The Apocryphal Gospels

by Simon Gathercole (Editor)

A new translation of the oldest non-canonical Christian gospels In the early years of Christianity, several groups produced 'hidden' or 'apocryphal' gospels, alternative versions of the story of Christ. Sometimes these texts complemented the four canonical gospels of the New Testament, sometimes they subverted them and often they were completely different. Here, in the widest selection of non-canonical gospels gathered in one volume - which also includes two modern forgeries - we see the young Jesus making live birds from clay, hear his secret words of wisdom, discover gnostic cosmologies and witness the Harrowing of Hell. Preserved by their readers and attacked by their detractors, these gospels shine a fascinating light on the early Christian Church.Translated with an Introduction by Simon Gathercole

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Nonfiction, History, Classics, Theology, Ancient

460 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 22, 2021

Reviews

[Peter Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book containing both the primary texts and succinct introductions to many of the apocryphal gospels of the 2nd-5th Century. Gathercole’s introductions alone are worth the price of the book. The primary texts are interesting and often entertaining. I was most struck by the marked difference between these apocryphal texts and the New Testament: where the NT holds Jesus’ humanity and divinity together, these apocryphal texts have much less interest in Jesus’ human nature (contrary to the conspiracy narratives put forward by the Da Vinci Code and various sects).

[Simon Mee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A conclusion (Codex III, p. 68) describes how Seth himself wrote the Gospel, taking 130 years over the composition – a rather surprising amount of labour for a work which can scarcely be described as a literary masterpiece.

A collection of Christian fanfiction (mostly) in the first two centuries following his death.

The real strength of this collection is that you aren't thrown to the wolves after the general preface. Each piece has accompanying introduction, providing essential context as to what is being written and why (a few clashes with competing Jewish communities come up).  I really appreciated that.

As for the material itself, there is a good, if unintentional, comparison with the canonical Gospels via Marcion's Gospel, a substantially reduced version of Luke's Gospel. I personally found the canonical material, whatever its faults, superior to the other material, suggesting the early church got it "right" when composing the New Testament (from a very ignorant lay person's perspective).  However, the five stars is for the accompanying commentary - I cannot practically give stars to historical material that had purposes other than for your enjoyment as a reader.

The book is a useful insight to the vibrant exchange of views around the early precepts of the Christian faith. Pair it with a general history of the very early Christian Church and I think it will really deepen your understanding of Gnosticism and other competing versions of Christianity. It also provides background text for certain artwork, such as Mary with scarlet, or Jesus giving life to clay birds.

[Daniel Supimpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of “gospel” texts, mainly from 2nd-5th century (the issue of what is a gospel per se is dealt with in the introduction).
As another reviewer has noted, the general introduction and introductory notes to each text are in themselves worth the price you’ll pay. These introductions really helped me have a better grasp of similarities, differences, focal points and idiosyncratic aspects of these fascinating texts.

My favourite ones were the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Nicodemus.

The 4-star rating has to do more with the quality of the book (low-quality paperback and visuals). Other than that, a superb book to have within reach for NT students.

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of non-canonical New Testament eccentricities, including a few works of staggering power like the Gospel of Thomas, a lot of curios, and a couple of Da Vinci Code-inspired forgeries.

[JCJBergman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond fascinating. One of the most interesting historical topics I have come across, despite the majority of the texts featured being denounced for inauthenticity. The early Christians certainly had a fetish for Jesus, and to be honest, I get why. His purported story is, indisputably, one of the most profound in history. The "Gnostic" texts in particular especially arrested my interest, even though quite often they were close to being incomprehensible... but that is, technically speaking, consistent with its philosophy.

I have also been reading the canonical gospels in conjunction, which certainly helps recognise the patterns and references. A film I personally love and recommend for anyone wishing to delve deep into Jesus' life and the stories of the gospels is Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988).

[Ella Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating… Definitely going to look more into The Questions of Bartholomew, which I think is my favourite of the Apocrypha.

[Adso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bel viaggio per strade secondarie che deviano dalla cultura canonica cristiana. Si può trovare un po' di tutto: dai buffi racconti non proprio sobri sull'infanzia di Gesù, alle vicende di Pilato, le cui azioni vengono aspramente condannate dagli autori.

E' impressionante il lavoro svolto nei secoli dagli storici, tra cui Marcello Craveri, che cura questa edizione spiegando accuratamente i processi di scoperta e studio delle fonti. Si assapora a pieno questa voglia di collegare i vari pezzi di un puzzle incompleto, incoerente, incomprensibile... ma sicuramente affascinante.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains some excellent and interesting works that deserve five stars alongside others that detract from the collection. Overall a worthwhile exploration of later non-canonical gospels that show alternate routes Christianity might have taken, gnostic and otherwise.

[ParisianIrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took my time reading this as there's some very interesting points made here. The book is about the gospels and texts not currently included in the new testament, the author does a superb job in giving a background (historical) to each text. That in itself is fascinating.
As for the gospels themselves, some of the content, the differences and new elements mentioned are truly intriguing, not to mention controversial and at odds with the evangelical gospels.
The author has peaked my interest in the subject now, and I will surely look at some other texts he was written and researched.

[Cleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christianity (and religion as a whole) is never more powerful than when it clearly displays how it’s been affected by the beliefs and cultures of those who follow it. Really powerful and psychedelic collection

[Luka · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translations themselves are decent, however, the biases of the translator clearly seep in at times. A lot of the gospels are just fragments cited by the various church fathers in their criticisms, which obviously isn't something that can be presented as a translation of a historical non canonical gospel.

In the introductions to certain other gospels, the author's evangelical background also seeps through the page. Take for example this quote from the intro to the Gospel of the Egyptians:
"A conclusion (Codex III, p. 68) describes how Seth himself wrote the Gospel,
taking 130 years over the composition – a rather surprising amount of labour for a work which can scarcely be described as a literary masterpiece."

There's a lot of such tiny microagressions towards the original texts, clearly meant to portray them as hideous relics of a long forgotten past. When taken into consideration alongside the translator's sectarian identity, it does somewhat shatter the view of the reliability of the translations.

Another thing which is obvious is the translator's lack of familiarity with the magical and occult practices often underlining the texts, especially the gnostic texts. Again, in the introduction to the Gospel of the Egyptians, he failed to identify the strings of vowels as a case of the barbarous names, a common occurrence in classical esoteric texts. He merely describes them as sequences of vowels.

[John Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biblical scripture and religious texts, depending on their translation, can evoke a wide range of responses—some find them deeply fascinating, while others may struggle with their complexity or find them inaccessible. From an academic standpoint, these works likely hold the most significance for scholars of religious history. However, as an ordinary reader drawn to this book out of curiosity rather than scholarly pursuit, I must admit that much of its content and deeper meaning eluded me.
As the book progressed, I found the language and ideas becoming increasingly intricate, to the point where I sought assistance from AI, asking it to rephrase sections in a manner a child could understand. The results were noticeably more straightforward and digestible, highlighting the stark contrast between various levels of interpretation. While I certainly don’t intend to rewrite all 400 pages in this manner, this experience underscored how profoundly translation, personal knowledge, and intellectual capacity can shape one’s comprehension of such texts.

[James Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating, strange and frustrating book about the Apocryphal Gospels; a plethora of non-Biblical works that did not make the canonical cut.

Some of them were fragments that were of little practical use. They were SO fragmented that there was no way to make any sense of them at all.

Others were presumably intended as a means of crediting or discrediting some teaching or group and they were left out of the Bible for obvious reasons.

Still others were very Biblical in tone and you could ALMOST feel like they could have been included. This is my second recent exposure to some of this material and I am left with a certainty that much of what COULD have been in the Bible as teachings of Jesus or his early followers has been lost to us through time, neglect and perhaps intentional destruction. I am also confident that through faith, what we have is enough.

[Lindsey Jackson]

I don’t know enough about the subject to feel comfortable commenting on this book’s quality, but I did appreciate that the translator is very present throughout, adapting as needed to each text and explaining how and why those adaptations are happening in a way that I think would be accessible for most readers. After reading this book I feel confident that I have the basic tools needed to seek out further information on the topics that come up in it; the editor does a great job of keywording in the introductions and laying out just enough background information to facilitate thoughtful engagement with the primary text.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really sure how to rate this. The introductory materials are all fascinating, and Gathercole does a fine job contextualizing the works available. Some of the texts are complete while others exist in only the barest fragments. The contents of these texts provides a glimpse into what the earliest Christians likely believed, and I didn't find the content to be any more or less believable than other Biblical texts.

[Harry Palacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the story of Jesus Christs early childhood he killed many children and punished many who crossed him to the texts of the apostles the telling of His many miracles his disciples mary Magdalene and what happened to Judas iscariot secrets that should be hidden for let the ignorant live in their folly is quoted

[thkerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

love it ! get 2 Jesus barbie dolls and make them kiss. Have not read all but will enjoy dipping back in for esoteric christian myth. Thank you first century christians !

Favourites: Gospels of Mary Magdalene, Protoevangelium of James, Gospel of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

[Marcelo Bejar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una buena forma de complementar la mitología judeo-cristiana

[This is V! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molto interessante e visto da un punto di vista diverso , credo che leggere questo aggiunge qualcosa al testo biblico

[Grace LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this. It was super interesting, and I really appreciated the introduction to each text. I do wish there had been some insight into Gathercole's translation choices.

[Maria Vittoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super amazing book makes you learn a lot about the conditions of the Christian holy texts

[Colin]

Good collection.

[Jordan Elings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative of a highly controversial aspect of Christianity but I regrettably was unable to motivate myself to finishing it.

[Maurigno90 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lettura molto interessante, ho trovato particolarmente complicata la parte dei vangeli gnostici con tantissime note (fondamentali) per capire la filosofia che c'è dietro e i riferimenti

[Robert Muir]

Impossible to rate. These writings are disturbing because no 'truths' were revealed, at least to me and they remain as apocryphal having read them as they were when I first heard of them a few decades ago. How can one objectively rate a collection as disparate, sometimes contradictory and at times sexist as these? Some ring true, but many are nothing but mere fragments, more full of holes than Holy. Are they Gospel, heresy or hearsay? Who am I to judge? I would be inclined to believe that some are merely the last, but as for truth, who can say?

[Van't Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un edizione molto ben curata con introduzioni, note e persino le varianti dei manoscritti e delle traduzioni. I primi vangeli (quelli dell'infanzia) sono i pi� divertenti, dove il bambin Ges� ne combina di tutti i colori... Pi� impegnativi e alla lunga noiosetti i vangeli gnostici, i quali insistono su pochi concetti. E' un buono strumento anche per capire l'evoluzione della Chiesa da Cristo in poi.

[Elena Traduzioni Oceano Mare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interessantissimo. E' anche un'enorme fonte per comprendere meglio tanti soggetti di opere d'arte che altrimenti resterebbero senza spiegazione.

[Douglas Killings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction

Good collection of the more important apocryphal New Testament gospels. Would like to see Penguin issue a corresponding collection of Old Testament apocrypha.

[Robin Cunninghame Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introductions and explanations with useful notes on the texts.

Some of the texts were fascinating, others entertaining, but still others simply turgid.

Useful reference work.

[Evan Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic anthology! Don't miss the two forgeries at the end, which were a hoot.