By Philip Jenkins

The traditional account of early Christianity tells us that the 1st centuries after Jesus' dying witnessed an efflorescence of Christian sects, each one with its personal gospel. we're taught that those substitute scriptures, which represented intoxicating, bold, and sometimes strange principles, have been suppressed within the fourth and 5th centuries, whilst the Church canonized the gospels we all know at the present time: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. the remainder have been misplaced, destroyed, or hidden.
In The Many Faces of Christ, the well known non secular historian Philip Jenkins completely refutes our most simple assumptions in regards to the misplaced Gospels. He finds that dozens of other gospels not just survived the canonization strategy yet in lots of situations remained influential texts in the respectable Church. complete new gospels endured to be written and authorized. For one thousand years, those unusual tales in regards to the lifestyles and demise of Jesus have been freely admitted onto church premises, licensed for liturgical examining, learn through traditional laypeople for guide and delight, and stated as authoritative via students and theologians.
The misplaced Gospels unfold in all places, crossing geographic and spiritual borders. the traditional Gospel of Nicodemus penetrated into Southern and critical Asia, whereas either Muslims and Jews wrote and propagated gospels in their personal. In Europe, in the meantime, it was once now not till the Reformation and Counter-Reformation that the misplaced Gospels have been successfully pushed from church buildings. yet nonetheless, many survived, and a few proceed to form Christian perform and trust in our personal day.
Offering a revelatory new standpoint at the formation of the biblical canon, the character of the early Church, and the evolution of Christianity, The Many Faces of Christ restores those misplaced Gospels to their important position in Christian heritage.