Q, the Earliest Gospel: An Introduction to the Original Stories and Sayings of Jesus

by John S. Kloppenborg

Overview

Estimated to date back to the very early Jesus movement, the lost Gospel known as Q offers a distinct and remarkable picture of Jesus and his significance--and one that differs markedly from that offered by its contemporary, the apostle Paul.

Q presents Jesus as a prophetic critic of unbelief and a sage with the wisdom that can transform. In Q, the true meaning of the "kingdom of God" is the fulfillment of a just society through the transformation of the human relationships within it.

Though this document has never been found, John Kloppenborg offers a succinct account of why scholars maintain it existed in the first place and demonstrates how they have been able to reconstruct its contents and wording from the two later Gospels that used it as a source: Matthew and Luke. Presented here in its entirety, as developed by the International Q Project, this Gospel reveals a very different portrait of Jesus than in much of the later canonical writings, challenging the way we think of Christian origins and the very nature and mission of Jesus Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611640588
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	10/03/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
Sales rank:	219,431
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

John S. Kloppenborg is Professor of Religion at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is author of Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel and coeditor of The Critical Edition of Q.

Editorial Reviews

Kloppenborg (Univ. of Toronto; Excavating Q) is an international authority on the Q Gospel, a "sayings gospel" that is thought to be a source (from the German Quelle for source) for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. No copy of Q has been found, but scholars have re-created it through analysis of the three synoptic Gospels, looking for common elements and focusing on the sayings of Jesus. This book is a succinct introduction to Q, addressing questions about its composition and importance. As with the Gospel of Thomas or the Gospel of Judas, the existence of Q as a different kind of gospel points to "real diversity at the beginnings of the Jesus movement." A complete reconstruction of Q is included as well as notes and a bibliography. While Marcus Borg's The Lost Gospel Q provides a more popular introduction, and Burton Mack's The Lost Gospel contains more detail about structure and context, Kloppenborg's book offers the most accessible overview of Q and its importance. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
—Diane Harvey

Library Journal