Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth Paperback – August 2, 1996

For all those who are curious about how the New Testament came to be, and what kind of revisions, compromises, and alterations it has gone through over the first few decades, centuries, and more, this is an outstanding study. Many scholars have done massive amounts of work in this area, and Mr. Mack has done an excellent job in putting it all together in a logical and readable volume. The timeline alone is worth the price of this book, it certainly gave me a far better perspective than I had previously. Like many, I had just assumed that 4 followers submitted their stories, and the compilers just included them as is. It never occurred to me that there was so much time in between each account, and that only one of the persons can actually be credited as an author. Nor did it occur to me than any editing had been done to these stories. It makes much more sense to me now, and I feel enlightened for the experience.

Mack reinforces a point that Walter Bauer made: most early Christian literature was lost because it went out of fashion from generation to generation. Eusebius was embarrassed by the paucity of Christian literature available to him. He often only had a title and author name. I learned a lot from Mack about the progression of the literature, theology, and church organization.

Mack's book is the first I've ever read about the origins of Christianity and it is quite eye-opening in parts, making a strong case that the legacy of Jesus was constantly embellished (from mere teacher to Lord of All Creation)over the years by followers with their own agendas and without supporting facts. no wonder so many "believers" are attacking the book with their one star reviews; this work poses hard questions about their most sacred beliefs; having said that, the book is a bit long-winded, dry, overly pendantic and off-point at times (for instance, the introduction is excellent and to the point, but the first chapter bogs down with unnecessary details about the clashing cultures at the time of the purported appearance of Jesus; it could have summarized in one or two pages). Overall, however, the book has made me realize that anyone who objectively examines the origins of Christianity (or Islam. Or Buddhism, etc. etc.) with his or her free-thinking mind, rather than blindly accepting it like obedient sheep, is likely going to come away having serious doubts about its legitimacy. Mack's book has inspired me to put about 10 other books on the subject in my cart; so it's a good start to what, undoubtedly, at least for me, will be a life-long study of the subject.

Dr. Mack has given us an excellent, albeit opinionated, discussion of how the New Testament came to be what it is. I can't fault him for being opinionated; as a leading New Testament scholar and recognized expert on the subject, he has done his homework and is entitled to be confident of his opinions. Even if he is wrong about a few points, which he probably is, (so which of us is infallible?) he clearly knows a great deal about his subject, and is right for by far the most part.Perhaps he should have noted that the Q hypothesis, of which he is a leading proponent, is somewhat controversial, but the majority of serious New Testament scholars accept it. The leading minority alternative is Michael D. Goulder's one-source hypothesis, more accessibly presented by Goulder's disciple John Shelby Spong in Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes I have too much respect for Goulder, Mack, and Spong to have an opinion as to who is right and who is not, but I do strongly recommend Spong's book as well as Mack's. There is much in each that the other doesn't cover. One reviewer recommended Bart Ehrman, and I concur, but as a supplement to Mack and Spong, not an alternative. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Plus)[email protected]

Described as Good-Used, the book appears to be brand new! Very pleased with this purchase! Would certainly buy from this vendor again.

If we read the dialogues of Plato the person who is the mouth piece of his thought is a historical character Socrates. It is clear however that Plato is not simply writing down what Socrates has said, but he puts in his mouth ideas that he thinks are correct. Mack thinks that this was a common practice in Greek communities and that a large number of the sayings of philosophers like Diogeneses were constructed after the event to reflect the spirit of his philosophy.Mack is a biblical expert and has written previous works on the subject including one on the existence of a common source of sayings for two of the Gospels known as Q.In this book he uses as a tool of exposition the recent finding of the Gospel of Thomas. A manuscript written in Coptic which was found in 1945. Rather than being a Gospel which purported to tell Jesus life, this is a collection of his sayings. Mack believes that all of the Gospels have a similar background. A series of sayings which have been developed by different Christian communities to reflect their teachings over practical and theological issues. The interesting thing about the Gospel according to Thomas is that there are no miracles, there is no crucifixion and no physical resurrection, suggesting that these things became important somewhat later.He sees the writing of the Gospels as something akin to fiction writing. The authors of the Gospel wrote their stories to illustrate and to explain the doctrinal intricacies of their belief system. In much the same way that an ancient Greek may have developed a saying of Diogeneses to illustrate a point about his philosophy.Later these stories have become something else and have been seen as literal history. The book is interesting as an exposition of what is common knowledge about the study of the bible. I personally would have preferred more detail about some things such as the means of dating the Gospels. However the book is aimed to be an introduction to a complex field.

This is the most thoughtful and articulated view of the bibles creation I've read.I challenge any truely "honest" Christian to read this and not come away with doubts (or new doubts) about the source of their "faith". And if they do, then they totally did not understand this book!Very well researched and written. As mild and politically correct as one can write :-)

It is a liberating work for any Bible student, whether one is a believer or a critic. The author demystifies the construction of that religion from its origins to the establishment of the New Testament in the times of Emperor Constantine. The writer also shows the anti-Semitism always present in the NT. Finally, it shows the need to review the meanings of Christian myths in today's world, characterized by multiculturalism and postmodernism.

The book is quite good though certain sections are quite lengthy and appears to be off the shoot. It provides a fairly good idea about the origins of the Bible as a whole that helps us to look at the concept of faith with a more realistic eyes.

Indispensable reading for any and everyone. Read the epilogue: it alone is worth anything you pay for the book itself.

I had obtained this book first from my local library and loved it so much I decided to add it to my shelf and to loan to friends.The subject has always interested me and this is by far the most detailed account of this time in the history. Very well written.