Product Description

Pioneering visionary Neil Douglas-Klotz reveals a very contemporary spiritual message by translating Jesus' sayings and stories directly from the Middle Eastern language Jesus actually spoke.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28172 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From AudioFile
THE HIDDEN GOSPEL is Dr. Douglas-Klotz's presentation of what he considers to be the overlooked aspect of the Gospels, namely the Aramaic writings of the early Church. Aramaic was the spoken language of Jesus's day. In presenting his translations of these Early Church writings, the author discusses a mystical aspect of the Gospels that seems to harken back to the Gnostic controversy. Reading his own work in a pleasing tone, Douglas-Klotz offers not merely a lecture; approximately twenty minutes into each side an exercise is included that teaches the listener an Aramaic prayer. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
Neil Douglas-Klotz is an independent scholar of religious studies, spirituality, and psychology. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies and psychology from the Union Institute, and taught these subjects for ten years at Holy Names College in California. Other books by Neil Douglas-Klotz include Desert Flowers, and The Hidden Gospel.

Customer Reviews

Nothing New
Three stars may be a bit generous. The author presents his alternate translations of the gospels as new and unencumbered by centuries of politically motivated clergy and scholars. However, there is nothing new, nothing ground breaking here. Douglas-Klotz would have us believe that scholars, both ancient and modern, have ignored the alternatives he proposes, and that the verdict of centuries of evolution in biblical translation and exegesis have it all wrong. He would also have us believe that modern scholars are either ignorant of ancient Aramaic or deliberately continue some "Da Vinci Code" cover-up of the "real Jesus." Sorry "Da Vinci Codes" fans, but there is no cover-up, no attempt to "hide" Jesus by the evil Church. There are very good reasons why the Gospel of Thomas and other writings, well known for centuries, did not make it into the cannon of scripture. The various modern translations of the Christian Teatament are based on critical scholarship that involves the consideration of historical, archeological, and literary context. The choice of translation is a painstaking and multi-disciplinary process, something the author does not demonstrate. Rather, he simply offers his own personal preferences in translation that sound biased in favor of what some have called "New Age," but what I suspect is based on his own Sufi belief system. While I certainly respect this spirituality, it bears no resemblence to the linguistic, historical, and literary evidence that has been well established about Jesus of Nazareth. The reader who would know the "real" Jesus would be well served by reading the classic "Jesus Before Christianity" by Albert Nolan. While it will not please the "New Age" reader, it will provide a deeply spiritual and scholarly approach to the Jesus that sparked the greatest spiritual revolution in history. Having said all this, I must say that I find the author's translations intriguing and, if put in perspective, may add something of value to the prayer life of Christians not bound by conservativism. But, really, there is nothing out there that establishes Jesus as a mystic!

Ancient renderings are suspiciously modern.
All right, I admit it - I never finished this book, even after three tries. Why? Because the author's renderings of the New Testament Greek into the original Aramaic were so embarrassingly contrived to dovetail with modern New Age and feminist concepts that I just couldn't take it any more.

Don't get me wrong - I am all for the effort to get behind the Greek to the (presumably) original Aramaic to see if new light can be shed on difficult, ambiguous, or controversial passages of the New Testament. But Douglas-Klotz takes such liberties with his translations that we are moved farther away from - not closer to - the world of Jesus. He tries too hard to make the text come alive, and we are left with fluff (e.g., addressing God as "Father/Mother") that has no credibility when attributed to first-century Jews. Compared to Douglas-Klotz's overblown and pretentious "renderings," the straightforwardness of the original Greek comes as a profound relief.

Scholarship is one thing, but pandering to people's biases is quite another. Douglas-Klotz is guilty of the latter, and the reader will have to look elsewhere for a credible effort to unveil the Aramaic underpinnings of the New Testament.

Beautiful!
The only complaint that I have about this book, is the explanation (which is repeated at least once per chapter), that this is merely the author's own interpretation of Scripture, and he encourages his readers to do their own research. While I am no expert in the Aramaic language, I do have some understanding of the nuances of the Semitic languages, and how difficult it is to translate from one language to another. So this particular translation is merely one of many. This author's interpretation of the Holy Scripture does give me pause, and I intend to learn some Aramaic, and study such early Bibles as the Dead Sea Scrolls, so I may have a deeper understanding of the Bible and Jesus' message.