The Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew

Book Description

The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human. In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, and as Ehrman shows, these spectacular discoveries reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners. Ehrman's discussion ranges from considerations of various "lost scriptures"--including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus's closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus's alleged twin brother--to the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites, and various "Gnostic" sects. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between "proto-orthodox Christians"-- those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief--and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame. Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating view of strange early "Christianities".......2007-10-02

I had no idea that there were such a wide variety of beliefs in early Christianity -- the "winning" group so effectively destroyed all evidence of earlier texts. A great piece of detective work and a very well-written book.

A Revelation.......2007-09-01

This is a great book if you want to read about a war, not a war that was fought with weapons, but one that was fought with the pen. A lot was at stake with each group of Christians thinking they were right and all the other groups were wrong. Even within the confines of the New Testament one can see Paul mentioning "another Gospel" A reader of the New Testament has to wonder what this other Gospel could have been. In the New Testament we can also see that Peter and Paul were at odds with each other on whether Christians should be circumsised or not.

This book shows that there were many other disagreements amongst Christians. Some believed Jesus was a man, some believed he was a spirit. Some wanted to keep the Jewish Law, others flat out rejected the Jewish Law.

Christians even today see God in the Old Testament as wrathful and him as loving in the New Testament. This led one man named Marcion to believe that there was in fact two Gods. He had a huge following up until the 5th century.

Ehrman mentions that these "other Christians" were not small splinter groups. He provides the evidence that we not only have the scriptures that they thought were sacred, but also the Church Fathers' writings which were dedicated to countering these other Christians by calling them heretics.

In the New Testament (Acts) the Christians are portrayed as all united. This could not be any farther from the truth and this book clearly shows this.

Also contains some great photographs.

This book could do with a little less stream of thought, a little more precision.......2007-09-01

The book is a stream of thought project, somewhat. It has more form than that, but instead of going over each of the lost branches of Christianity and clearly setting them out, it mostly wanders over the same thesis again and again.

It has flashes, three pages here, two pages there, of clear, concise and direct information. If you want to understand what a gnostic was -- great, there is a sharp explanation. But if you would like a good explanation of the rest of the baker's dozen of early Christian movements that are gone? No such luck.

Sigh. Wanders too much. On the other hand, once you've read one of this author's books you've pretty much read them all, which is too bad. From the flashes of sharp writing, I'm certain he could have said a lot more and provided a lot more information. Too bad he lacked the discipline to do so.

An Excellent Choice.......2007-08-26

This is the second book by Dr. Ehrman that I have read. It is a nice sequel to my first book that I read of his "Misquoting Jesus." He goes into nice depth of what it was like in the first few centuries of Christianity. Once again, Christians need to take a look at their creeds and consider the need for further light and knowledge from God. I believe in the Bible but I don't believe in false creeds. I dare Christians to find out more about the Bible they know only by their traditions. I dare them to ask God to guide them in their search for Truth.

Shoot Out at the New Testament Corral.......2007-08-19

Because many of the previous reviewers have so thoroughly covered the material presented in Mr. Ehrman's book, we see no need to restate their information. Suffice it to say that Mr. Ehrman is, as usual, thorough to a fault and offers the most difficult material in a completely accessible manner. Some reviewers, in a seeming effort to smear Mr. Ehrman's academic veracity, have accused him of having an opinion. One would hope that he (and every other person that takes the time to write a book) does! After reading many of Mr. Ehrman's books, we have come to the conclusion that his opinion consists of thinking the world might be a more tolerant, if not peaceful, place to live if we could all let go of the thought that our ideas are unassailable truth and the ideas of "others" are not. Mr. Ehrman then presents the reader with an abundant and varied amount of information that may help them to embrace this view. Mr. Ehrman does not make the mistake of telling anyone they must change their mind or adhere to any certain way of thinking, he merely invites the reader to consider the concept that the world we live in might have been constructed along different lines if some historical events had not taken place and others had.

As writers who also have an opinion, our desire would be that everyone who reads the New Testament would also read Lost Christianities or Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus. Yes, this may leave the reader confused as to how they should proceed on their spiritual journey, but a confused and searching mind is far more likely to be open to truth than one that has been bound by doctrine. Yes, the reader may well come to the conclusion that no one "owns" Jesus, his teachings or the right to interpret them. And yes, this also means that we each have the right and responsibility to find out who Jesus is by approaching him on a one to one basis. This may be a frightening concept to those of us who have been taught that we need to be directed or we will go astray. It is freeing to those of us who feel ready for liberation. Those who fear that the wall of their beliefs will crumble if Ehrman pulls out a brick are the ones who feel the need to attack this book. Ehrman's great gift is his knack for offering information without creating doctrine or dogma. He asks questions that invite more questions, and for that we thank him. Quantum Prodigal Son: Revisiting Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Perspective of Quantum Mechanics

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew.(Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament)(Book Review) : An article from: Church History

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Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew.(Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament)(Book Review) : An article from: Church History
Alison G. Salvesen
Manufacturer: American Society of Church History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Church History, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1473 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew.(Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament)(Book Review)
Author: Alison G. Salvesen
Publication: Church History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 74 Issue: 2 Page: 347(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Lost Christianities The Battles For Scripture and The Faiths We Never Knew

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Lost Christianities The Battles For Scripture and The Faiths We Never Knew
Ehrman Bart D.
Manufacturer: Oxford UP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UEV37A

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Lost Christianities: The Battles For Scripture And The Faiths We Never Knew
Bart D Ehrman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKQXXE

Book Description

"In this vital book the author tells how peacemakers can capitalize on man's universal inner longings for liberty and mutual respect, and so restore calm to a stressed-out world." -Washington Times

Starting with 9/11 and continuing with the struggle for peace in Iraq, the West has been forced to interact more fully with the civilization of Islam. In The Universal Hunger for Liberty, statesman and award-winning author Michael Novak sets forth a new model for facing this challenge-and for healing a still violently fractured world. In place of ongoing conflict, he offers a surprisingly optimistic vision of how the concept of fundamental human liberty-shared by the Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions-can heal our cultural, economic, and political differences.

"It is Novak's nuanced explication of his own religion's relationship with the contemporary that is the most useful part of The Universal Hunger for Liberty." -Los Angeles Times

"Novak is particularly keen in his discussions of theology and gauging the extent to which religion will play an increasingly large role in world affairs during the 21st century." -Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews:

A thought-provoking challenge to Islam.......2005-01-09

Novak challenges Muslims to find within their own religious and philosophical tradition the resources for justifying cooperation with the West in embracing a free and democratic social order. Along the way he revisits topics familiar to readers of his earlier works (the relationship between Catholicism and democracy; moral virtue and a capitalist economy). While much attention these days is paid to Islamic fundamentalist apologists for a war on the West, Novak has apparently done his homework and demonstrates the possibilities for moral renewal within Islam by appeal to their own tradition (the case made, in large part, not just by Novak but Muslims themselves).

Due to the unfortunate stigma attached to "neoconservatives" in the wake of the U.S. war on Iraq, I'm not sure how many would be inclined to read this book -- but their ignorance would truly be their loss. As with all of Novak's books, I learned a great deal (not only about Islam, but about Catholic social doctrine and political philosophy). I would encourage those with truly open minds to consider Novak's proposals for themselves. It is a book that deserves an answer.

The Universal Hunger for Liberty.......2004-12-30

This is a very interesting book about an extremely important topic. While many people band about words like globalization, multiculturalism, and clash of civilizations, Michael Novak has attempted to sketch an outline of a successful world civilization, a Caritapolis, in which all the world's religions and cultures could participate without losing their identity. More specifically, he is attempting to answer the question whether Islam can be incorporated into the benefits of democratic society without being untrue to its essence. He is especially to be commended for trying to describe the spiritual core of democracy and capitalism, that is the virtues and dispositions of character that enable the free society to function successfully. In short, this is the kind of book that deserves to be read and discussed by those concerned about the possibilities for a free and prosperous 21st century around the world.
Its main defect is that, in 230 pages, it attempts to sketch a picture of a possible world civilization, show how to best aid the world's poor and the environment, detail how Catholicism has dealt with the modern democratic movement, and show whether and how Islam can be reconciled with democracy. Because of this many things are asserted that need to be argued: for example, despite his frequent references to the Judeo-Christian inspiration of democracy and capitalism there is little attention paid to parts of the Bible that would seem to support an authoritarian society, divergences between Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic interpretations of concepts central to democracy and capitalism like free choice, or even the Catholic magisterium's explicit condemnation of many elements of democratic society in the 19th century. In fairness, a book that attempted to cover all the topics he treats thoroughly would probably span a 1000 pages or more and perhaps the book would lose some of its appeal if it was less broad in scope.
Nevertheless, despite its shortcomings, this is a book that deserves to be widely read and disseminated.

An important message of hope for tomorrow.......2004-12-06

The Universal Hunger for Liberty is a beautifully written and insightful book, unsurpassed in its depth of understanding. Michael Novak, one of the world's foremost theological thinkers, has demonstrated convincingly that the promise of democracy offers the best hope to people of all religions. His important message, if heeded sincerely, will serve to eliminate the most vexing problems that face us today.

The author humbly submits the following:.......2004-10-31

This book may be my most important since The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism (1982). It is a look ahead into the shape of the 21st century to come--its politics, economics and culture. Its focus is that bright crimson thread of human history, the search for liberty in all three spheres, in accord with the human hunger to understand and to choose freely and to take responsibility (and to evade it). I spell out why the 21st century begins locked within World War IV. (World War III, in retrospect, was "the Cold War.") Though not an expert, I try to meet the spiritual challenge of that false version of Islam (the religion), "Islamism" (a politicized desire to destroy others, dressed up falsely as the religion of Islam). I show how the desire of hundreds of millions of Muslims for prosperity, opportunity, and freedom from secret police and tyranny need not be in vain. Indeed, it may come to fruition in this century. I am not altogether optimistic, but there is a good chance that this may happen--and we must take work to make that happen. You cannot defeat terrorism by killing terrorists, but only by helping create a positive alternative, economic opportunity and political liberty, for young males especially (the source of so much violence),in the Islamic world. --Michael Novak, Washington, DC [A summary of the book may be found on my website, at www.michaelnovak.net]

Muffling the clash.(Book Review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life

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Muffling the clash.(Book Review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
Lawrence A. Uzzell
Manufacturer: Institute on Religion and Public Life
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1857 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Muffling the clash.(Book Review)
Author: Lawrence A. Uzzell
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Issue: 150 Page: 48(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Scheming for the Poor is the first comparative analysis of redistributive policymaking in Latin America. Ascher examines the success or failure of progressive policies launched by nine governments grouped into three regime types--populist, reformist, and radical over the course of the postwar history of Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

His findings challenge the conventional views that redistribution in Latin America is either doomed to failure or else is the inevitable consequence of a balance of proredistributive and antiredistributive forces. Ascher shows that tactics and careful attention to practical politics and policy implementation are far more important than regime type and professed political objectives and credos. The adept policymakers--from the Argentine authoritarian populist Juan Perón to the Chilean reformist Eduardo Frei--delivered more as redistributionists than did the economic romantics.

Integrating the political and economic aspects of redistribution, Ascher shows that in political terms success stems from subtlety rather than stridency, perceptions rather than economic realities, the astute formation of coalitions, and aversion of the mobilization of the opposition. Ultimately, of course, economic pressures impose a limit on what is politically possible, and Ascher demonstrates how economic requirements constrain the politics of income redistribution.

Book Description

A sharp and funny compilation of the most pathetic, heartbreaking, and embarrassing wedding stories ever.

For every bride that thinks she's got it bad, here's a collection of true wedding horror stories to top even the worst nightmare. Awfully Wedded covers every aspect of wedding culture, complete with fashion disasters, groom disappearances, catering nightmares, and everything in between. You can also revisit weddings from classic movies and television shows, and many others, as the authors take you on a guided tour of the best (and the worst) TV and movie weddings of all time. Absolutely crazed brides, jittery grooms, disgruntled bridesmaids, even domineering in-laws--all will see their nuptial experiences in a whole new light, and hopefully, finally be able to laugh.

Customer Reviews:

Limited appeal.......2006-09-21

Eh, it wasn't great. There was a lot of filler, like summaries of TV shows or movies that had weddings. I didn't think the list the authors wrote, of what to avoid at weddings, was funny at all. I found it to be rather racist and stereotyped. Some of the anecdotes about the wedding mishaps were amusing, but overall, I didn't find this to be an entertaining or funny book.

I found the same issues with Elissa Stein's "Prom" book. It was touted as tales from the prom, but was only photos with limited text. I think the reviews are more interesting than the books themselves.

I couldn't stop laughing!.......1999-08-31

This is one of the funniest books, I've ever read. It brings back memories of MANY of the weddings I have attended.

Witty, caustic, visually stunning - well worth the read.......1999-05-26

The authors certainly seem to have a lot of fun writing. Their second book is even more fun than the first. Both are must-haves for any book case.

A perfect little add-on to any wedding gift.

Book Description

Dr. Sandblom explores the intriguing connections between illness, art and creativity. He elucidates the ways in which specific ailments affect the creative personality. Discussing the influence of mental illness, physical infirmity, pain and addiction on 140 authors, artists and composers-among them Byron, Dostoyevsky and William Styron, artists Goya, Klee and Monet, and composers Mozart, Schumann and Beethoven.In this twelfth revised and enlarged edition of a ground-breaking study on the life and work of some of our greatest artists, Dr Philip Sandblom explores the intriguing connections between illness, art and creativity. He elucidates the ways in which specific ailments inform and influence the creative personality and discusses the effects of mental illness, drug addiction and severe pain on 140 authors, artists and composers.

Many outstanding talents are discussed - among them Byron, Walter Scott, Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Proust and William Saroyan, the artists Goya, Frida Kahlo, Klee, Matisse and Monet, and the composers Mozart, Schumann and Beethoven. Heavily illustrated, the book contains over 100 paintings and drawings in color and black and white.

Dr Philip Sandblom was born in Chicago in 1903 and educated in Sweden where he became professor of surgery and, later, President of the University of Lund. He is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgery in England, Edinburgh and Ireland, and of the American College of Surgeons.

'The fantastic erudition of this volume is heightened by the simplicity of its style: informal, chatty, with sly wit, impressive in range and content."?Annals of Surgery

Customer Reviews:

Creativity & Disease: How Illness Affects Literature, Art & Music........2007-03-16

Needed this book to help me prepare for a lecture, "Deathbed Art." It was helpful but didn't inspire me to read the sections that weren't focused on my particular theme or the artist, Manet. I've donated it to the Museum. It's safe there & I can find it again if I need it.

Creativity and Disease: How Illness Affects Literature, Art and Music

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Creativity and Disease: How Illness Affects Literature, Art and Music
Philip SANDBLOM
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MX00BO

Book Description

Interdisciplinary essays on the role of high theory in politics and popular culture.

Book Description

25 Years of Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Prime Time Soap takes readers behind the scenes of TV's legendary Dallas. It includes interviews with over 45 Dallas stars, including Larry Hagman, Victoria Principal, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy, photographs from Southfork and Steve Kanaly's personal collection, trivia and more!

Customer Reviews:

a really Good Book.......2005-04-11

for any fan or person interested about the Tv show Dallas then this Book has alot of interesting facts&takes from season to season.you get a good season of how things were going on with the cast from this Book. this is One of my all time favorite shows&Every Friday Night back in the day was about what JR Ewing was up to.

No wonder the "Dallas" stars and creator love this book!.......2004-09-09

Barbara Curran's "25 Years of Dallas" captures perfectly the life and times of this 1980s cultural icon. Writing within the constraints imposed by Hollywood (viewer guides can no longer include episode synopses and studio photos without inviting litigation by the studio that owns the series), Barbara has managed to interview almost 50 of the biggest "Dallas" stars to tell the behind-the-scenes story of "Who Shot J.R.?" as well as Bobby in the shower, Jim Davis' valiant fight against cancer, and Donna Reed's ill-fated replacement of Barbara "Miss Ellie" Bel Geddes. No wonder Larry Hagman finds this book "fascinating," Steve Kanaly calls it "the most comprehensive and realistic account of the series that has ever been written," and series creator David Jacobs says this "amazing achievement" of a book "knocked me out."

Diasppointingly INCOMPLETE.......2004-08-14

Having read genre books covering other television classics ("I Love Lucy", "Hawaii 5-O", "The Outer Limits", "Gunsmoke", "Lost in Space", "Night Gallery", and "The Twilight Zone"), I purchased "25 Years of Dallas", thinking that it would be as concise and picture-filled as other books of this type.

Unfortunately, while Curran's does offer some interesting trivia, it inadequately summarizes each episode, has few photographs of the cast, and provides little on the contributions of the crew that was essential, along with the actors, to the show's longevity.

While the text does detail some of the guests and featured performers, more could have been spent on the principals and their lives after the show's demise.

A must-have for all fans of this classic American soap!.......2004-07-01

I bought this book because i'm a huge fan of this show. I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest, i was hoping it would be an interesting read and shed some light on certain issues that went on behind the scenes of the show.
What i got was that and tons more. This book is a fascinating read and it covers the entire Dallas saga, from when it started in 1978, right through all 13 seasons, and both reunion movies up until 1997/98. The book goes into great detail about how each year progressed, what went on behind the scenes in terms of the actors and how they were feeling about the show and how the scripts progressed. The book has a section on every single episode. For me the best part about this book is the trivia you get about each and every episode. The author, Barbara Curran, has clearly been busy researching this, because for each and every episode you find out who played who, not just main cast but every guest star and special guest star. I was amazed at how many actors in the show played different characters, and came back in various scenes as different characters, I never picked up on this and i've watched the Dallas "run" about 3 times, Just goes to show how good the author was at researching this. The book encorporates literally hundreds of interviews, its excellent because you get new information and quotes from all the main players and the secondary cast members, as well as people whow ere only on the show for a little while, i.e 8 or9 episodes perhaps. Each and every actor that was interviewed for the book talks honestly and openly about their feelings for the show and thier fellow-cast members.
So if your a big-time Dallas fan like me, or if you are a semi Dallas fan who watched the show back in the 80's and havent seen it since, my advice would be buy this book, you dont have to be a massive Dallas fan to enjoy this, as long as you've seen the show you will find this very very interesting indeed.
Another bonus is there are some nice photos of Southfork and some of the actors that you wont have seen before because they are from Steve Kanaly's personal camera.

Dan.

Better episode recaps would have been nice........2004-06-23

I was hoping for more in terms of episode recaps. Each show has a one line synopsis (sometimes as short as two words) such as "J.R. is shot." Otherwise, the book has plenty of behind the scenes info.

Book Description

The goal of this text is to provide the reader with a single book where they can find a brief account of many, modern topics in nonparametric inference. The book is aimed at Master's level or Ph.D. level students in statistics, computer science, and engineering. It is also suitable for researchers who want to get up to speed quickly on modern nonparametric methods.

This text covers a wide range of topics including: the bootstrap, the nonparametric delta method, nonparametric regression, density estimation, orthogonal function methods, minimax estimation, nonparametric confidence sets, and wavelets. The book has a mixture of methods and theory.

From the reviews:

"...The book is excellent." (Short Book Reviews of the ISI, June 2006)

"Now we have All of Nonparametric Statistics … . the writing is excellent and the author is to be congratulated on the clarity achieved. … the book is excellent." (N.R. Draper, Short Book Reviews, Vol. 26 (1), 2006)

"Overall, I enjoyed reading this book very much. I like Wasserman's intuitive explanations and careful insights into why one path or approach is taken over another. Most of all, I am impressed with the wealth of information on the subject of asymptotic nonparametric inferences." (Stergios B. Fotopoulos for Technometrics, Vol. 49, No. 1., February 2007)

Customer Reviews:

10-to-1 Equation to Text Ratio.......2007-08-20

My first thought upon receiving this slim volume went something along the lines of "Oh my, all of non-parametric statistics is much, much smaller than I expected". My other impressions are somewhat vague since (as the title of this review implies), this is not exactly a flip-through book for light reading. The content is dense ... like 100-year old ebony wood.

And after carefully examining the table of contents, I also noticed that the text has precious little to say about methods based on rank. So this is more or less a book on "modern methods". It's a very interesting selection of material - although I will probably never be able to read it.

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