Somewhat less fluent than Elaine Pagels’s like-minded Beyond Belief, but of considerable interest to students of early...
A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinal feuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the early Church.
Or, better, churches. If Christianity today has a bewildering number of faces, its early forms were even more various, writes Ehrman (Religious Studies/Univ. of North Carolina; Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, 1999). So, too, were its writings, including many that were suppressed, forgotten, cast aside, edited out, and otherwise not encouraged to survive alongside the canonical texts. Like many ancient writings, many are known only by mentions in other texts, and those little hints are fascinating: one epistle, attributed to Barnabas, might have laid the seeds for generations of anti-Semitic scripture, for here Paul’s follower “argues that Judaism is a false religion” and that “the Old Testament is a Christian book”; one wonderful, thoroughly non-canonical text, the so-called Infancy Gospel of Thomas, recounts the adventures of Jesus as a child, in which “the boy has a temper and is not to be crossed,” so much so that even his father of record, Joseph, tells Mary, “Do not let him go outside. Anyone who makes him angry dies”; another Gospel of Thomas attributes to Christ a Zen-like detachment and his assurance that “it is by learning the truth of this world and, especially, of one’s own divine character, that one can escape this bodily prison and return to the realm of light whence one came”—all very New Age. These and dozens of other texts were not incorporated into the canon, and sometimes for obvious reasons. Yet, Ehrman wonders, what would have happened had they been? As it is, a canonical tradition arose with a rigidly structured church over the centuries, one that presented a nearly unified body of creed and dogma—but that, in time, splintered into the multifaceted Christianity, or perhaps the many Christianities, that we know today.
Somewhat less fluent than Elaine Pagels’s like-minded Beyond Belief, but of considerable interest to students of early Christianity and its evolution. (N.B.: To be published simultaneously with the author’s Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make it Into the New Testament; Oxford Univ.; 0-19-514182-2; 352 pp. $30.00.)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-19-514183-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2003
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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