The Lost Books of the Bible

Lost Books are VERY good scripture that was taught to Christians in the first century A.D.. A particularly great text is in Bartholomew where abortion is directly addressed and is CLEARLY forbidden, something you cannot find in traditional, canonized scripture.

As a student of the gospel, clarity is everything. The Lost Books of The Bible allow a student to achieve a better grasp of the "why(s)" in the Word.

This book contains many writings that were simply left out of the final version of the Bible. The inside flap notes that the church suppressed many of these documents. Nevertheless, these writings do not provide any information that is truly spectacular by 21st Century standards. These documents were likely omitted because they did not fit into the neat chronology of the Bible, showed women in a stronger role than was acceptable in medieval times, or suggested that Christ made mistakes as a youth.

"The Acts of Paul and Thecla" describe a woman who helped spread the word of God. The document clearly shows her as a strong woman and a true disciple. Church elders of the medieval period probably felt that a story of a strong female was inappropriate for women of that period. The events surrounding her persecution are filled with miracles. She survived attempts to kill her through burning and attacks by wild beasts. In the end, she disappeared into a crack in a rock that was created by God. God then closed the opening behind her.

The first part of the book describes the birth of the Virgin Mary and her marriage to Joseph. The book also contains writings that describe the adolescent years of Jesus and the magical powers of the cloth used to wrap him as a baby. Some events show Jesus in a less than perfect light. These writings nevertheless describe a part of the Gospel that is not widely known.

Some parts of the book flow easily while other writings are difficult to follow. The books of Hermas provide an example of easy reading and tedious reading. "The First Book of Hermas," tells an interesting story. He passes near a great beast, one hundred feet long with locusts coming out of its mouth. Hermas was not killed by the beast as he had faith that the Lord would protect him. The third book talks of mountains and stones that are used to build a tower. Only after struggling through this document does the reader learn that the tower is a metaphor for the house of God.

The end of the book contains multiple letters from Pontius Pilate and Herod. Herod talks about how he is paying the price for killing John the Baptist. Pilate sends letters to Tiberius Caesar, which recount his reasons for crucifying Jesus. His letters also discuss the miracles surrounding Jesus such as the raising of Lazarus, and the earthquake following the crucifixion. These documents note that Tiberius subsequently killed Pilate for his role in the crucifixion.

Like the Bible itself, this book is a compilation of ancient writings. Also like the Bible, the documents are presented in two vertical columns per page. This book is a fascinating companion to the Bible. It provides insight to events surrounding the New Testament that are mostly unknown. Bottom line: a semi tough read but well worth the effort.

II. I was very excited about the book (The lost books of the Bible I consider this books I liked the I. Clement, II. Clement, Barnabus, Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, Polycarp, Philippians, I. Hermas-Visions, II. Herman-Commands, III. Hermas-Similitudes, Letters of Herod and Pilate, The
III. Very interesting for early Christians writings some this are Gnostic influence like Infancy, Christ & Mary childhood so oblivious false
IV. I Give this Bible 5 star Good translation Like this Book

I bought this back in college and just now got around to reading it. It's basically a collection of apocryphal and otherwise "unaccepted" texts regarding Jesus of Nazareth and his apostles.

Most of it was letters to various congregations, with messages such as "Be more patient with eachother. Infighting doesn't do us any good" and "Jesus still love you even though he's gone to Heaven". However, the parts I found interesting as a former Catholic were the books that filled in some of the blanks about Jesus' life, particularly as a child.

Apparently Jesus was not the nicest kid to be around. He was incredibly intelligent and confounded his teachers to no end because he already knew everything. However, what really got me was how he treated people who made him angry. On more than one occasion he killed his playmates if they made him made, transformed them into goats for the fun of it, or otherwise wreaked havoc til the neighbors complained and Joseph and Mary had to bring him inside. No wonder the early church fathers cut these out of the Bible! Not a very flattering picture!

However, there were some interesting "rest of the stories" about his adulthood, too. Apparently the robbers who were crucified next to him came from an incident in his childhood, and that was an intrguing tie-in. In fact, a lot of the folks from his childhood came back to play key roles as her got older; many of the apostles were children he healed of illnesses. I also thought the description of Jesus descending into Hell after the crucifixion and pulling Adam out of there was an appropriate story.

I like this because it makes the Christian mythos more complete. Some of it, to be sure, came about long after his death, but then again great figures in history and mythology often grow greater with the passing years.

To be sure, I'm still comfortable in my own (non-Christian) beliefs. However, this is a nice addition to the traditions I was raised in as a child, the stuff they don;'t teach you in Catholic school.