Early Christian Writings – Lost Books Of The Bible
October 24, 2008 by A Watchman
Early Christian Writings And Sacred Texts – Information About The Lost (Banned) Books Of The Bible
In the process of determining the Biblical canon, a large number of works were excluded from the New Testament. These New Testament Apocrypha are generally not accepted by Christians, though the Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizes Jubilees, Book of Enoch, the Shepherd of Hermas, 1 Clement, Acts of Paul, and some uniquely Ethiopian books. The biblical canon is a list of books written during the formative periods of the Jewish or Christian faiths. … The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called the Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work. … The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian work of the first or second century which had great authority in ancient times and was considered by some as one of the books of the Bible. … The Epistles of Clement often referred to as 1 Clement and 2 Clement were not accepted in the canonic New Testament but they are part of the Apostolic Fathers collection. … The Acts of Paul and Thecla (Acta Pauli et Theclae) is an apocryphal story of Pauls influence on the young virgin, Thecla. …
Books which are not objectively known to have existed in antiquity, such as the Gospel of Barnabas, are usually not considered part of the Apocrypha. The Gospel of Barnabas is a work purporting to be a depiction of the life of Jesus by his disciple Barnabas. …
Many of the books in this list are not preserved in their entirety, surviving only in fragments, short quotes, or not at all beyond mention of their title in preserved works.
Apocryphal Gospels
These books are generally considered to be of Gnostic origin.
Gospel of Thomas
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Truth
Gospel of Philip
Gospel of Mary
The Infancy Gospel of Mark
The Arabic Infancy Gospel
Another group of “gospels” was considered heretical or fraudulent. The Gospel of Thomas is the modern name given to a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. … The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a non-canonical Christian text that was part of a popular genre of the 2nd and 3rd centuries a miracle literature of Infancy gospels that was both entertaining and inspirational, written to satisfy a hunger for more miraculous and anecdotal stories of the childhood… The Gospel of Truth is one of the texts from the New Testament apocrypha found in the Nag Hammadi codices. … The Gospel of Philip is one of the texts of the New Testament apocrypha. … The Gospel of Mary was found in the Akhmim Codex, a text acquired by Dr.Rheinhardt in Cairo in 1896. … The Arabic Infancy Gospel is one of the texts found in the New Testament apocrypha concerning the infancy of Jesus. …
Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Matthias
Gospel of Paul
The Gospel of Peter was a prominent passion narrative in the early history of Christianity, but over time passed out of common usage. … The Gospel of Matthias is a lost text from the New Testament apocrypha, ascribed to Matthias, the apostle chosen by lots to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-26). … The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. …
Quoted by orthodox authors
Many of the books noted below, while often quoted by orthodox authors and not considered particularly heretical in content, were nonetheless not considered canonical.
1 and 2 Clement
Shepherd (or Pastor) of Hermas
Didache
Book of Enoch (debatably Old Testament Apocrypha)
Epistle of Barnabas
Apocalypse of Peter
The Infancy Gospel of James
Third Epistle to the Corinthians
The Epistles of Clement often referred to as 1 Clement and 2 Clement were not accepted in the canonic New Testament but they are part of the Apostolic Fathers collection. … The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian work of the first or second century which had great authority in ancient times and was considered by some as one of the books of the Bible. … The Didache (Koine Greek for Teaching) is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise (70-160), containing instructions for Christian communities. … The Epistle of Barnabas is a Greek treatise with some features of an epistle containing twenty-one chapters, preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament. … The recovered Apocalypse of Peter or Revelation of Peter is extant in two translations of a lost original, one Greek, one Ethiopic, which diverge considerably. … The Gospel of James, also sometimes known as the Infancy Gospel of James or the Protevangelium of James, is an apocryphal Gospel probably written about AD 150. … The Third Epistle to the Corinthians is believed to be a pseudepigraphical text under the name of Paul of Tarsus. …
Other ancient books
Secret Gospel of Mark
Gospel of the Egyptians
Gospel of the Hebrews
Secret Book of James
Preaching of Peter
Gospel of the Ebionites
Gospel of the Nazoreans
The Egerton Gospel
Oxyrhynchus Gospels
Gospel of the Savior
Epistula Apostolorum
Acts of Peter
Acts of Peter and the Twelve
Book of Thomas the Contender
Pistis Sophia
Dialogue of the Savior
Gospel of the Savior
Acts of Thomas
Acts of Andrew
Acts of John
Acts of Pilate
Third Epistle to the Thessalonians
Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul
Epistle to the Ionians
Acts of Paul and Thecla
Acts of Peter and Paul
First Apocalypse of Paul
Second Apocalypse of Paul
Sermon of Paul
Book of spells of serpents
The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa (See Image of Edessa)
The Epistle to the Laodiceans (allegedly from Paul of Tarsus)
The Correspondence of Paul to Seneca the Younger
I just read the article is jesus God- August 4 2004.
You make references to the trinity, but as you know the trinity is a later concept as there are no actual reference to the trinity in any of the books of the bible.
How would the article apply to jehovah’s witnesses who do not believe in the trinity?
I like “banned” instead of lost books. However, it is a good thing these books have come to light as any Christian knowing how the Bible come in to being in 325 at Nicea should be open to alternative interpretation. The main point of Gnosis found in the Gnostic Gospels is that God is within and this insight can also be found in near death experiences where people say the same.