The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins

This book is separated into four main parts. The first part chronicles the discovery and reconstruction of Q. "Q" which in German is "quelle" and means "source", refers to the wri tings compiled by the original followers of Jesus. These writings and Mark's gospel were the sources for the later gospels Matthew and Luke. Part II provides the English translation of Q with a reader's guide. Part III is an analysis. It makes observations on the lit erary history of the piece. Some remarks cannot be ascribed to Jesus as they bear marks of reflection on later social ex- perience. Part IV locates Q on the map of early Christian literature and integrates the Jesus movement with other traditions that eventually fed into the making of Christianity. This book from a critical, liberal viewpoint is written for the informed lay person rather than the academic/scholar and so attempts to bring to the lay person a detailed look at Christian origins in relation to the study of Q. Contains a select bibliography.