The Lost Sayings of Jesus

Coming Spring 2006: The Lost Sayings of Jesus: Annotated & Explained by Andrew Phillip Smith, Published by Skylight Paths. Available Spring 2006

Translation & Annotation by Andrew Phillip Smith
Foreword by Stephan Hoeller

5.5 x 8.5, 176 pp (est)
Quality Paperback Original
ISBN 1594731721

Order through Amazon.com
Order through Barnes and Noble
Order Direct Through Skylight Paths

Jesus as a Wisdom teacher can become a companion on your own spiritual journey.

This collection of more than two hundred sayings depicts Jesus as a Wisdom teacher who speaks to people of all faiths as a mystic and spiritual master. Through insightful commentary that places Jesus within Jewish, Christian, Gnostic and Islamic religious contexts, Andrew Phillip Smith makes these newly translated sayings of Jesus accessible and meaningful to contemporary readers of any faith. Smith’s introduction tells the fascinating story of how the sayings of Jesus were transmitted and how they came into the hands of scholars and seekers in past centuries, and shows how Jesus’s words continue to be relevant.

Meet Jesus as a spiritual teacher who taught using the ancient form of proverbs, parables and pithy aphorisms. See what he had to say for himself.

''The history of Christianity is the history of the creation of Jesuses. When those figures are allowed to speak they say various and wonderful things. Here, over a period of many centuries, forms of Jesus speak new exciting ideas. Andrew Philip Smith has done a marvelous job of collecting and annotating almost-lost and nearly-new sayings that will provide any reader: a spiritual seeker, a committed Christian, an academic scholar, with sayings attributed to Jesus that he or she did not know existed and that he or she will find fascinating. The Lost Sayings of Jesus is a valuable source-book and a significant contribution to the study of the history of Christian ideas.'
Stevan Davies, Professor of Religious Studies, College Misericordia; author of The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom and The Gospel of thomas: Annotated & Explained

“This excellent collection and commentary of non-canonical sayings attributed to Jesus provides an invaluable aid in our endeavor to hear his authentic voice.”
—Ron Miller, Religion Department chair, Lake Forest College, author of The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice

'If the gospels represent the tip, Andrew Phillip Smith has provided the rest of the iceberg! Bultmann claimed the gospels are filled with sayings of the Risen Christ, if not the historical Jesus, and here is proof that voice has never fallen silent.'
—Robert M. Price, Professor of Scriptural Studies, Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, author of Deconstructing Jesus and The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man

''Jesus' message is timeless, transcending the limits of cult and
canon. This new collection of his teachings makes that all the more
clear, allowing us to hear the wisdom that was Jesus with a clarity
that is both compelling and enlightening.'
—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature: Selections Annotated & Explained, The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice, The Way of Solomon: Finding Joy and Contentment in the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes

'With this book Andrew Phillip Smith had made an invaluable contribution to historical Jesus research by amassing for the first time in one volume an essential collection of the noncanonical sayings of Jesus. His introduction to this material and his accompanying commentary is insightful, even-handed, and refreshingly succinct.'

—Rev. Jeffrey J. Bütz, author The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

Andrew Phillip Smith is the author of The Gospel of Thomas: A New Version Based on Its Inner Meaning and The Gospel of Philip: Annotated and Explained . An independent scholar with close ties to the academic community, he has been investigating early Christianity for over a decade, sharing the results of his research in presentations and writings.

Stephan A. Hoeller, PhD, is professor emeritus of comparative religions at the College of Oriental Studies, located in Los Angeles. He is a frequent lecturer on Gnosticism and other spiritual traditions, and is the author of Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing and two other books on the relationship of Gnosticism to Jungian psychology.