“Jesus said, ‘Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest.’”
The Gospel of Thomas (c. 60-175 A.D.)
in A New New Testament
Are you ready to be stretched a little? A lot? Is it possible that other ancient texts can lead to a deeper understanding of the ‘official’ biblical texts used by Christians of various denominations? A council of scholars and teachers came together under the leadership of Hal Taussig to produce A New New Testament:
Is the New Testament missing a few books? In a move that may seem heretical to some Christians, a group of scholars and religious leaders has added 10 new texts to the Christian canon.
The work, A New New Testament, was released nationwide in March in an attempt to add a different historical and spiritual context to the Christian scripture.
Some of the 10 additional texts—which have come to light over the past century—date back to the earliest days of Christianity and include some works that were rejected by the early church.
The 19-member council that compiled the texts consisted of biblical scholars, leaders in several Christian denominations—Episcopal, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, United Church of Christ and Lutheran—two rabbis and an expert in Eastern religions and yoga.
Read the Religion News Service introduction to this effort. The article (dated March 28, 2013) includes the names of those who helped in the project.
The article points out that “not surprisingly not everyone admires the project.” Read the article, read all (or parts) of A New New Testament and let us know what you think. Continue the conversation here.
There’s a restless, searching, rhythm in the chimes today.
What do you hear?
Hear what the Spirit is saying 
The additional texts are:
The Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Gospel of Thomas
The Thunder: Perfect Mind
The Gospel of Mary
The Gospel of Truth
The Acts of Paul and Thecla
Prayer of the Apostle Paul
The Letter of Peter to Philip
Odes of Solomon
The Secret Revelation of John
They are all internet available in a variety of translations. Search away!
Note of caution – these texts, like the canonical texts, can be easily misunderstood if not read in historical and cultural context. The strenght of the New New Testament is that it offers both these added texts and the canonical texts with a consistant and ongoing commentary and explanation.