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

The "Lost Christianities" of Bart Ehrman is a very neutral description of the Christian history of the first 3 centuries AD. Ehrman has no axe to grind with competing scholars no dogmatic bias, just the open minded attempt to describe the different streams of Christianities before the orthodox were left as winners.

Part 1 of the book is evaluating the different forgeries of Gospels, epistles, revelations and prophecies which were circulating in the ancient Middle East. Gospels of different authors suppressed from the orthodox winners, sometimes only available as fragmented quotations from opponents of the other camp.

Part 2 is describing the 4 different main directions of early Christianity:
- Ebonite's based on the Jewish ancestry, following more the original apostle teachings, using the Gospel of Matthew and consider Jesus as a human teacher not divine `Son of God' but just adopted from God.
- Marcionites breaking completely with the OT and consider the Jewish God YHWH as imperfect creator of the earth and the true God is sending his son only as spirit (docetic) to wrestle control back from YHWH and forgive the sins of humans entrapping them to YHWH by faking a mortal dead of Jesus.
- Gnostics who are looking for the `Jesus within' everybody and consider only the truly knowing and enlighten elite as eternal spirits. They are predominantly in Egypt and were using several Gospel texts many of them found in Nag Hamadi, interpreting these texts as way to knowledge of the divinity inside themselves.
- The fourth group Ehrman calls proto-orthodox who considers Jesus as divine but made of flesh and blood, which caused many discussions even inside the proto-orthodox camp.

Part 3 finally is about the different tactics of the groups who called their opponents heretics and the trend even within the groups was changing over time. What was considered mainstream like Origen for proto-orthodox could be fall into disgrace a century later and forbidden as heretic.

The group of proto-orthodox had the strategic advantage of their stronghold in Rome which yielded power, money and influence. As Ebonite's would require the circumcision of all males and following the kosher food laws they had not much appeal to the Gentiles. The Marcionites missed the long ancient history to convince the wide public about their `truth'. The Gnostics were too elitist to be accepted from the wide masses. So only the proto-orthodox had a chance to end the final battle in their favor.

After all these detailed introductions I expected Ehrman to describe this as preparation of readers for the final battle at Nicaea 325AD and the tactics of the different groups. However the book is just rushing in a few sentences over this crucial Nicaea council and is ending like under time pressure to deliver the book to the publisher.

Variety is the spice of this and the next life! (10/10 people found this helpful)

This exploration of early Christianity is conducted in three parts:

Forgeries & Discoveries, in which four intriguing texts are examined as representative of the wide variety of fabricated narratives in religious history;

Heresies & Orthodoxies, an investigation and comparison of the divergent beliefs of various early Christian movements like the Ebionites, Marcionites, different Gnostic groups and the Proto-Orthodox;

Winners & Losers, that considers the conflicts that unfolded between the above-mentioned movements, focusing on the role of the Proto-Orthodox and how the New Testament came to be accepted in its present form.

The book opens with an alphabetical list of the major Christian Apocrypha under discussion, with dates and contents, under the headings Gospels, Acts, Epistles & Related Literature, and Apocalypses & Related Literature. In the Introduction, the author mentions the diversity within modern Christianity and compares it with the situation in the first three centuries, which was equally, if not more, bewildering.

The Gospel of Peter is discussed in chapter one; this Docetic document was discovered in 1886. The next deals with the Acts of Paul and Thecla plus some other apocryphal acts which were popular in antiquity. It seems Thecla was a popular heroine that inspired the ancient equivalent of Barbra Cartland-type pulp fiction. The Gospel of Thomas is considered in chapter 3, as well as the discovery of the The Nag Hammadi Library, whilst the last chapter of this section tells the story of Morton Smith and the secret "gospel" of Mark, a modern-day mystery.

The fascinating second part opens with a discussion of heresies and orthodoxies on the nature, teachings and significance of Jesus of Nazareth. It is clear that all the various forms and movements, no matter their vast differences, trace their lineage back to him. See the book How On Earth Did Jesus Become a God? by Larry Hurtado to understand how early this devotion started and how astonishing it was in the view of the Mother Religion, strict monotheistic second-temple Judaism.

Chapter 5 takes a closer look at the polar opposites in early Christianity; Ebionites and Marcionites. The first were Jewish followers of Jesus who adhered to Torah, believed in one God, considered Jesus to be completely human and distrusted the Apostle Paul. On the other hand, the Marcionites claimed there were two gods, utterly rejected the Old Testament, saw Jesus as completely divine and Paul as the only true apostle.

What is known about the various Gnostic beliefs is discussed in the next chapter under the headings Nag Hammadi Library, Origins & Tenets of Gnosticism as well as some texts like the Gospel of Truth. Ehrman briefly discusses apocalyptical Judaism and Middle Platonism as two roots of Gnosticism. An interesting and sympathetic book on this movement that includes a chapter on Marcion, is Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing by Stephan A Hoeller.

The large tent of the Proto-Orthodox is explored in chapter seven, including its relation to the Jewish and prophetic traditions and the theological developments that led to the Nicene creed. Christian Anti-Semitism was inherent in Marcionism whilst amongst the Proto-Orthodox it appears in the writings of Justin Martyr, Tertullian and Melito of Sardis in a virulent form. Our Hands Are Stained with Blood by Michael L Brown and Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism by Dennis Prager provide more info on this phenomenon in early Christianity.

The final part looks at the winners and losers with regard to the nature of the internecine conflicts and the strategies that proved effective in the long struggle for dominance. The winners determined the structure, creeds and canon of Constantine Christianity that triumphed in Europe. Here the author engages with the classical view of orthodoxy and analyses the assaults on orthodoxy by scholars like H Reimarus, FC Baur and Walter Bauer.

The victory was won in a battle of words and Ehrman also provides some examples of Ebionite and Gnostic attacks on Proto-Orthodoxy. Polemical treatises, personal slurs, forgeries and falsifications were used as weapons by all sides. Chapter 10 includes examples of Anti-Adoptionistic (Anti-Ebionite), Anti-Separationist (Anti-Gnostic) and Anti-Docetic (Anti-Marcionite and Anti-Gnostic) alterations to the New Testament text by the Proto-Orthodox.

The penultimate chapter investigates the formation of the New Testament over 300 years whilst the last one ponders the significance of it all, considering with sadness the remnants of what was lost and the question of tolerance and intolerance. The text is enhanced by black and white photographs of illustrated pottery sherds (ostrakons), manuscripts, works of art, places and inscriptions. The book concludes with notes arranged by chapter, a bibliography of seven pages and an index.

There is nothing in Lost Christianities that disturbed or offended me as a believer. Some other books on early Christianity that I have found illuminating include The Authentic Gospel of Jesus by Geza Vermes and Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus: New Insights from a Hebraic Perspective by David Bivin. As regards a few widely diverse modern strains of Christianity, I recommend the interesting works Serpent-handling believers by Thomas Burton, Yeshua the fullness of Yahweh by Lester McCracken and Kabbalah of Yeshua by Zusha Kalet.

Scary. (8/11 people found this helpful)

If anyone is truly to know their faith then they must test it against that which their core beliefs hold most dear. Christians will find this difficult to read as it highlights many characteristics of our faith that don't hold true to that which we have grown up with.
To challenge these fundamentals is indeed scary or, at least, it was for me.
Some of these include; was Christ actually a normal person who's body was occupied by the son of God hence the words from the cross, 'Why hast thou forsaken me.' Taken by many Christians at the time to mean that the son of God had left his host at the time of death.
Be prepared for soul searching and lots of discussion if you buy this.

The Politics of Christian Experience (4/5 people found this helpful)

The huge interest in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" revealed diversities and inadequacies within contemporary Christianity. In turning for answers to early Christianity, diversities and inadequancies have been found there as well. Life is rarely simple nor do foolish simplifications make it so.

Part 1 of "Lost Christianities", focused on forgeries, didn't grab me, but after that the book was absorbing. Ehrman covers a lot of ground, always with reminders of the inadequacies of labels. Unlike Karen King, however, he's willing to work closely with the label of "Gnostic" even as he acknowledges the weaknesses of using it. He notes, however, that the label "Christian" can be deceiving too, as can "orthodox" and "heretical". There were many kinds of heresy and some, such as Ebionite Christianity, weren't Gnostic. Until Constantine's time, it was questionable to speak of AN orthodoxy, but even then (and after) diversity within Church belief and practice continued (into our times, where diversity is still very much present).

Ehrman seems to keep an open and fair mind as he explores these developments. He acknowledges the current interest in Gnosticism and all the early Christian alternatives and recognizes that people today are looking for help to define their own faith, including from the Lost but now found Christianities.

Ehrman discusses Walter Bauer (1877-1960), who seems to have covered a lot of the ground Karen King addressed in her recent books. Bauer notes the "orthodox" and "heretical" seemed value judgements and recognizes a big diversity in emergent Christianity.

Ehrman says that in 325 C.E., only 5-7% of Constantine's empire were Christian. I'd never realized it was that small. But Constantine became Christian and by 400 C.E., 50% of the empire was Christian. He had quite an impact, which seems a lesson in the huge role political leaders play. At the least, it seems that Constantine deserves a great deal more recognition even if we don't celebrate his birthday or make movies of his life.

The contrast between Karen King's handling of Gnosticism and Ehrman's sticks on my mind. Does Ehrman err by generalizing Gnostic beliefs or by using that label when it might not apply to some "Gnostic" groups? Or is he being practical and gaining some advantage in noting important commonalities. I don't know but I appreciate that both King and Ehrman choose ways of sharing what they know about early Christianity. Like the diversity within Christianiity, the diversity within scholars can be enriching.

The open research by Ehrman and King in the early "alternative" Christians , as well as the huge positive response to "The Da Vinci Code", suggest to me that there's a widespread feeling of deficiency in mainstream Christianity and a longing to capture something meaningful that rote belief and ritual hasn't addressed. We may be witnessing the beginnings of a spiritual renaissance that will recapture the power that the early Christians felt.

"Thirty-one flavours" of Christianity? (53/57 people found this helpful)

Like the famous ice-cream store chain, Christianity offers a wide selection of options. At least one should meet the needs of the discriminating shopper. With so many consumers selecting the standard vanilla or chocolate fare, some of the more esoteric flavours fade from view. Ehrman seeks to bring some of the unusual or even obsolete versions of Christianity back into view. From the "orthodox" perspective , of course, many of these will seem distasteful, even bizarre. As he notes, from the now-available sources, the other "versions" should be granted equal weight with what has become "traditional". Certainly, the other writings on Jesus' teachings are no less plausible than what is currently believed by many.

In relating this captivating account of "lost" Christianities, Ehrman stacks a variety of writings against those he deems "proto-orthodox". The proto-orthodox are those who laid down a foundation later adopted by the Roman Empire as "official". Among the proto-orthodox writings is condemnation of the alternative "Christianities". These include the Gnostics, made more recently famous by the books found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945, and the "Gospels" of such figures as Peter, Thecla and a reputed twin brother of Jesus himself. The greatest departure from today's "orthodox" [if anything as diverse as modern Christianity can have such] are the docetists, who deny that Jesus had a corporeal state. As he concedes, the docetists in effect, thereby refute the notion of Jesus dying for the benefit of the rest of us.

Ehrman's running theme is that Christianity, indeed the history of the entire planet, might have taken a drastically different tack had one or more of these Christianities been granted greater impact on what people believed. The issue of "anti-semitism", which initiated Christianity, might have been vastly reduced down one path, or even more horribly intense on another. As the author notes, "Christianity" itself might have devolved into merely another Jewish sect had the voices he presents not been quelled by the victory of the proto-orthodox. He reminds us, also, that even when the proto-orthodox came to dominate, early writers attacking "heretics" were themselves condemned as inadequately focussed on which Christianity was the "correct" one.

The author uses the term "forgery" in a heavy-handed manner, even while acknowledging in theological writings that the term isn't absolute. A "forgery" can be anything from a document intended to deceive to a writer adopting a name as a means of veneration for a particular scholarly position. A plethora of "Peters", "Pauls" and "Johns" must be sorted out over time and place to derive which is the "original". None are, of course, since even the earliest writings known are copies of copies of copies . . . Ehrman is at some pains to show how errors creep in even with the most dedicated scribe doing the work. The passage of time makes things yet more confusing for modern students. With the history and interpretations of nearly four dozen "gospels" covered in this volume, it's clear that Ehrman has undertaken an immense task. This book is a companion volume to his "Lost Scriptures", which provides the foundation for this undertaking.

"Orthodox" Christians [whoever those might be] in the Western world have relied on the "Synoptic Gospels" - although even these are presented in the wrong order - given in the King James Version. How did these, and the remaining books in the New Testament, come to be chosen as the foundation for Roman Christianity? In part, says Ehrman, because of the wide range of beliefs allowed by other Authorities. Gnosticism, which has gained some active adherents - "in California" says Ehrman pointedly - lacked "definition" due to its wide diversity. Part of that diversity was resistance to a hierarchical church structure. Gnosticism, an early form of religious egalitarianism, was suspect in the view of imperial government. Although Athanasius had decreed the present Synoptic Gospels were the "official" texts of Christianity, this declaration wasn't given church sanction for another seventy years.

Ehrman has provided us with one of the most comprehensive views of early Christianity available. It is a strongly researched effort and presented in easy, conversational style. He poses questions any follower of one of the many Christianities should ask themselves. Read it in confidence that your outlook, even if non-theist, will be challenged. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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

Bart D. Ehrman

Reader Reviews:

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Variety is the spice of this and the next life! (10/10 people found this helpful)

Scary. (8/11 people found this helpful)

The Politics of Christian Experience (4/5 people found this helpful)

"Thirty-one flavours" of Christianity? (53/57 people found this helpful)

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