Biblical historians have long held that the New Testament abounds in sayings incorrectly attributed to Jesus. In order to assemble as complete a collection of authentic sayings as possible, they have, for the most part, been intent on seeing how the sayings deemed authentic are connected to one another, and attempting to picture their specific contexts.

In What Jesus Didn't Say, Gerd Ludemann flips the coin and focuses on the inauthentic words of Jesus-not only those thought to be clear inventions, but also sayings that exhibit noteworthy alterations to their original form and intent. For his selection, he uses sayings that:

• are attributed to Jesus after his crucifixion
• presuppose a pagan rather than a Jewish audience
• involve situations in a post-Easter community
• reflect the editorial influence of the author

According to Ludemann, the sheer abundance of inauthentic Jesus-sayings demonstrates that, soon after his sudden and dramatic death, he became the centre of a new faith. From the very beginning, Christians imagined what answers Jesus would offer to the questions that arose among them. When the words they recalled no longer seemed adequate, they revised or invented new sayings to suit the existing situation.

About the Author
Professor Gerd Ludemann, author of Eyes That See Not: The Pope Looks at Jesus A scholar of ancient Christianity and New Testament studies, Dr. Gerd Ludemann is Professor of the History and Literature of Early Christianity, Director of the Institute of Early Christian Studies, and Founder and Director of the Archive ""Religionsgeschichtliche Schule"" at the University of Gottingen, Germany. He is also a Visiting Scholar at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee, a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, and has served as co-chair of the Society of Biblical Literature Seminar on Jewish Christianity. Dr. Ludemann is the author of numerous books on early Christianity including, The Unholy in Holy Scripture (1997), The Great Deception (1999), Paul: The Founder of Christianity (2002), The Resurrection of Christ (2004), The Acts of the Apostles (2005), and Intolerance and the Gospel (2006).


Book Information
ISBN 9781598150308
Author Gerd Ludemann
Format Paperback
Page Count 120
Imprint Polebridge Press
Publisher Polebridge Press