Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-s6l46 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-31T16:12:14.335Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sectarian Gospels for Some Christians? Intention and Mirror Reading in the Light of Extra-Canonical Texts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2005

THOMAS KAZEN
THOMAS KAZEN
Affiliation:
Stockholm School of Theology, Akeshovsvagen 29, SE-16839 Bromma, Sweden
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article introduces extra-canonical traditions into the debate about the purpose of the gospels and the risks of sociological mirror-reading. Often seen as reflecting sectarian communities, some of these texts are actually no more ‘heterodox’ than their canonical counterparts, and might just as well have been written ‘for all Christians’. However, applying similar criteria, we find that canonical as well as extra-canonical gospels are best understood as intended for a group of churches with similar outlook. Why certain gospels came to be widely distributed had more to do with power structures; intention and reception should not be confused.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
New Testament Studies , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , October 2005 , pp. 561 - 578
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable