Life and teachings of Jesus supplementary to the New Testament
Edited and compiled by Tim Newton
ISBN: 978-11-84529-656-8
First published 2009
179 pages
Cover image: Unknown
Publisher: Constable & Robinson Ltd.
5/5 Stars
A well-written, well-researched and well-thought out description of the beginnings of the canon of the New Testament and the passages, verses and phrases that were not included in the Bible we now know in the 21st century.
None of the New Testament books can be correctly dated before about 65AD, but Christians were persecuted by Roman Emperors years before that. There is no equivalent of the Islamic Hadith for Christians.
In this book we can explore unknown Gospels, perhaps a Gospel that Mark used as his source, much as Luke and Matthew used Mark as their source.
And we learn about the Gospels of Thomas, Ebionites, Hebrews, Nazareans and Egyptians. Or, how about the commentaries and writing of Josephus, Suetonius, Celsus or any of the Emperors or Bishops alive around that time, and their references to Jesus.
When minority views were persecuted, often to extinction, the groups holding those views would often bury their sacred texts in the hope future generations would find them – such as the Nag Hammadi library which is one of the references here.
The book shows the text on the right hand side, and the explanation on the left hand side of the page. It offers the reader a wonderful insight into the minds of men. Men who were trying to explore, and to explain, the fact of Jesus.
The Eclectic Book Review 