Apocryphal Literature - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Chapel-Hill-Coug · 02-02-2007, 06:43 PM

I hadn't checked out this forum until Barbara mentioned it in the Religion forum. Thanks Barbara for pointing it out.

Thecla is a fascinating read, and I thought I'd chime in on a few others of my favorites from both Jewish and Christian extra-canonical literature.

1- Infancy Gospel of Thomas (a must read for the comedy of the impetuous little boy Jesus, getting angry and zapping people to death-including his teacher, yikes- only to bring them back to life).

2- Tobit (in the Jewish apocrypha, in any good study bible) - Excellent literature, involving themes of the religous quest, endogamy, magic, romance...this one has it all.

3- Protevangelium of James - birth of Mary, birth of Jesus

4- Gospel of Philip - long but contains the famous "Jesus used to kiss Mary on the..." passage which was abused by Dan Brown. Now I can't remember if it is this gospel or the Acts of John, but I believe it also has Jesus changing his appearance at will, looking like an old man one moment but then suddenly looking young and attractive.

5- Apocalypse of Peter - guided tour of hell, where punishments fit the crime: women who braid their hair are hung for eternity by their hair, men who commit adultery are hung for eternity by... something else.

6- Ecclesiastes - Okay this one is in the canon, but few realize that it's message is very skeptical (in the Jewish "skeptical wisdom" tradition)...it assumes that there is no afterlife, for example. Be sure to read it in a good translation like the NRSV though.

These are a few off the top of my head that have struck me over the years. There's a ton out there though.

BarbaraGordon · 02-02-2007, 06:46 PM

Thanks, CHC, I've just finished a few books. I'm wanting to read The Apocalypse of Peter next.

02-02-2007, 06:43 PM	#1
Chapel-Hill-Coug Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Posts: 216	Apocryphal Literature I hadn't checked out this forum until Barbara mentioned it in the Religion forum. Thanks Barbara for pointing it out. Thecla is a fascinating read, and I thought I'd chime in on a few others of my favorites from both Jewish and Christian extra-canonical literature. 1- Infancy Gospel of Thomas (a must read for the comedy of the impetuous little boy Jesus, getting angry and zapping people to death-including his teacher, yikes- only to bring them back to life). 2- Tobit (in the Jewish apocrypha, in any good study bible) - Excellent literature, involving themes of the religous quest, endogamy, magic, romance...this one has it all. 3- Protevangelium of James - birth of Mary, birth of Jesus 4- Gospel of Philip - long but contains the famous "Jesus used to kiss Mary on the..." passage which was abused by Dan Brown. Now I can't remember if it is this gospel or the Acts of John, but I believe it also has Jesus changing his appearance at will, looking like an old man one moment but then suddenly looking young and attractive. 5- Apocalypse of Peter - guided tour of hell, where punishments fit the crime: women who braid their hair are hung for eternity by their hair, men who commit adultery are hung for eternity by... something else. 6- Ecclesiastes - Okay this one is in the canon, but few realize that it's message is very skeptical (in the Jewish "skeptical wisdom" tradition)...it assumes that there is no afterlife, for example. Be sure to read it in a good translation like the NRSV though. These are a few off the top of my head that have struck me over the years. There's a ton out there though.

02-02-2007, 06:46 PM	#2
BarbaraGordon Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Gotham City Posts: 7,157	Thanks, CHC, I've just finished a few books. I'm wanting to read The Apocalypse of Peter next.