The Lost Religion of Jesus, A Collection of Resources

The Lost Religion of Jesus, A Collection of Resources

Christians have inherited a rather anachronistic interpretation of Christianity based on viewing the tradition solely through the "lens" of Paul. It is said or believed by some that Paul became a convert maybe between 34 and 36 A.D., roughly 4 to 7 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. The full canonical corpus of Paul's letters seems to burst upon the scene sometime well into the Second Century A.D., but certain letters are assigned by some dates of composition in the mid 50's and 60's of the First Century. It should be obvious that the Jesus movement doesn't begin with Paul. Paul arrives after the time of Jesus and the establishment of his spiritual successors, the first apostles, and that Jesus along with his disciples never had a "Pauline theology". This begs the question, what is salvation, the spiritual practice, and ethical code to be followed according to Jesus and his actual disciples? This original Jesus movement, sometimes called the Hebrew Christians, Ebionites, Nazoraeans, and by other terms, is the Christianity Before Paul. Have always been rather curious about this Jesus Movement marginalized in the canonical New Testament and seemingly edited out of the timeline.

Reconstructing an Ebionite or Nazorean Collection of Scriptures; Also What We Can Learn About Their History

Reconstructed Q Gospel found in, The Complete Gospels, by Robert J. Miller:

https://archive.org/details/complete-gospels-ed.-robert-j.-miller/page/253/mode/2up

The Q Thomas Reader - The best and most readable one-volume introduction available to the Sayings Gospel Q and the Gospel of Thomas-the very earliest collections of the sayings and parables of Jesus:

https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Reader-English-Coptic/dp/0944344119

https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780944344118

Gospel of the Ebionites: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelebionites-panarion.html

Gospel of the Hebrews:

https://othergospels.com/hebrews

Gospel of the Hebrews: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelhebrews-throck.html

Gospel of the Hebrews: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gospelhebrews.html

The Gospel of the Nazoreans: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/nazoreans-ogg.html

The Gospel of the Nazoreans: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelnazoreans.html

Surviving Quotes from the Jewish-Christian Gospels: Gospel of the Ebionites, Gospel of the Hebrews, and Gospel of the Nazoraeans: https://web.archive.org/web/20210223222109/http://www.textexcavation.com/jewishgospels.html

Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (Shem Tov’s Hebrew Matthew), George Howard:

https://archive.org/details/Hebrew.Gospel.of.MatthewEvenBohanIbn.ShaprutHoward.1987/mode/1up

Another Copy:

https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthewa0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up

Early Christian Psalms: The Book of the Odes (a.k.a. The Odes of "Solomon"):

https://othergospels.com/odes

https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/odes.html

The Didache [earliest sections: 1, 2, and 3]:

https://othergospels.com/didache

Letter of James:

https://othergospels.com/bible/james

Letter of Jude:

https://othergospels.com/bible/jude

Acts and Teachings of the Ebionites: The Vast Treasure-Trove of the Clementine Literature

Epistle (Letter) of Peter to James:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Homilies/Epistle-Peter-to-James.htm

Epistle (Letter) of Clement to James:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Homilies/Epistle-Clement-to-James.htm

Also See:

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/080800.htm

Kerygmata Petrou (Preachings of Peter Reconstructed):

https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/kerygmatapetrou.html

The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a Jewish-Christian Community:

https://issuu.com/santmat/docs/the_ascents_of_james

The Clementine Homilies and The Clementine Recognitions (Ebionite Book of Acts)

Acts and Teachings of the Ebionites: The Recognitions of Clement, from the Greek and Latin Manuscripts:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Recognitions/Recognitions-TOC.htm

Acts and Teachings of the Ebionites: The Clementine Homilies, from the Greek and Latin Manuscripts:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Homilies/Homilies-TOC.htm

The Clementine Homilies (English translation) Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Vol. XVII, T & T Clark, 1852:

https://archive.org/details/clementinehomil00donagoog/page/n8/mode/2up?view=theater

History

I do agree with the scholar Robert Eisenman that finding the historic James the Just (brother and spiritual successor of Jesus) is the most logical way to locate a historic Jesus.

The Research of Robert Eisenman

Robert Eisenman @ Amazon: “James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls”; also, “Dead Sea Scrolls & The First Christians”; and, “James the Just in the Habakkuk Pesher”:

https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Eisenman/e/B000APV2U2

James The Brother Of Jesus And The Dead Sea Scrolls, by Robert Eisenman:

https://archive.org/details/JamesTheBrotherOfJesusAndTheDeadSeaScrollsI/page/n14/mode/1up

The Research of Keith Akers

I highly recommend two books by Keith Akers on the original Jesus Movement (Christianity-Before-Paul), the Ebionites: "Disciples":

https://www.amazon.com/Disciples-Jewish-Christianity-Shaped-Shattered-ebook/dp/B00J48GAJE/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=keith+akers&qid=1586786123&sr=8-1

And by Keith Akers..."The Lost Religion of Jesus":

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Religion-Jesus-Christianity-Non-Violence-ebook/dp/B003KTNBMM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1586786168&refinements=p_27%3AKeith+Akers&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Keith+Akers

Read for free online, The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity, by Keith Akers:

https://archive.org/details/lostreligionofje0000aker/mode/2up

The Research of James Tabor

Forgotten Christians: Who Were The Ebionites?