The Secret Gospels

by R. Joseph Hoffmann and R. Joseph Hoffman

This book brings together, for the first time in a consecutive narrative, the major apocryphal sources of the Jesus tradition. Composed between the 2nd and 7th centuries, these "secret gospels" were influencial in shaping Christian belief and doctrine for well over 1,000 years. They include stories of the birth of Jesus, his "lost" years as a boy in Nazareth, the wanderings of the holy family, the death of Joseph, and the ascension of the Virgin Mary...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157392069X
• ISBN13: 9781573920698
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Introduction to the apocryphal literature

Contrary to one of the editorial reviews this book contains a bibliography, although not an extensive one. The author is translating for a general readership, not for other experts. Therefore his harmonizing of the various sources is designed to be readable - which it is. He is concentrating on the sources that represent his speciality - Arabic and Coptic; therefore, some familar stories are omitted as are most gnostic sources.The stories included are histories of Joseph, Mary and substantial infancy materials. Also included are a number of early nativity hymns and excerpts of the infancy material in the Quran.The weakness in the book is solely in the Introduction where the author displays a consistent post-Christian, reformation bias, especially with regards to the creation of the New Testament canon. He does acknowledge the diversity of the canon in Syriac and Coptic versions but never allows that acknowledgment to mitigate his "Catholic power-grap" mentality.While I prefer Maire Herbert's Irish Biblical Apocrypha for fun stories, this volume is far more representative and readable. It provides excellent background for Medieval mystery plays and some poetry without expecting background in Biblical studies.