keep an open mind and realize that these stories, like the ones in the Bible, have been handed down from word of mouth throughout the centuries until a method of preserving them was perfected. This book is great for a Bible Study group and will open the eyes of those who have never been, up to now, able to hear this collection of great books before. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the history of mankind.

If you are researching Apocrypha, then there is no excuse not to buy this book. It contains the letters of Clement, Barnabus, and Ignatius; the Infancy Gospels of Mary & Jesus; 1 & 2 Adam+Eve; 2Enoch; the gorgeous Psalms & Odes of Solomon; Ahikar; Aristeas; 4Maccabees; and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. While I would gladly argue that none of these texts are equal to the 66 of inspired Scripture, these books nonetheless are well-worth preserving and studying. BUY IT ALREADY!!!

Being raised Southern Baptist with a strong emphasis on the KJV of the Bible and later converting to Catholicism because my husband was Catholic and then spending many years working for a Jewish law firm, I was exposed to many different religious beliefs, customs, traditions and aspects. When I became older, I wanted to know "more". Just from a purely logical standpoint, there had to be a beginning, a middle and an "end"...yet there were too many gaps in the "history" depicted by the Bible. Yet I do believe in God and I am in Christian in that I believe in Jesus being the only son of God, but there were parts of the story missing. This book fills in all those gaps. It is beautifully written. It is easy to read. It is comprehensive. It is rational. It is direct. I do not dare to believe that one religion is the "perfect" religion and I think anyone in this modern day and time who does think that way has a lot to learn. This book fills in the gaps from where Adam and Eve left the garden, how their bodies transformed into their "animal" state, and explains many, many, many other details that make the bible really make SENSE to those of us who need that little boost of logic sometimes to help edge that faith on just a bit. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to fill in all those gaps and empty spots that are left by the beautifully written, yet very incomplete KJV of the bible. Even the Catholic version of the bible which has more books than the KJV does not do justice to these beautiful books that were left out. I am appalled that in the 21st Century these books are still not included. But not so very long ago, women could not vote, blacks were segregated from whites, illegitimacy was a social tabu, women had no rights to own a business, get a phone, or even get a credit card...so why am I not surprised that these beautiful books are still "not included" in our modern day bibles? I think it is time for people to wake up, know what all the facts are, and then they will find plausible explanations for things that make it even "easier" to confirm their faith...rather than the 2,000 years of being led by a select few in determining what we "need to know".