The Gospel of Jesus According to the Jesus Seminar

What would a truly original gospel look like—a gospel cleared of the interpretation and embellishment of the evangelists, a gospel that contained only the words and deeds of the historical Jesus? The Gospel of Jesus is that gospel.

Since its founding in 1985, the Jesus Seminar has been a pioneer in bringing historical Jesus scholarship to the general public, making vital but often complex studies accessible, understandable and relevant. In The Gospel of Jesus, Robert Funk and the Jesus Seminar take the work of popularizing historical Jesus studies in a new and exciting direction. This single composite gospel is created out of the stories told about and words ascribed to Jesus in the ancient gospels.

The selection of texts was dictated by the decisions of the Jesus Seminar scholars. All sayings and reports that were deemed probably historical are included, along with a few items found to be only possibly historical or even fictive. As the editor writes, "Nothing has been included that is not believed to be historical or that can said to be fictive but true to the character of Jesus and others as represented by the authentic material."

Along with the new gospel text itself are references to sources and parallel texts and brief endnotes explaining the scholarship supoorting the selections. Also included is a description and chronology of all known ancient gospels.

While The Gospel of Jesus is new, there is really nothing new about constructing a gospel this way. As the book's Introduction points out, creating a work like this is doing no more than imitating the practices of the first evangelists: "The authors of the ancient gospels freely plundered the work of their predecessors in composing their own texts. . . New compositions were written out by hand and often presented as solely the product of the new authors. The composers of the New Testament gospels created their gospels in the same way."

The Gospel of Jesus is an essential new work for anyone seeking to understand and experience the sayings and story of Jesus as the earliest listeners did. It is a compelling and enlightening book to read and a valuable volume for all those who include the historical Jesus in their practice, worship or study.

"Bold and meticulous scholarship, with astonishing results. The Jesus that emerges from this gospel is at once more human and more mysterious than the Jesus of popular imagination. The singularity of this Jesus compels us to interpret anew what he said and did, quite as it compelled his first century followers." — James Carse, author of The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple

"This book will excite, challenge, intrigue and threaten readers. It is a worthy contribution to the fascinating Jesus debate that has captured our generation." —Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of Why Christianity Must Change or Die

Robert W. Funk is Director of the Westar Institute and founder of the Jesus Seminar.

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