Book Reviewed: The Other Gospels: Accounts of Jesus from Outside the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman and Zlatko Plese

Shadows on canonical gospels Gnosticism is a collection of beliefs and practices among early Christian sects which emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (Gnosis) above the orthodox teachings and authority of established institutions. According to the Gnostic belief system, material existence is flawed, and it proposes that there is a higher Supreme Being that is responsible for creating the cosmos. Gnostics believed that achieving salvation from materialism is to seek knowledge of the supreme divinity through the mystical insight. Most Gnostic texts do not believe in the concepts of sin and repentance that is dominant in the canonical gospels and the New Testament, but acquiring knowledge is essential for the emancipation of human miseries. According to the Gospel of Mary Magdalene 4:26, “The Savior said There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery.” Then Mary goes on to say in the same chapter verse 30, “Matter gave birth to a passion that has no equal, which proceeded from something contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in its whole body.” The infancy gospels like the Gospel of James, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Syriac Infancy Gospel describes many miraculous incidents from the life of Mary and the childhood of Jesus not found in the canons. They also include extensive narratives of the birth and upbringing of Jesus’ mother Mary. The History of Joseph the Carpenter is a compilation of traditions of Mary, Joseph, and the "holy family.” The Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian literary work of allegorical language describes five visions granted to Hermas. This is followed by twelve commandments, and ten parables. This allegorical language continues through this work that suggests that Jesus is God and not a human. The remarks of Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria, the leadership in the early days of the church offers a sense of resistance to the teachings of the Shepherd. But Pope Callixtus I said it as an authority and deserved to be included in the Divine Instrument. Borborites another Gnostic sect had sacred scriptures revolved around the figure of Mary Magdalene. The elements of sexual sacramental practices formed an important role in their rituals. This sect engaged in a version of the Eucharist in which they would smear their hands with menstrual blood and semen and consume them as the blood and body of Christ, respectively. The Gospel of Peter suggests that Jesus did not actually die. This, together with the claim that on the cross Jesus "remained silent, as though he felt no pain", has led many early Christian leaders to accuse this text of Docetism. Christ was so divine that he could not have been human, since God lacked a material body, therefore could not feel physical pain that is completely contrary to the teachings in the church today. The Gospel of Nicodemus, also called the Acts of Pilate describes the Harrowing of Hell episode where St. Dismas accompanies Jesus in a descent to hell, and the deliverance of the righteous Old Testament patriarchs. Church's synods of Carthage and Rome which established the New Testament canon rejected Gnostic gospels as apocryphal and ordered for a massive destruction of the ancient scriptures. A major question in scholarly research now is the qualification of Gnosticism as a phenomenon that may have the influence of other belief systems of that time. Sankhya and Vedanta school of Hindu philosophical system were known throughout the Indian subcontinent during the times of Jesus, and Buddha knew the principles of Sankhya philosophy. The Gnostic belief system is reminiscent of Sankhya school of thought. The English translations of over forty noncanonical texts presented in this book is helpful to readers who are interested in Gnostic Christianity that dominated the early church. This is a good reference books even for students at Divinity schools, Christian seminaries and church pastors who are more open to Gnosticism.