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 quite curious about this Jesus Movement so 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://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, by Robert E. Van Voorst:
https://archive.org/details/ascentsofjameshi0000vanv/mode/2up
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":
And by Keith Akers..."The Lost Religion of Jesus":
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?
https://youtu.be/dBSuapNMQXU?si=6UnXILusW8w2rM6K
How James [Yaaqov] Beloved Brother of Jesus Was Written out of Early Christianity:
https://youtu.be/2n5Qg_ekQ_E?si=AQz_H68TWVYpj7N8
The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity, by James D. Tabor:
https://archive.org/details/the-jesus-dynasty-james-d.-tabor_202301/mode/2up
The Fading of the Jesus Family--Phase One:
https://youtu.be/FquOk6wpPr8?si=Cci8eP2bMMlUPbDj
Reclaiming Primitive Christianity Part 2: Exploring the Historical Jesus with Dr. James Tabor:
https://youtu.be/WJNACLcWuLE?si=v3zURHTnrm7Dbfii
Were the Ebionites Heretics? Or Our Best Witness to the Jesus Movement?
https://youtu.be/HLQ97erL1gc?si=eDWHzX0gQjIVVjKf
The Research of John Davidson
The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of His Original Teachings, by John Davidson:
https://archive.org/details/gospelofjesusins0000davi/mode/2up
The Research of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen
The Revelation of Elchasai, a scholarly book by Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, exploring the Elkesaites, a Jewish-Christian sect originating in the Transjordan, their connections to the Ebionites, Nazarenes, Gnosticism (Sethians, Mandaeans, Manichaeans and the Prophet Mani);
Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were Vegetarians, By James Bean (Veg Passages, Expanded, Updated):
@ Medium:
@ Blog:
https://santmatradhasoami.blogspot.com/2019/04/evidence-that-jesus-and-original.html
