Presents the original teachings of Jesus written by his contemporaries and early followers

The year is 1945 and along Egypt's Upper Nile River the al-Samman clan discover the greatest collection of early Christian documents ever found. Now for the first time, the entire story of this discovery, from the effort to protect the priceless documents during Egypt's war with Israel, to the United Nations' struggle to release the text to the public, is combined with an annotated translation of the text. The image of Jesus that emerges from this intriguing document is strikingly different from the figure portrayed in the New Testament.

Is it possible to reconcile Jesus, the Prince of Peace, with religious violence? From the Inquisition to the burning of women healers to modern pedophilia scandals, spiritual leaders and followers are deeply divided about how to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the atrocities of church history. How did his message get misinterpreted, and what relevance does that message have in the 21st century? Here, critically acclaimed author and social historian Rex Weyler explores the mystery surrounding the historical Jesus, whose voice and words have been distorted by centuries of revision. By examining the research of international Bible scholars and some 200 ancient sources, including the recently discovered Gospels of Thomas and Mary, Weyler recreates the life of Jesus and his legacy, from the Roman Empire to the present day. Combining popular history with modern scholarship, The Jesus Sayings is a revelatory and highly readable work that entertains, inspires, and enlightens.

This collection of more than 300 sayings reveals spiritual truths that resonate across religious boundaries. Some are familiar; many are surprising; all expand our conventional understanding of the scope and essence of Jesus's original teachings.

Estimated to date back to the very early Jesus movement, the lost Gospel known as Q offers a distinct and remarkable picture of Jesus and his significance--and one that differs markedly from that offered by its contemporary, the apostle Paul. Q presents Jesus as a prophetic critic of unbelief and a sage with the wisdom that can transform. In Q, the true meaning of the "kingdom of God" is the fulfillment of a just society through the transformation of the human relationships within it. Though this document has never been found, John Kloppenborg offers a succinct account of why scholars maintain it existed in the first place and demonstrates how they have been able to reconstruct its contents and wording from the two later Gospels that used it as a source: Matthew and Luke. Presented here in its entirety, as developed by the International Q Project, this Gospel reveals a very different portrait of Jesus than in much of the later canonical writings, challenging the way we think of Christian origins and the very nature and mission of Jesus Christ.

Presented in this volume are the remains of twenty-two homilies and a collection of fragments delivered by Origen around A.D. 240. The original texts of the homilies on Jeremiah have not come down to us completely; two of the homilies survive only in a Latin translation of St. Jerome. The homily on I Kings 28, while not a part of the homilies on Jeremiah, deals with the Witch of Endor and has been added to this volume in virtue of its own inherent interest.

Waiting to be rediscovered in the British Library is an ancient manuscript of the early Church, copied by an anonymous monk. The manuscript is at least 1,450 years old, possibly dating to the first century. And now, The Lost Gospel provides the first ever translation from Syriac into English of this unique document that tells the inside story of Jesus’ social, family, and political life.The Lost Gospel takes the reader on an unparalleled historical adventure through a paradigm shifting manuscript. What the authors eventually discover is as astounding as it is surprising: the confirmation of Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene; the names of their two children; the towering presence of Mary Magdalene; a previously unknown plot on Jesus’ life (thirteen years prior to the crucifixion); an assassination attempt against Mary Magdalene and their children; Jesus’ connection to political figures at the highest level of the Roman Empire; and a religious movement that antedates that of Paul—the Church of Mary Magdalene.Part historical detective story, part modern adventure, The Lost Gospel reveals secrets that have been hiding in plain sight for millennia.

Presented here are two volumes of apocryphal writings reflecting the life and time of the Old and New Testaments. Stories told by contemporary fiction writers of historical Bible times in fascinating and beautiful style.

The Sayings Gospel Q in Greek and English with Parallels from the Gospels of Mark and Thomas is the outcome of a generation's work by the International Q Project, in reconstructing the collection of sayings ascribed to Jesus (and some to John) that lies behind the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. It thus makes available in a convenient form the most important source for reconstructing the message of Jesus' original Galilean followers, as they proclaimed anew after his death his message of God's reign. Q is, as a result, the most important single source for the study of the historical Jesus. It should be in the hands of every student of theology and of every layperson seriously interested in knowing more about Jesus. This small volume presents, on facing pages, the Greek and English reconstruction of the text of Q. It is in a simplified and more readable format than its original massive publication of 1990, The Critical Edition of Q: Synopsis including the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark and Thomas with English, German and French Translations of Q and Thomas, edited by James M. Robinson, Paul Hoffmann, and John S. Kloppenborg, Managing Editor Milton C. Moreland, at Peeters and Fortress Press.