Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way (Paperback)

I was not at all surprised that Jenkins takes conservative positions in the book; what did surprise me is how reluctant he is to say what exactly his positions are. This is true for many specific historical issues such as the date and authorship of various NT and apocryphal texts, and even more true for major spiritual and social issues such as the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven and the role of women in the church. He was also very sparing in his citation of "mainstream" scholars, and, though he implies that they are busily working over the same issues as the "fringe" scholars (liberals, feminists, and seekers, i.e. New Agers and other free-thinkers) with whom he is mostly concerned, he never gives any account or indeed any idea at all of what the mainstream scholars have been doing for the past thirty years.

One of the funniest parts of the book is where he bemoans how the fringe scholars (especially the members of the Jesus Seminar) have dominated most popular media (TV and press) coverage of NT issues in recent years. He notes how the programs and articles are always careful to show a semblance of balance and always include mainstream as well as fringe scholars, but they always let the fringe scholars set the agenda and have the last word. It is hardly a mystery why this is. The media is looking for news. Could it be that the mainstream scholars have nothing new to say?

The titles of the book are not very descriptive. Their content is roughly as follows:

1 Finding and Seeking - here's the problem (no real content)
2 Fragments of a Faith Forgotten - interest in NT apocrypha in the US in the 19th and first half of the 20th century
3 The First Gospels? Q and Thomas - like it says
4 Gospel Truth - other apocryphal texts, especially other Nag Hammadi texts
5 Hiding Jesus: The Church and the Heretics - the rise of organization and orthodoxy
6 Daughters of Sophia - The feminist perspective on NT and the early church
7 Into the mainstream - penetration of fringe people and ideas into mainstream institutions (churches, academia, society at large)
8 The Gospels in the Media - TV and press coverage of NT issues
9 The Next New Gospel - now you know (no real content)

I actually found the book fairly informative. The author tells a lot about who the fringe people are, what they think, and what books they have written. (The footnotes at the end of the book contain a huge amount of bibliographical information.) I especially appreciated the information about the work of women scholars and church members in chapters 2, 6 and 7. For me reading Jenkins is a lot like reading the great heresiologists (Irenaeus, Hippolytus and Epiphanius). The orthodoxy is kind of dull but the heresies are really interesting.

Rather, it is a sociological study of the modern "Quest for the Historical Jesus," including theories as to why it has taken the turns it has. This quest is not really a search for truth, as it is for self-validation of mores and principles deeply ingrained in the heart of modern, democratic man (eg. individualism, freedom from dogmatic strictures, etc.).

I think this book is an excellent companion to Luke Timothy Johnson's "The Real Jesus." (Johnson's book should be read for a specific critique of the Seminar and its methods.) The only fault I find with "Hidden Gospels" is Jenkins's tendency to repear himself over and over. This tendency is better syited to a classroom lecture rather than a book, I believe.

I wouldn't classify this book as a "must read," as I would Johnson's, but it's an excellent read nonetheless.

Like Johnson, I don't know if Jenkins can be said to have a conservative bias. If so, I don't see why on earth he ever would have left Catholicism for Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion isn't exactly known for moral conservatism or dogmatic conviction. I think this is why orthodox Christians, especially Catholics, find him so appealing. "Why would a 'liberal' support 'conservative' positions unless they were genuinely true?"

With cleverly disguised works of pseudo-scholarship like "The da Vinci Code" making the bestseller lists, "Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way" is a well-needed wake-up call for those wanting a clearer understanding of American religion, and the directions it has been, and is, heading.

Jenkins argues that the Gospels are superior to the Gnostics in terms of historical believability and social value. It is indeed ironic that the very people who blame Christianity for being mysogenist, distrustful of the body, and hierarchical, prefer Gnostic writings that (he suggests, and I also suspect) were probably the source of these qualities in later Christianity.

Elaine Pagel's best-selling new book, Beyond Belief, could almost have been written to illustrate Jenkins points. Jenkins reads hundreds of scholars with whom he disagrees, and carefully, politely points out their errors. Pagels, by contrast, could not be troubled to name a single scholar who dissents from her views, even such respected and careful historians as John Meier, N.T. Wright, or Jenkins himself. Nor do the Jesus Seminar' popular "Five Gospels" or "Complete Gospels" answer their critics. Radical biblical "scholarship" seems to be a hothouse phenomena, flourishing in a highly protected environment. Hidden Gospels is in part an explanation of this odd phenomena.

The main defects of this book have to do with Jenkin's methodological conservatism. The book is sometimes repetitive, the style sometimes ponderous. His refutations of Crossan and company are not as witty and fun as, say, N.T. Wright. Also, while Jenkins is wise to appeal to "consensus scholarly views," I wish he would have discussed the Gospels and Gnostic writings directly more than he does. (A fault he shares with Pagels.) Personally, I think the best argument for the Gospels, and against the Gnostics, is the works themselves. I can't see how anyone who has read both sets of documents can confuse them.

Hidden Gospels, despite its styllistic flaws, is a vitally important and high-quality historical study. I hope future skeptical historians, and their publishers, will carefully consider the points Jenkins makes before throwing intellectual cotton candy like "Hidden Gospel of Thomas" or "Complete Gospel" at us, 99%air. Try the soup instead.

author, Jesus and the Religions of Man