One may wonder, with justification, why a reprint of a collection of non-canonical gospel texts has been republished nearly 25 years after its first appearance. The majority of the texts collected, in translation, in Cameron's [hereafter C] anthology are all readily available in more expansive volumes, such as James Robinson's (ed.) famous Nag Hammadi Library (Leiden: Brill 1977), Bentley Layton's The Gnostic Scriptures (New York: Doubleday 1987), and Bart D. Ehrman's The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings (New York: Oxford University Press 1988). These volumes - especially Layton's - offer more in the way of textual commentary and resources for further study than does C's. These important comments aside, however, I did find some gems in C's volume, and am pleased to have a compact and affordable copy of his anthology on my shelf. Here is why.

First, it is good for students of early Christian literature to be reminded that a Gospel of the Egyptians existed that is not the same as the Coptic text preserved in the Nag Hammadi collection (alternatively known as the "Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit" NHC III,2). The fragments of Gos. Eg. translated in C, under the heading "Traditional Sayings of Jesus," are all found in Clement of Alexandria's Stromata, and are comprised of supposed statements made by Jesus during a conversation with Salome. These brief and enigmatic fragments make one wish that the entire text survived. The essential thrust of Jesus' argument, in this text, is that "death will reign as long as women bear children" (52). The commentary by Clement attempts to allegorize these strikingly ascetical and anti-cosmic sentiments by interpreting child-bearing as meaning simply "lust." Clement's sincere attempts to soften these hard sayings fall short, however, and we find ourselves immersed in a world-denying, body-hating tradition that never caught on in mainstream Christianity. It is nice to have a decent translation (by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and George Ogg) with citations for Clement, in a single, accessible volume.

Secondly, the tantalizing text translated as "John's Preaching of the Gospel" (from The Acts of John 87-105) is worth the price of admission. C's introductory comments, which are drawn largely from Bultmann, though without explicit citation, are rather dated, but the translation itself (by Knut Schäferdieck and G. C. Stead) is remarkably accurate and readable. C's introduction to "John's Preaching" (87-89) assumes - as much 20th-century scholarship did - that 'Gnosticism' was a movement that arose among early Christian communities, especially the ones that used the Johannine literature (the canonical Gospel and the three Epistles). C states that "John's Preaching" is "evidence of the gnostic heritage of Johannine Christianity" (88). Rudolph Bultmann made a strong case for this position in his Theology of the New Testament. However, later works by Hans Jonas, Kurt Rudolph, and, more recently, Michael Allen Williams, and Karen L. King, have served to show that Gnosticism was not a neat and tidy theological category, but a product of wide and varied approaches to an emerging tradition. That said, "John's Preaching of the Gospel" will be of immense interest to students, especially those studying the works of Origen of Alexandria, whose Commentary on the Gospel of John, while not explicity citing this text, certainly betrays its influence. Compare, for example, Origen's discussion of the various titles applied to Christ in Book I of ComJn, with the passage in "John's Preaching" 98 (94-95):

This Cross of Light is sometimes called Logos by me [John] for your sakes, sometimes mind, sometimes Jesus, sometimes Christ, sometimes a door, sometimes a way, sometimes bread, sometimes seed, sometimes resurrection, sometimes Son, sometimes Father, sometimes Spirit, sometimes life, sometimes truth, sometimes faith, sometimes grace; and so (it is called) for men's sake. But what it truly is, as known in itself and spoken to us, (is this): it is the distinction of all things, and the strong uplifting of what is firmly fixed out of what is unstable, and the harmony of wisdom, being wisdom in harmony.

It is fascinating to find such a strongly Platonic attitude in a Christian text of this relatively early period (likely early second century, Syria). The remark about lifting what is firmly fixed out of what is unstable demonstrates the influence of Middle Platonic philosophy - specifically, the idea of an immanent World-Soul requiring rousing and rescue from indeterminate matter by a higher power, an idea that would become a major feature of the Middle Platonic systems of Albinus and Numenius, both of whom influenced Origen. I believe it is of the utmost importance for students of New Testament and early Christian studies to be aware of the pervasive influence of Hellenic philosophy on the development and articulation of the faith. This text is a great place to start. Then, read some Plato.

Thirdly, the inclusion of the Epistula Apostolorum serves to round out C's anthology, as this important text is not included in Ehrman's volume, nor even in Barnstone's hefty and tremendously useful The Other Bible (New York: Harper Collins 1984). Such an important text deserves a clear and accessible translation, and it is given one in C (tr. by Hugo Duensing and Richard E. Taylor).

Finally, the "Select Annotated Bibliographies" will be of aid to students who are navigating the arcane maze of early Christian studies. German and French critical editions are cited, along with English works. While some of the editions are, obviously, superceded by more recent efforts, the general information in this section will be of help to the budding specialist as well as the beginner.

With renewed interest in the strange and fascinating world of pre-orthodox Christianity, spurred on - to cite but one example - by Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King, who have popularized the recently discovered Gospel of Judas in their joint production Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity (New York: Viking 2007), it is a welcome event to have this reprint of C's seminal collection of "other" gospels. While C's now dated form-critical approach is rather out of style in contemporary academic discourse, it is useful to be reminded of the groundbreaking work of earlier scholars, upon whose labors we depend so much.