{"product_id":"many-faces-of-christ-philip-jenkins-9780465066926","title":"The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels","description":"The standard account of early Christianity tells us that the first centuries after Jesus' death witnessed an efflorescence of Christian sects, each with its own gospel. We are taught that these alternative scriptures, which represented intoxicating, daring, and often bizarre ideas, were suppressed in the fourth and fifth centuries, when the Church canonized the gospels we know today: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The rest were lost, destroyed, or hidden. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Many Faces of Christ\u003c\/i\u003e, the renowned religious historian Philip Jenkins thoroughly refutes our most basic assumptions about the Lost Gospels. He reveals that dozens of alternative gospels not only survived the canonization process but in many cases remained influential texts within the official Church. Whole new gospels continued to be written and accepted. For a thousand years, these strange stories about the life and death of Jesus were freely admitted onto church premises, approved for liturgical reading, read by ordinary laypeople for instruction and pleasure, and cited as authoritative by scholars and theologians. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Lost Gospels spread far and wide, crossing geographic and religious borders. The ancient Gospel of Nicodemus penetrated into Southern and Central Asia, while both Muslims and Jews wrote and propagated gospels of their own. In Europe, meanwhile, it was not until the Reformation and Counter-Reformation that the Lost Gospels were effectively driven from churches. But still, many survived, and some continue to shape Christian practice and belief in our own day. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Offering a revelatory new perspective on the formation of the biblical canon, the nature of the early Church, and the evolution of Christianity, \u003ci\u003eThe Many Faces of Christ\u003c\/i\u003e restores these Lost Gospels to their central place in Christian history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Philip Jenkins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0465066925\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780465066926\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Basic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/13\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.10w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2015 pg. 92\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/0001\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/14\/2015 pg. 50\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooks \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2015 pg. 16\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2016","brand":"Philip Jenkins","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44056113676543,"sku":"9780465066926","price":39.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6e09ea2f-f462-482b-a0ad-4a8b854bc3b6.jpg?v=1685039589","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/many-faces-of-christ-philip-jenkins-9780465066926","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}