To what sources other than the New Testament can we turn for information about the life of Jesus and the beginnings of the Christian church? F.F. Bruce has given an answer by creating, in essence, a catalog of non-canonical writings about Jesus and early Christians.
At the time of the death of Christ, few people other than his followers knew much about him. However, as the number and influence of his followers increased, they aroused sufficient interest to gain considerable comment and many stories were told – infancy gospels, mystery sayings, Gnostic writings, apocryphal Gospels, and so forth. Not everything that was said was true, of course. Nero, for instance, blamed the Great Fire of Rome, which burned more than 70% of the city, on Christians.
The purpose of "Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament" is to examine what non-biblical sources say-rightly or wrongly-about Jesus and His followers. F.F. Bruce examines what pagan writers such as Tacitus and Pliny say about Jesus, and what we can learn from Josephus, from Jewish rabbis, from apocryphal gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas, from the Qur'ān and Islamic traditions, and from archaeology.
Professor Bruce explains, "The proliferation of legends about Jesus, in the apocryphal Gospels and elsewhere, in no way impairs the historical validity of his life and ministry. Rather it bears witness to the increasing impact of his person and achievement both within Christendom and beyond its frontiers, even among people who had no experience of his redeeming grace."
Bruce's analysis of these non-biblical sources offers new insight into the world of early Christianity.
