Task Force on Gender and Cultural Change
Woods Hole and Northampton, MA USA
Bibliography for Essene studies and the "Lost
Religion of Jesus"
The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity/Keith
Akers (Lantern Books, New York), 2000. An examination of the "heart"
of the message of Jesus with its rejection of violence and flesh-eating,
as drawn from the records of the earliest Judaeo-Christian communities.
In his foreword to the book theologian Walter Wink writes: "Keith Akers
challenges Christians today to reconsider who the real 'heretics' were and
who the orthodox."
The Essenes: Children of the Light/Stuart Wilson and Joanna Prentis
(Ozark Mt. Pub.), 2005. A "you are there" approach to the times
of Jesus and the Essene philosophical movement from the perspective of past
life regression. Also, Jesus and the Essenes/Dolores Cannnon (Ozark
Mt. Pub.), 1992.
The Essene Odyssey: The Mystery of the True Teacher and the Essene Impact
on the Shaping of Human Destiny/Hugh Schonfield (Element), 1984. Valuable
insights from one of the original Dead Sea Scroll scholars.
The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History/Michael
Baigent (Harper SanFrancisco), 2006. Review of issues concerning the "historical
Jesus" with interesting material on Egyptian mysticism and the Therapeutae
("Jesus in Egypt").
The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus/Neil
Douglas-Klotz (Quest Books), 1999. An expanded understanding of the wisdom
teachings of Jesus drawn from the Aramaic language in which they were spoken.
Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing/Stephan
A. Hoeller (Quest Books), 2002. Fine presentation of the history and modern
relevance of the religious traditions of deep insight and reflection. "What
makes us free is the gnosis of who we were, of what we have become..."
(Excerpta de Theodoto).
Complete Idiot's Guide to the Gnostic Gospels/J. Michael Matkin (Alpha),
2005. Helpful overview of the Nag Hammadi texts.
The Gospel of Thomas: Wisdom of the Twin/Lynn Bauman (White Cloud
Press), 2004. A study guide including translation, notes and questions.
The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle/Karen
L. King (Polebridge Press, Santa Rosa, CA), 2003. Harvard Divinity School
professor discusses inner teachings of Jesus and gender politics as revealed
in this 2nd century CE document.
Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas/Elaine Pagels (Random
House, New York), 2003. Scholar provides a picture of the evolution of Christianity
in the light of more than fifty early Christian texts with differing views
of Jesus. [Also, The Gnostic Gospels (Vintage Books, New York), 1979].
Saint Saul: A Skeleton Key to the Historical Jesus/Donald H. Akenson
(Oxford), 2000. Interesting contribution on the role of Saul (Paul) in the
schisms in the early faith inspired by Yeshua (Jesus) and the denigration
and overthrow of those closest to him [Miriam (Mary), Yacov (James) and
others of the "Family Firm"].
Jesus: One Hundred Years before Christ/Alvar Ellegard (The Overlook
Press, Woodstock, NY ), 1999. Investigation of Christian history with particular
attention to the Essenes.
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God?/Timothy
Freke and Peter Gandy (HarperCollins Publishers, Ltd; Harmony Books), 1999.
Similarities in the beliefs and practices developed in orthodox Christianity
with those of popular religions of the period.[See, also, The Mysteries
of Mithra/Franz Cumont (orig. 1903, Dover Publications, 1956).]
Food for the Gods: Vegetarianism and the World's Religions/Rynn Berry
(Pythagorean Publishers, New York), 1998. [Recipes for barley and lentils,
bulgur wheat salad, and Essene sprouted bread may be found in Famous
Vegetarians & Their Favorite Recipes by the same author, 1993].
For the nutritional perspective of a modern-day Essene see The Sunfood
Diet Success System/David Wolfe, 6th edition, 2006.
Jesus/David Flusser in collaboration with R. Steven Notley (The Magnes
Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem), 2nd ed. corrected, 1998. Also
by David Flusser: The Spiritual History of the Dead Sea Sect, 1989;
Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 1988. Insights on the teachings
of the Essenes.
Who Wrote the Gospels?/Randel McCraw Helms (Millennium Press, Altadena,
CA), 1997. Professor Helms takes a look at authors and editors of the canonical
gospels, sources of gospel stories, orthodox misogyny and other topics in
early Christianity.
The Double Vision: Language and Meaning in Religion/Northrop Frye
(University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1991. Also by Northrop
Frye: The Great Code: The Bible and Literature, 1982; Words with
Power: Being a Second Study of "The Bible and Literature",
1990.
Eve: The History of an Idea/John A. Phillips (Harper & Row, San
Francisco, CA), 1984. Discussion of the Eve myth in Judaism, Christianity
and Islam and its role in patriarchal domination.
Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History/Robert
M. Seltzer (Macmillan), 1980. A valuable resource on the historical setting
of the Essenes and Jesus, including "The Hellenistic Disaspora to 70
CE" and "Varieties of Judaism in the Late Second Temple Period."
Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels/Geza Vermes (Fortress
Press, Philadelphia), 1973. Jewish scholar, historian and Qumran pioneer
provides great insight into the teachings of Jesus in relation to the Essene
and other movements of charismatic and esoteric Judaism.
Translations
The Gospel of Thomas/Ed. by Jean-Yves Leloup, Illus. by Frank
Lalou (Shambhala Publications), 2003. Presentation of 24 of the teachings
("logia") with remarkable renderings in calligraphy (from the
Greek for "beautiful writing").
The New Covenant - Commonly Called the New Testament/Willis Barnstone
(Riverhead Books, New York), Vol. 1, 2002. A new translation of the 4 Gospels
and Apocalypse and reflection on the "three invisible poets" of
the New Testament; extensive afterword on transmission and translation of
scripture.
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English/Geza Vermes (Penguin Books,
New York), 1998. [For background: Israel and the Dead Sea Scrolls/Edmund
Wilson (Farrar Straus Girous, New York), 1978].
The Nag Hammadi Library in English/James M. Robinson, ed. (HarperCollins,
New York), 3rd rev. ed., 1990.
The Other Bible: Jewish Pseudepigrapha, Christian Apocrypha, Gnostic Scriptures,
Kabbalah, Dead Sea Scrolls/ Ed. with introductions by Willis Barnstone
(HarperSanFrancisco), 1984. Selections only.
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