1. The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus
Really Say? The Search for the
Authentic Words of Jesus by Robert
W. Funk
Good News Times Five
Did Jesus claim to be the Messiah?
Did he promise to return and usher in a new age?
How did Jesus envision the Kingdom of God?The Five Gospels answers
these questions in a bold, dynamic work that will startle traditional readers
of the Bible and rekindle interest in it among secular skeptics. In 1985 the
Jesus Seminar, comprising a distinguished group of biblical scholars, was
founded by Robert W. Funk. They embarked on a new translation and
assessment of the gospels, including the recently discovered Gospel of
Thomas. In pursuit of the historical Jesus, they used their collective

2. expertise to determine the authenticity of more than fifteen hundred
sayings attributed to him. Their remarkable findings appear in this book.
Personal Review: The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really
Say? The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus by Robert W.
Funk
When Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, in the late 2nd century declared "there
can only be four gospels as there are only four winds......" he effectively
sealed the cannon, at least as far as the gospels are concerned. The
gospel of Thomas has its faults, if you use the other four gospels as a yard
stick, BUT, it does serve as a bridge between the synoptic gospels and the
Gospel of John. It contains material which is presented in all four of the
accepted gospels and additional material which "sounds" like the things
Jesus may have said.
This book has more footnotes than text. If you are digging into the gospels
to find "the historical Jesus" and separate what Jesus MIGHT have said
from what the gospel writers said he said, this book is interesting, even if
you disagree with its conclusions.
Since I don't have a working knowledge of Koine Greek, this book opens
up meanings and nuances which I would miss by simply reading an
English translation or transliteration.
If you take the Bible seriously and seriously want to learn, this is an
excellent book. If you simply read the Bible in English and don't care about
the "differences" between the various texts, and you want to take the Bible
as a very literal book, then don't waste your money on this book.
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