A master work which starts off slowly and then fizzes into unexpected space. Pregnant with insight.

The Critical Edition of Q : A Synopsis Including the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark and Thomas.

This is an exceptionally clear and easy to use book.

The section on the history of "Q" research is a splendidly clear and concise review of the work done today and would bring you up to speed very quickly.

The layout of the synopsis in 8 columns is actually a great deal easier to understand than at first glance and quickly becomes user friendly.

The Synoptic Gospels, Q and other canonical texts are paralleled in Greek with the gospel of Thomas being paralleled in Coptic. Q is translated into French, German and English with the parallels of Thomas being translated into Greek, French, German and English.

I would not hesitate to recommend this work to anyone who is studying in this field or has an interest in it.

This newest updated version of Q is a MUST read for all!

Informative and thought provoking;for all serious thinkers..... this book clearly settles the case....once and for all.

Mike in Melbourne,Fla.

This book is a printing of the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of the sayings of Jesus found with Gnostic writings in a collection known as the Nag Hammadi collection. The title of "Gospel" is rather shaky as there is no narrative and no retelling of the story of Jesus as can be found in the Synoptic Gospels.

Most of the book consists of two very scholarly articles written by Stephen Patterson and James Robinson. Both are heavily involved in biblical research and have worked extensively with the Nag Hammadi writings. The first article discusses the origins of Thomas by looking at where it may have been written and what influence it may have had. One interesting point is raised when the author goes so far as to suggest that it may have been Jesus' twin brother Judas who wrote this Gospel. He is totally speculating of course, but can you imagine the implications of this? It makes the article more interesting to read. The second article discusses how the Nag Hammadi writings were found and the enormous effort that scholars undertook to get the writings published.

The first part of the book is the actual Gospel of Thomas. Some of the sayings are pretty mysterious. One of them is, "Jesus says: Be passers-by." Passers-by to what? Sin? Pharisees and Sadducees? It is fun to contemplate what the saying means. A large amount of the sayings are recognizable from the Synoptic Gospels, although most seem to be very simplified versions of these sayings. They lack the embellishments that the Gospel writers gave to them. It is also important to note that the Gospel of Thomas is written in Coptic, a form of Greek with letters added to mimic sounds of the Egyptian language. The Coptic version is a translation from an earlier Greek source, so errors abound. Also, when the writings were found, the Egyptian tore them up to give to some of his companions. As a history student, I still cringe when I think of the damage he caused.

This is a good book with obvious implications for Christians as well as New Testament scholars. Be aware that this is a VERY scholarly work. You will find huge footnotes with titles of books written in German. The second article could be very wearisome to the non-scholar, who probably doesn't care about the numerous academic bodies that were convened to gain access to the writings. The Gospel itself is still worth reading.

It does seem curious to me that the early Church saw fit to leave this Gospel out. It seems to me that it should now be included in the Canon of the official Gospels. Thomas truly has come of age and more accurately describes the mission of Christ for humanity and is more relevant for today.

A wonderful translation! The footnotes themselves are worth the cost of the book! Written for use by both scholars and laypeople. Anyone interested in the early roots or the future of Christianity would appreciate this book.

McNarie's book has done what "The Last Temptation of Christ" could not do. He has explored the human side of Jesus Christ without being profane or blasphemous. The book, which was written from the point of view of "Doubting Thomas" and based on the apochryphal book "The Gospel of St. Thomas," shows Christ through the eyes of a reluctant follower. Thomas is a former slave who chooses to call Jesus his master as a slave, not as a religious follower. His regimen is even more ascetic than that of Christ. Thomas belives it is possible that he himself is the messiah and therefore is slow to deify his chosen master. McNarie's descriptive sense is marvelous. Getting lost in his words is a delight to the senses and he uses language to appeal to all five. Reading about Jerusalem's open marketplace, one is almost ready to buy some of that roasted lamb whose aroma is wafting into the consciousness. The subject matter, the lack of sensationalism surrounding it, and the fact that the book is printed by a small publishing house (Pushcart) have effectively kept "Yeshua" from becoming a moderate seller, let alone a best-seller. It is still an incredible first effort for a young poet-novelist from Missouri who now calls Hawaii home. "Yeshua" is insightful without being insensitive, revealing without being religious, and occasionally scathing without being sacriligeous. I look forward to more novels from McNarie, and hope that he will find commercial success and thus make this novel more accessible to the larger audience it deserves.

Yeshua..is a wonderful first novel, dark and thought provoking, and finally full of hope. It transports the reader to ancient times and places...I was struck by the oddest feeling of recognition. The author treats the subject with respect and humility, without the bombast or pomposity of a religious fanatic. I highly recommend this book for the serious reader interested in the historical aspect of biblical times enhanced by the freedom of the fictional framework.

I could not put this book down! It felt as if I were there and kept my interest all the way through. You feel for each one of the "characters" and can identify with them and actually "see why they actually act the way they do or feel the way do". You get emotionally involved in this story and feel as if you know Thomas and and I actually wish this book would've had a Part 2....or it is one of those you wish would just keep on going" I highly HIGHLY recommend it....for a feel of the times in which Yeshua lived and to get an overview of his "TWIN" theory!

I really wanted to like this book because Elaine Pagels seems to endorse it and reading the Gospel of Thomas myself didn't do much for me. The book contains so many glaring spelling and grammatical errors that I can't read more than a page or two without getting frustrated. I think it seriously challenges the credibility of the author and the publisher if they can't find a decent editor, or spell-check program, to correct the manuscript. The author mistakenly attributes the saying "To thine own self be true" to Emerson instead of Shakespeare (Polonius says it in "Hamlet"), he spells consensual as "consentual", uses advise when he means advice, uses apostrophes willy-nilly by adding them where they are not needed and forgetting them where they are and various other mistakes that detract from the otherwise not-so-bad message. I was hoping for a book with more scholarly heft but I respect the author's desire to share. I'm sorry I can't recommend it more highly.

Many books have been written about Jesus,each giving the author's point of view into things. I am happy that this book allows the reader's to keep a healthy frame of mind while exploring the origins of Jesus. Even though the events in the book could still be in question, it still shines hope into the true nature of our Creator.

As a novice of Gnosticism, I have found this book to be structured in a very easy to read format and at the same time challenge the reader to look within and discover how these secret teachings touch their perception of reality.

I have always been a fan of writers who can write like they would address a crowd and roll my eyes at authors who must show off their capacity for writing in an ultra-intellectualized manner. Get to the point, I say!!

Despite one reviewers "rant" about spelling and credit errors, this book can help answer questions a person may be asking themselves about life in this world as well as inspire a seeker to explore deeper, the messages of our greatest spiritual teachers. This book would make for a terrific discussion group!

The book is well-coordinated and provides excellent footnotes which further amplify and clarify the Scripture in its historical/theological context. This edition, in the New American Standard Version, is easy to read, although I personally prefer the elegance of the King James Version (albeit that version does contain some obsolete and obscure words). It is wonderful to be able to compare the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John side-by-side! I had a similar scholarly volume during my college days but somehow it and I parted company over the years (My old edition had a _sewn_ binding. Unfortunately, this edition has glued-in pages -- but the book should endure fairly well with reasonable care).

You won't go wrong with this fine reference. It is certainly helpful to anyone who desires a fuller understanding and appreciation of the New Testament, especially regarding the life and sayings of Jesus.

A wonderful and essential reference tool for studying the Bible! I recommend this book for both serious scholars of the (New Testament) Bible and for any person who is already a Christian, _and_ for any other of those who wish to learn and explore the teachings of Jesus.

This harmony of the gospels was recommended to me by a retired professor from Taylor University. I found the arrangement of material very defensible and very well organized. The essays at the end of the book give a good introduction for the uninitiated in fundamental problems in modern "criticism". Useful information on dating of events in the gospel narratives are also provided. I take exception to the critic who claimed that "The actual date of Christ's birth and death is written in stone and correlated by the Jubilee records." This view is held by a tiny minority, some of whom, to be charitable, have dubious academic credentials. On the other hand, both Thomas and Gundry, have published a number useful pieces of scholarship many of which can be purchased through Amazon.
I found the most obvious thing to jump out at me was the development of the controversies between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, and between Jesus and the village of Capernaum. Without some form of chronological guide it can be difficult to see the connections between events during Jesus' life. I found this to be the most helpful aspect of reading Thomas and Gundry's Harmony.

The error of The Gospel of Thomas starts as early as the back cover. "Here were 100 lost sayings of Jesus that would rewrite early Christian history and introduce a new image of Jesus - unadulterated by 2000 years of myth and interpretation." The overwhelming majority of credible historians, both secular and nonsecular, date the writing of the New Testament documents to within one generation of the events they record. None place them later than the turn of the second century. Among these documents' greatest assets as historical records lies in the fact that they are eye-witness accounts, or are written by close associates of eye-witnesses. Myth and legend cannot arise until the second or third generation after events transpire because legend cannot grow while the eye-witnesses still live or while historical memory of the events is still fresh. It takes generations for truth to evolve into fiction.

The Gospel of Thomas is one of those fictions. This book was written in the second century, and in these pages, the evidence of myth and legend abound. In fact, the differences between the "lost sayings of Jesus" and the recorded historical sayings of Jesus are so vast that they have reached the realm of fantasy.

No reputable historian would agree with editors of this book that this gospel is "attributed to the Doubting Thomas of the New Testament." Nor do "most biblical scholars believe that Thomas represents one of the many independent schools of Christianity that developed early in the history of the religion." Fringe historians who do not follow the academics' standards for evaluation, yes. Reputable historians following the academics' standards for the evaluation of historical evidence, no. The editors apparently rely entirely on the members of the Jesus Seminar for their information when not even mainstream secular historians consider this group's research to be credible. The Jesus Seminar's skill is in spinning a story for the media, not evaluating historical evidence with an objective eye for the facts.

Those who would argue that the Gospel of Thomas is the accurate recording of the words of Christ have a dilemma. The overwhelming amount of historical and archeological evidence points to the New and Old Testaments as reliable documents of history. We may disagree about what they mean, but the documents themselves are accurate records of the events. Even more challenging for those who promote this "gospel" as authentic: All of the fundamental elements of the gospel taught by the New Testament Jesus are confirmed by first and second century secular, as well as religious, sources. For skeptics, the most important to consider is the secular - often hostile - record. When the teachings of the New Testament Jesus are authenticated by hostile sources in a secular culture that sought to destroy the Christian faith, there is no stronger proof of authenticity. So do we throw out the 66 books of the Bible and believe the Gospel of Thomas? Or do we recognize this gospel for what it is - fiction? Those who accept the Gospel of Thomas as reliable history do so based on preference, not the facts. Not only is the Gospel of Thomas a work of fiction, it is downright silly. The level of writing and philosophy is childish, at best.

For readers looking for the Jesus of history, and for proof that the New Testament is reliable as recorded - with proof coming from both secular as well as nonsecular sources - I recommend The Historical Jesus, written by respected historian Gary Habermas, who evaluates the life, death, and resurrection of Christ as recorded in the New Testament documents according to the most rigorous standards of academic scholarship. Or, better yet, read the New Testament itself.

Unlike all of the religions of the world, traditional Christianity is a historical faith. If you want to read about the Jesus of history, I urge you to read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, not the fantasy of a man who called himself Thomas.

A book for research, and also for curiosity, The Gospel of Thomas, Unearthing the Lost Words of Jesus, tells the reader, not only the sacred text, but the history of the Gnostic people. But what is fantastic about the actual text is the uncertainty of it, which makes you ponder about it, and wonder what Jesus the Messiah, the prophet, or the madman was trying to say. Although lacking some detailed discussion on the gospel's sayings, it is a very well researched book that gives us points to look at dealing with spirituality and history itself.

I'm a Portuguese man who beleives in God and His son Jesus, and I assure to you that this book "Gospel of Thomas" and "The Gospel of Philip" and all those that were found in the Dead Sea and In Nag Hammadi are true, all that there is writen in them is from the time of Jesus to the 2nd century after his birth, you can buy them with security. Don't believe in those fanatics Protestants and Catholics who want the truth far away from God's children. The Bible was not completed, God said " I will give the wisdom word by word" and not all at the same time.

No one holds up a mirror to his reader more effectively than OSHO. Pick up any of his books and read one page, and you will forget you are reading, and will realize that you are observing your own life, and your own character. If Krishnamurti is right, that to deeply observe oneself is to solve one's conflicts, than OSHO brings me closer to this than any other author. But that is not all: his writing brims with love and honesty. And in this book he is approaching the greatest advocate for love and honesty that the world has seen: Jesus. It is typical that OSHO studied Jesus; he considered him one the most important enlightened persons in history. He has no need to deify him, just as he does not need to deify anyone. That is not the point for OSHO; the point is, rather, for the person to achieve wholeness, peace, and love. He knows that Jesus is a master who can bring those things to you. He is without peer in having no apparent prejudices whatsoever, in favor of any established institution. He is all about the individual, living in the world. His books have had a major positive impact on my life. The only limitation on this impact is my own fear of or reluctance to change. But these books are beautifully written, and will challenge you to move beyond stereotypes, to become who you should be. And The Mustard Seed is absolutely my favorite book of his. I feel I should address a point brought up by another reviewer, who was very angry about the "anti-semitic" comments, in which OSHO suggests that the Nazis were a punisher that appeared for the Jewish people. It is true that OSHO sometimes strayed a little too far in his analysis. He occasionally is a bit out there, such as in one of his books when he suggests that the trees become scared if you walk into the woods with an axe. But it is important to note that he was not uttering anti-Semitic statements per se; he does not hate Jewish people. Rather, he was attempting to describe (albeit in a very unfortunate manner) the universal nature of the law, that if one sins, somehow one ends up being punished for it. These occasional excesses should not be seen as diminshing his work. These books are transcripts of extemporaneous talks he gave; anyone, talking for hours on end will say a goofy thing here and there. Take my word for it, though, read his books with an open mind, and you will feel your mind opening up and your world expanding. This is not b.s. new-agey stuff; it is the essence of great spiritual writing.

An excellant read, revolutionary thought on the words of Jesus, a must read for seekers on the Path.

Osho introduces us not to Jesus the 'good man' or 'moral teacher' but to an alive, rebellious Master who can help us discover the innermost secrets of our being. He eats, drinks, laughs with his friends, and becomes a tremendous magnetic force for many who fall in love with him. If you thought you knew who Jesus was, read this book and think again.

How many of us have read the Bible in its entirety? I dare say, not many of us. Imagine how serious a thinker Jefferson must have been for him to make the effort to do that. On the other hand, imagine how objective a thinker he must have been to fashion, straight from the Bible, the world's first ever bible of morals, ethics, and character. That is one of his little known, most important contributions to humanity. No less than that, my dear fellow Americans, is the true enormity of his Biblical analysis and editing. The only other book I have ever found that recognizes Jefferson as the first to "write" a book on morals, ethics, and character, and in that sense a pioneer itself, is "West Point" by Norman Thomas Remick. To gain more insight into the religious/philosophical side of Jefferson, I recommend you go on to reading that book after reading the "Jefferson Bible".

Thomas Jefferson didn't necessarily believe in miracles. But he certainly believed in morals, ethics, and character. His detractors on the Sally Hemmings farce, like author Joseph Ellis, have since been proven to be all wet. Like the other book of the same name, I enjoyed "Jefferson Bible" very much. But, it's only half the story, unfortunately. The other half involves Jefferson's values from the secular point of view. The best, perhaps only, book to read for that is (and don't be misled by the title) "West Point", by Norman Thomas Remick. It perfectly compliments "Jefferson Bible". In any event, This book by Forrest Church is well presented and certainly well worth reading. It's a great read on TJ's religious beliefs, and a five-star effort.

This work condenses the scattered faith documents that are the "Gospels" into a kernel of real truth. It is a truly remarkable piece of work for those of us who believe Christ is more than the charicature that many zealots paint him as today. Jefferson deduced the real message in the New Testament, which was a call to live a better, more ethical life. He saw through the amalgam of Greek mythology, cynic-style homilies, and cosmic-battle cultic material that was mish-mashed together by 2nd century apologists to create a life for a man whose very existence is debatable. Christ is a concept and a model, not a god! Jefferson indeed created a bible that can be used as a life tool, not a tool of oppression and coersion with which one can be saved or damned.

In 1945 a couple of Egyptians digging in the Nile River valley found a sealed storage jar that contained a collection of fifty-two ancient manuscripts, most of which were devoted to the teachings of Gnosticism, early Christians who believed that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through "gnosis" (the Greek word for "knowledge"). The Gnostic inner quest for spiritual understanding put them at odds with the authority of the Church in the first, formative centuries of Christianity. It is not surprising that the Gnostic writings were suppressed by the early Church and were really only known to us through the writings of their opponents. The discovery of these manuscripts allows us to read what these early Christians were thinking and to judge for ourselves the value of their beliefs.

Marvin W. Meyer has provided new English translations of several of the most important and revealing of these early Christian texts. Of these, the Gospel of Thomas is the most interesting. Biblical scholars have long maintained that one of the source documents for the Gospels was a collection of sayings that was integrated with the Gospel of Mark to produce the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Gospel of Thomas is an example of such a collection, providing dozens of sayings attributed to Jesus. For example, Saying 75: "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: all came forth from me, and all attained to me. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Pick up a stone, and you will find me there." The words might be different, but certainly the idea is recognizable, which is true of the vast majority of 144 Sayings collected in the Gospel of Thomas. These sayings are not a radical depature from what we have in Scripture and at the very least we can accept them as being accurate representations of early Christian beliefs. Certainly they are more familiar than the other Gnostic writings Meyer has translated. You will have to judge for yourself how compatable they are with the New Testament. But I think they are definitely worth thinging about.

The Gospel of Thomas was found in 1945 along with the Nag Hammadi Library near the town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. It's text dates back some 1600 years. The gospel contains many sayings which are found in the New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John). However, it also includes many sayings never found before. Unlike the other gospels, "The Gospel of Thomas" has no story line but instead focuses on the specific sayings of Jesus Christ. There are 114 sayings, spoken by Jesus and recorded by Judas Thomas the twin. Many have come to know this man as Thomas the disciple or "doubting Thomas". Either way the fact that it was written by one of the twelve disiples adds credibility to the text. As far as the translation goes; in the preface, Marvin Meyer explains his careful use of coptic text to translate the document. Nothing is added, nor is anything taken out. What a relief for christians seeking the truth! I highly recommend this book, however, I would advise skipping the reading by Harold Bloom.

To my utter surprise, this book in question, i.e., The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus by Marvin Meyer (Translator) was so much better then I had ever expected. In fact, one can and should draw striking similarities between the Thomas's gospel and that of the book of Q. The similarities are very striking; in both version one is presented with a prophet (whom is not the son of God or divine in any way, shape or form and tells parables in order for people to understand the real nature of God) and this picture is so much more compelling to a person whom is a Unitarian Universalist by choice, will and credo. The picture of Thomas's Jesus is very compelling and some of the things that he says can be attributed more to the study, the craft and the art of ethics and morality then to purely religious thought, ideas and study. Overall, I thought that this book, i.e., The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus by Marvin Meyer (Translator) was extremely thought provoking, intellectually stimulating and was written with a sense of scholarly authority that is rarely seen in any book (regardless of subject which the book covers).

The editors of this book add an interesting note at the end on the subject of the translation of the text. They point out that the sayings of Jesus contained in the book represent a 'paraphrase' since the principal of 'dynamic equivalence' was followed in producing their work. They do not seek a word-for-word translation but rather an overall meaning. Many scholars may be turned off by this approach.

The arguments for the existence of THE LOST GOSPEL Q put forth by Marcus Borg in the Preface are the most interesting and provocative part of this book. It is easy to understand why the work of the Jesus Seminar is challenged by skeptics. However, I do think it is important not to dismiss it too quickly before it receives the attention and scrutiny it deserves. THE LOST GOSPEL Q is a serious attempt to shed light on the historical Jesus.

This book is based on the theory that the Gospel of Mark was written before any of the other synoptic Gospels. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke were then written with the help of those from Mark and another unknown source which is called the Gospel Q. In 1838 a German noticed that there were many sayings of Jesus which were common to Matthew and Luke but not included in Mark. The Lost Gospel Q is comprised of these sayings. Adding fuel to the argument was the discovery in 1945 near the Upper Nile River in Egypt of a codex called the Gospel of Thomas. It contained 114 sayings of Jesus. Over one-third of these sayings were similar to those found in the Lost Gospel Q.

If you accept the idea of the probable existence of Q, then you can look forward to reading sayings of Jesus which were recorded and used by some of His earliest followers less than two decades after His death and resurrection.