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Lost Christianities

Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication

Audiobook
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks

What did the "other" Scriptures followed by early Christians say? Do they exist today? How could such outlandish ideas ever be considered Christian? If such beliefs were once common, why do they no longer exist? These are just a few of the many provocative questions that arise from these 24 thrilling lectures. Join the dramatic search for lost Christianities and learn why it's considered such an appealing subject to study. These lectures focus on the remarkable fact that many of the struggles of early Christians were not against pagans or other nonbelievers but against other Christians. Professor Ehrman will introduce you to these fascinating groups, including the Ebionites (Jewish Christians who accepted a non-divine Jesus as the Messiah), the Marcionites (who believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of Jesus were different), and the Gnostics (who believed in other deities aside from the one true God). The fascinating heart of this lecture series is its exploration of the Scriptures that were read and considered authoritative by these Christian sects. They provide a fascinating opportunity to study little known and sometimes controversial Scriptures that might have become part of the Bible. You'll explore the Gnostic Gospel of Truth (one of the most powerful and moving expositions of the joy of salvation to survive from Christian antiquity), the Infancy Gospels (which describe events leading up to Jesus' birth and during his young childhood), and the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (which provide legendary, imaginative, and entertaining accounts of the activities of Jesus' closest followers).

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Far from springing full and complete into widespread publication the day after Pentecost, the New Testament evolved over several hundred years following Jesus's death. So what texts and teachings governed early Christianity? Dr. Bart Ehrman explores these questions, covering early writings, cults, and cultures. Dr. Ehrman's many awards are clearly justified if this course is any indication of his lecturing style and thorough research. While covering details of history and the evolution of theological doctrine, he presents the material in a conversational, yet respectful tone. Dr. Ehrman discusses the material, rather than feeding it to us. Even without the accompanying written course guides, the presentation and its lessons linger long. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 25, 2003
      What if Marcion's canon—which consisted only of Luke's Gospel and Paul's letters, entirely omitting the Old Testament—had become Christianity's canon? What if the Ebionites—who believed Jesus was completely human and not divine—had ruled the day as the Orthodox Christian party? What if various early Christian writings, such as the Gospel of Thomas or the Secret Gospel of Mark, had been allowed into the canonical New Testament? Ehrman (The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture), a professor of religion at UNC Chapel Hill, offers answers to these and other questions in this book, which rehearses the now-familiar story of the tremendous diversity of early Christianity and its eventual suppression by a powerful "proto-orthodox" faction. The proto-orthodox Christians won out over many other groups, and bequeathed to us the four Gospels, a church hierarchy, a set of practices and beliefs, and doctrines such as the Trinity. Ehrman eloquently characterizes some of the movements and Scriptures that were lost, such as the Ebionites and the Secret Gospel of Mark, as he outlines the many strands of Christianity that competed for attention in the second and third centuries. He issues an important reminder that there was no such thing as a monolithic Christian orthodoxy before the fourth century. While Ehrman sometimes raises interesting questions (e.g., are Paul's writings sympathetic to women?), his book covers territory already well-explored by others (Gregory Riley, The River of God; Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief), generating few fresh or provocative insights. (Oct.)FYI:Oxford will simultaneously release Ehrman's edited anthology Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament, which contains new translations of many of the non-canonical writings analyzed in this book.

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