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 influential 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 into heaven.Translated and harmonised by R. Joseph Hoffmann, a specialist in early church history, these sources offer an unparalleled view of the devotional life and legend-making skills of the Christian Church. They also provide important insight into the making of the "New Testament" canon and raise significant questions about the way in which belief in the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth developed. This comprehensive introduction to the apocryphal tradition is essential reading for anyone interested in the life and thought of the formative period of Christian belief. Enhanced by Hoffmann's running notes and commentary, this impressive work includes a supplement on the apocryphal Jesus tradition in Islam as well as long-unavailable sources from the Eastern Coptic-Egyptian and Arab-Christian traditions.
Following graduation from Harvard Divinity School and the University of Oxford, R. Joseph Hoffmann was tutor in Greek at Keble College and Senior Scholar at St Cross College, Oxford, and Wissenschaftlicher Assistent in Patristics and Classical Studies at the University of Heidelberg. He began his teaching career at the University of Michigan as Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Studies where he developed the undergraduate and graduate program in Christian origins. From 1991 to 1999, he was Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Church History at Westminster College, Oxford. Hoffmann has also taught at Cal State Sacramento, the American University of Beirut, and Wells College, where he was Campbell Professor of Religion and Human Values until 2006 and Distinguished Scholar at Goddard College in 2009. Beyond academe, he is well known for his advocacy of the humanist tradition. He was Chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion until 2010, a senior vice president of the Center for Inquiry until 2008, and a founding faculty member (1986) of the Humanist Institute. His most recent books include an edited volume entitled Just War and Jihad: Violence in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2006) and Sources of the Jesus Tradition (2010). He is also the author of The Secret Gospels (1996), Porphyry's Against the Christians (1994), and Jesus Outside the Gospels (1986).
