According to some estimates, early Christians wrote at least twenty gospels that weren't included in the bible. Many of these non-biblical gospels apparently disappeared later, although it's possible that copies of some of them still survive at unknown locations. Luckily, several that appeared to be missing have been found again in modern times. But some are still missing, and could be permanently lost. Included in this book are The Gospel of The Infancy of Jesus, The Gospel of Bartholomew, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Judas, The Gospel of Marcion, The Gospel of Mary, The Gospel of Nicodemus, The Gospel of Peter, The Gospel of Philip, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Truth and The Secret Gospel of Mark. The most important point is that the canon was edited for political and cultural reasons and a full understanding of Christianity or Christian Philosophy is not complete without a study of these additional gospels. Scholars know about the past existence of some missing gospels because they are mentioned in other ancient writings that have survived. Parts of some lost books were even copied into surviving writings, so that a portion of their original content is still preserved. Authors of the New Testament gospels apparently got some of their information from earlier writings. Modern scholars call these earlier writings "sources", and have determined that there were probably three of them. But apparently all of them have disappeared. These three lost sources may have been the first gospels. Their ancient names are unknown, so they are usually identified by modern names, specifically the Lost Q Source, the Pre- Markan Passion Narrative, and the Signs Gospel. Because no copies of any of them have survived, they are sometimes called hypothetical gospels. But most scholars believe that they really did exist at one time. Actually, these three missing gospels aren't completely lost, since material from them is preserved in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In fact, considerable knowledge about their original content has been obtained by studying this preserved material. Some other non-biblical gospels have been discovered more directly, because actual physical remains have been found. Examples include the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of Judas. All of these were discovered in modern times. But only fragments or secondary translations have been found, so the complete original forms of all of them are still unavailable. These three rediscovered gospels are named after Simon Peter, Mary Magdalene, and Judas Iscariot, but those weren't their real authors. Their real authors are unknown, and will probably never be identified. In ancient times unknown authors would sometimes ascribe their books to famous people in an effort to get more publicity and authority for them. Ancient writers mentioned a number of other gospels which they knew about, but which apparently no longer survive. These include the Gospel of Matthias, the Gospel of Perfection, the Gospel of the Seventy, the Dialogue of the Savior, the Gospel of the Twelve, the Book of the Hebrews, the Gospel of the Nazarenes, the Gospel of Bartholomew, the Secret Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Eve. Other gospels may have also existed, but even their names have been lost. Some early gospels may have vanished because they were secret gospels and very few copies were made. Others could have been lost due to wars, conquests, upheavals, and persecutions. In addition, there have been accusations that early church leaders intentionally destroyed some books in order to cover up embarrassing facts about the origins of Christianity. Some intentional destruction did take place, but exactly what was lost can't be determined. Recently, it seems that the Gospel of Mary, has been verified as authentic in both papyrus and ink. These texts are a must read for those who wish to know the whole story and the "New Testament."
About the Author: The editor has been studying theology, theosophy, hermeneutics, eschatology, comparative religions and has traveled extensively around the world studying world religions, cultural mythology and cultural anthropology. He has degrees from the University of Michigan and has worked in the corridors of power in Washington, DC and has informally studied the influence of belief systems on politics. The purpose of this series of books on religion, mythology and theology is designed to emphasize our common humanity and spirituality and eliminate the divisiveness that exists within the organized religions. This book is designed to be a state of the art, academic reference work and provides an overview of the topic and gives the reader a structured knowledge of the topic at the most affordable price possible. The accuracy and knowledge is of an international viewpoint. The edited articles represent the inputs of many knowledgeable individuals and the most current knowledge on the topic, based on the date of publication.