The Lost Christianities
US $7.23
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A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including scuff marks, but no holes or tears. The dust jacket for hard covers may not be included. Binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with minimal creasing or tearing, minimal pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.
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Item specifics
- Condition
- Release Year
- 2003
- ISBN
- 9780195141832
- Book Title
- Lost Christianities : the Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press, Incorporated
- Item Length
- 6.3 in
- Publication Year
- 2003
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Illustrator
- Yes
- Item Height
- 1 in
- Genre
- Religion
- Topic
- Christian Church / History, Christianity / History, Blasphemy, Heresy & Apostasy, Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament
- Item Weight
- 22.4 Oz
- Item Width
- 9.5 in
- Number of Pages
- 320 Pages
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-10
0195141830
ISBN-13
9780195141832
eBay Product ID (ePID)
2370095
Product Key Features
Book Title
Lost Christianities : the Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew
Number of Pages
320 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Christian Church / History, Christianity / History, Blasphemy, Heresy & Apostasy, Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament
Publication Year
2003
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Religion
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1 in
Item Weight
22.4 Oz
Item Length
6.3 in
Item Width
9.5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2003-053097
Reviews
"The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and earlyChristian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on earlyChristianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as theyilluminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."--Library Journal(on Lost Christianities and Lost Scriptures), "Highly readable and based on up-to-date scholarship, Ehrman's bookprovides an excellent introduction to early Christianity's diversity and themeans by which early orthodoxy, and the New Testament canon, developed from it.This lively study will prove eye-opening to a wide variety ofreaders."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, DukeUniversity, Ehrman's racy style is gripping ... and he offers a vivid picture of what different groups believed and why., "Ehrman's style is marked by the narrative thrust of a good story or evena sermon."--Christian Science Monitor, "A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinal feuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the early Church. Or better, Churches."--Kirkus Reviews, "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 therewas no such thing as a monolithic Christian orthodoxy before the fourth century."--Publishers Weekly, "A charting of the full theological kaleidoscope would take volumes, but it is possible, using Ehrman's book as a jumping-off point, to examine some of the more striking and widespread of the Christian roads not taken."--Time Magazine, "This book offers a fascinating introduction to an astonishing range of'lost Christianities' that flourished at the time when the Christian movementbegan. Bart Ehrman has the rare gift of communicating scholarship in writingthat is lively, enjoyable, and accessible."--Elaine Pagels, PrincetonUniversity, "A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinalfeuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the earlyChurch. Or better, Churches."--Kirkus Reviews, "A charting of the full theological kaleidoscope would take volumes, but it is possible, using Ehrman's book as a jumping-off point, to examine some of the more striking and widespread of the Christian roads not taken."-- Time Magazine (cover story) "A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinal feuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the early Church. Or better, Churches."-- Kirkus Reviews "Ehrman's style is marked by the narrative thrust of a good story or even a sermon."-- Christian Science Monitor "This book offers a fascinating introduction to an astonishing range of 'lost Christianities' that flourished at the time when the Christian movement began. Bart Ehrman has the rare gift of communicating scholarship in writing that is lively, enjoyable, and accessible."--Elaine Pagels, Princeton University "That Ehrman makes his case without pushing into territory considered heretical by many mainstream Christians shows a deft touch with the most volatile of subjects.... Will shock more than a few lay readers. The 27 New Testament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations, it turns out, were only a handful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life in wide circulation in the early centuries of the religion."--Scott Bernard Nelson, The Boston Globe "Ehrman displays expert knowledge of the texts and the best modern scholarship, as well as sound critical judgment about their content. His balanced exposition of the Gospel of Thomas, with its careful delineation of the different materials in it, is outstanding. His essay on the Secret Gospel of Mark, with its suggestion that the text may be a modern forgery (perhaps even by its learned editor, Morton Smith), reads like a detective story. Studying a text in Lost Scriptures and reading Ehrman's discussion of it can be both informative and engrossing."-- America "The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and early Christian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on early Christianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as they illuminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."-- Library Journal (on Lost Christianities and Lost Scriptures ) "A fascinating look at how Christianity was molded."-- Dallas Morning News "Highly readable and based on up-to-date scholarship, Ehrman's book provides an excellent introduction to early Christianity's diversity and the means by which early orthodoxy, and the New Testament canon, developed from it. This lively study will prove eye-opening to a wide variety of readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University, "A charting of the full theological kaleidoscope would take volumes, but it is possible, using Ehrman's book as a jumping-off point, to examine some of the more striking and widespread of the Christian roads not taken."--Time Magazine (cover story)"A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinal feuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the early Church. Or better, Churches."--Kirkus Reviews"Ehrman's style is marked by the narrative thrust of a good story or even a sermon."--Christian Science Monitor"This book offers a fascinating introduction to an astonishing range of 'lost Christianities' that flourished at the time when the Christian movement began. Bart Ehrman has the rare gift of communicating scholarship in writing that is lively, enjoyable, and accessible."--Elaine Pagels, Princeton University"That Ehrman makes his case without pushing into territory considered heretical by many mainstream Christians shows a deft touch with the most volatile of subjects.... Will shock more than a few lay readers. The 27 New Testament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations, it turns out, were only a handful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life in wide circulation in the early centuries of the religion."--Scott Bernard Nelson, The Boston Globe"Ehrman displays expert knowledge of the texts and the best modern scholarship, as well as sound critical judgment about their content. His balanced exposition of the Gospel of Thomas, with its careful delineation of the different materials in it, is outstanding. His essay on the Secret Gospel of Mark, with its suggestion that the text may be a modern forgery (perhaps even by its learned editor, Morton Smith), reads like a detective story. Studying a text in Lost Scriptures and reading Ehrman's discussion of it can be both informative and engrossing."--America"The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and early Christian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on early Christianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as they illuminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."--Library Journal (on Lost Christianities and Lost Scriptures)"A fascinating look at how Christianity was molded."--Dallas Morning News"Highly readable and based on up-to-date scholarship, Ehrman's book provides an excellent introduction to early Christianity's diversity and the means by which early orthodoxy, and the New Testament canon, developed from it. This lively study will prove eye-opening to a wide variety of readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University, "History, it's often said, is written by the victors. Bart Ehrman argues in a pair of intriguing new books that the same could be said of the Bible's New Testament. That Ehrman makes his case without pushing into territory considered heretical by many mainstream Christians shows a deft touchwith the most volatile of subjects.... Will shock more than a few lay readers. The 27 New Testament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations, it turns out, were only a handful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life in wide circulation in the early centuries of thereligion. And they were hardly the only ones to claim direct ties to the Apostles.... Presents the major strains of early Christianity and explains how each feuded bitterly with the others. He also discusses how and why the group representing the closest thing to modern-day Christianity ultimatelywon out."--Scott Bernard Nelson, The Boston Globe, "History, it's often said, is written by the victors. Bart Ehrman arguesin a pair of intriguing new books that the same could be said of the Bible's NewTestament. That Ehrman makes his case without pushing into territory consideredheretical by many mainstream Christians shows a deft touch with the mostvolatile of subjects.... Will shock more than a few lay readers. The 27 NewTestament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations, it turns out, were only ahandful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life inwide circulation in the early centuries of the religion. And they were hardlythe only ones to claim direct ties to the Apostles.... Presents the majorstrains of early Christianity and explains how each feuded bitterly with theothers. He also discusses how and why the group representing the closest thingto modern-day Christianity ultimately won out."--Scott Bernard Nelson, TheBoston Globe, "Ehrman displays expert knowledge of the texts and the best modern scholarship, as well as sound critical judgment about their content. His balanced exposition of the Gospel of Thomas, with its careful delineation of the different materials in it, is outstanding. His essay on the Secret Gospelof Mark, with its suggestion that the text may be a modern forgery (perhaps even by its learned editor, Morton Smith), reads like a detective story. Studying a text in Lost Scriptures and reading Ehrman's discussion of it can be both informative and engrossing."--America, "Ehrman eloquently characterizes some of the movements and Scriptures thatwere lost, such as the Ebionites and the Secret Gospel of Mark, as he outlinesthe many strands of Christianity that competed for attention in the second andthird centuries. He issues an important reminder that there was no such thingas a monolithic Christian orthodoxy before the fourth century."--PublishersWeekly, "This book offers a fascinating introduction to an astonishing range of 'lost Christianities' that flourished at the time when the Christian movement began. Bart Ehrman has the rare gift of communicating scholarship in writing that is lively, enjoyable, and accessible."--Elaine Pagels,Princeton University, "The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and early Christian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on early Christianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as they illuminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."--LibraryJournal (on Lost Christianities and Lost Scriptures), "A charting of the full theological kaleidoscope would take volumes, but it is possible, using Ehrman's book as a jumping-off point, to examine some of the more striking and widespread of the Christian roads not taken."--Time Magazine (cover story) "A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinal feuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the early Church. Or better, Churches."--Kirkus Reviews "Ehrman's style is marked by the narrative thrust of a good story or even a sermon."--Christian Science Monitor "This book offers a fascinating introduction to an astonishing range of 'lost Christianities' that flourished at the time when the Christian movement began. Bart Ehrman has the rare gift of communicating scholarship in writing that is lively, enjoyable, and accessible."--Elaine Pagels, Princeton University "That Ehrman makes his case without pushing into territory considered heretical by many mainstream Christians shows a deft touch with the most volatile of subjects.... Will shock more than a few lay readers. The 27 New Testament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations, it turns out, were only a handful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life in wide circulation in the early centuries of the religion."--Scott Bernard Nelson, The Boston Globe "Ehrman displays expert knowledge of the texts and the best modern scholarship, as well as sound critical judgment about their content. His balanced exposition of the Gospel of Thomas, with its careful delineation of the different materials in it, is outstanding. His essay on the Secret Gospel of Mark, with its suggestion that the text may be a modern forgery (perhaps even by its learned editor, Morton Smith), reads like a detective story. Studying a text in Lost Scriptures and reading Ehrman's discussion of it can be both informative and engrossing."--America "The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and early Christian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on early Christianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as they illuminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."--Library Journal (on Lost Christianities and Lost Scriptures) "A fascinating look at how Christianity was molded."--Dallas Morning News "Highly readable and based on up-to-date scholarship, Ehrman's book provides an excellent introduction to early Christianity's diversity and the means by which early orthodoxy, and the New Testament canon, developed from it. This lively study will prove eye-opening to a wide variety of readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University, "A charting of the full theological kaleidoscope would take volumes, but it is possible, using Ehrman's book as a jumping-off point, to examine some of the more striking and widespread of the Christian roads not taken."--Time Magazine(cover story) "A well-crafted, scholarly tale of forgeries, burned books, doctrinal feuds, and other episodes in the making of the New Testament and the early Church. Or better, Churches."--Kirkus Reviews "Ehrman's style is marked by the narrative thrust of a good story or even a sermon."--Christian Science Monitor "This book offers a fascinating introduction to an astonishing range of 'lost Christianities' that flourished at the time when the Christian movement began. Bart Ehrman has the rare gift of communicating scholarship in writing that is lively, enjoyable, and accessible."--Elaine Pagels, Princeton University "That Ehrman makes his case without pushing into territory considered heretical by many mainstream Christians shows a deft touch with the most volatile of subjects.... Will shock more than a few lay readers. The 27 New Testament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations, it turns out, were only a handful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life in wide circulation in the early centuries of the religion."--Scott Bernard Nelson,The Boston Globe "Ehrman displays expert knowledge of the texts and the best modern scholarship, as well as sound critical judgment about their content. His balanced exposition of the Gospel of Thomas, with its careful delineation of the different materials in it, is outstanding. His essay on the Secret Gospel of Mark, with its suggestion that the text may be a modern forgery (perhaps even by its learned editor, Morton Smith), reads like a detective story. Studying a text inLost Scripturesand reading Ehrman's discussion of it can be both informative and engrossing."--America "The author of more than ten books on New Testament history and early Christian writings, Ehrman has established himself as an expert on early Christianity. These two works should soundly solidify his stature, as they illuminate the flavor and varieties of early Christian belief."--Library Journal(onLost ChristianitiesandLost Scriptures) "A fascinating look at how Christianity was molded."--Dallas Morning News "Highly readable and based on up-to-date scholarship, Ehrman's book provides an excellent introduction to early Christianity's diversity and the means by which early orthodoxy, and the New Testament canon, developed from it. This lively study will prove eye-opening to a wide variety of readers."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University, "Ehrman's style is marked by the narrative thrust of a good story or even a sermon."--Christian Science Monitor, The strengths of this book are multiple. It brings together discussion about a range of significant texts; it builds a wider historical frame in which to understand such writings; it is appreciative of the diversity of Christianity and seeks to hear those voices that have hitherto been too often marginalized; and, it is extremely readable while remaining a significant work. This book should be read by all those who are keen to appreciate more fully the multifaceted nature of Christianity prior to the fourth century., Chapter One: Recouping Our Loses PART ONE: Forgeries and Discoveries Chapter Two: The Ancient Discovery of a Forgery: Serapion and the Gospel of Peter Chapter Three: The Ancient Forgery of a Discovery: The Acts of Paul and Thecla Chapter Four: The Discovery on an Ancient Forgery: the Coptic Gospel of Thomas Chapter Five: The Forgery of an Ancient Discovery? Morton Smith and the Secret Gospel of Mark PART TWO: Heresies and Orthodoxies Chapter Six: At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and Marcionites Chapter Seven: Christians "In the Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism Chapter Eight: On the Road to Nicea: The Broad Swath of Proto-Orthodox Christianity PART THREE: Winners and Losers Chapter Nine: The Quest for Orthodoxy Chapter Ten: The Arsenal of the Conflicts: Polemical Treatises and Personal Slurs Chapter Eleven: Additional Weapons in the Proto-Orthodox Arsenal: Forgeries and Falsifications Chapter Twelve: The Invention of Scripture: The Formation of the Proto-Orthodox New Testament Chapter Thirteen: Winners, Losers, and the Question of Tolerance, "A charting of the full theological kaleidoscope would take volumes, butit is possible, using Ehrman's book as a jumping-off point, to examine some ofthe more striking and widespread of the Christian roads not taken."--TimeMagazine, "Highly readable and based on up-to-date scholarship, Ehrman's book provides an excellent introduction to early Christianity's diversity and the means by which early orthodoxy, and the New Testament canon, developed from it. This lively study will prove eye-opening to a wide variety ofreaders."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Duke University
Dewey Edition
21
Dewey Decimal
229/.9206
Table Of Content
Chapter One: Recouping Our LosesPART ONE: Forgeries and DiscoveriesChapter Two: The Ancient Discovery of a Forgery: Serapion and the Gospel of PeterChapter Three: The Ancient Forgery of a Discovery: The Acts of Paul and TheclaChapter Four: The Discovery on an Ancient Forgery: the Coptic Gospel of ThomasChapter Five: The Forgery of an Ancient Discovery? Morton Smith and the Secret Gospel of MarkPART TWO: Heresies and OrthodoxiesChapter Six: At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and MarcionitesChapter Seven: Christians "In the Know": The Worlds of Early Christian GnosticismChapter Eight: On the Road to Nicea: The Broad Swath of Proto-Orthodox ChristianityPART THREE: Winners and LosersChapter Nine: The Quest for OrthodoxyChapter Ten: The Arsenal of the Conflicts: Polemical Treatises and Personal SlursChapter Eleven: Additional Weapons in the Proto-Orthodox Arsenal: Forgeries and FalsificationsChapter Twelve: The Invention of Scripture: The Formation of the Proto-Orthodox New TestamentChapter Thirteen: Winners, Losers, and the Question of Tolerance
Synopsis
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., 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., Lost Christianities describes how most forms of early Christianity, and the sacred writings they adhered to, came to be suppressed, proscribed, destroyed - in one way or another lost. And it also tells the story of how the canon of the New Testament became the official, orthodox and sacred text for Christianity.
LC Classification Number
BS2840.E4 2003
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Very intreging book on some new discoveries.
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- t***l (63)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseEverything perfectly perfect. Excellent seller, professional, works with you, promptly available for communication. Items well packaged, quick shipping, reasonably priced, as described. Smooth transaction. Would purchase from again. Asset to eBay. AAA***
- m***0 (212)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseGreat quality and value for the item! The item arrived in great condition and the appearance was as described by the seller. The shipping was fast and the package had accurate tracking information through transit. The packaging was very well done and the seller ensured that the item was safe. Thank you to the seller for a great transaction. I’m extremely happy with my purchase and I hope to do business with you again in the future!
- s***6 (147)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseAmazing seller!!! Prompt, courteous communication + SUPER FAST shipping. Item was well-priced, packaged nicely, and arrived exactly as pictured!The Complete Beginner's Guide to Making and Flying Kites (#126770360957)