The Gospel According to Jesus: A New Translation and Guide to His Essential Teachings for Believers and Unbelievers

What an absolutely exasperating book! Mitchell boils down the gospels to the things he thinks Jesus really said, but then he adds a few more that sound reasonable, and he also includes the Gospel of Thomas! That makes up about 20 pages of this long book, and if you just pick the good parts of the Gospels, there are some inspirational stories and mostly good common sense. But Mitchell includes the miracles performed by Jesus, which Jefferson dismissed, and then has an appendix written by a healer basically saying those brought back to life, "Weren't quite dead yet," and explaining the other healings as well. 90% of this book amounts to footnotes and appendices, and often the authors Mitchell quotes are quite interesting, but it is hard show more to discern Mitchell's purpose here. It seems he accepts the miracles, but tries to explain away any supernatural aspect. It also isn't exactly clear what he thinks Jesus' relation to god was. As a non-believer, this just got so old after a while, having read much better written and 10,000% better organized books about Jesus' divine or non-divine nature and the nature of the Gospels (written long after the events they pretend to portray and not even in the same language!) Unfortunately, it seems Mitchell is desperate to find meaning in the world, and he has turned to most of the world's religions to glean what he can. It's sort of sad, actually. show less

An inspiring scholarly look at the four synoptic gospels. The author succeeds in separating genuine Jesus accounts from the artificial "Jesus" stories inserted in the 400 years after his death by the early church. He notes the roots of institutionalized anti-Semitism added long ago, and the judgmental, condemnatory words that Jesus would not have uttered. Most poignant was his observation that people "believe" because they have not had the experience. Jesus had the experience of being one with God and tried to convey to others what he had felt. He taught the basic laws of the Torah: love for God and love for one's neighbor. The story of the good Samaritan was to illustrate that all are our neighbors. Much interwoven dialogue with show more Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian scholars make this a delight. show less

This translation of the life and teachings of Jesus creates an image of not only a great spiritual teacher, but of a real person. Eminent author and translator Stephen Mitchell's approach to the Gospels has been widely praised for its depth, clarity, and radiance. This is a stunning work for believers and non-believers alike.

I like his way of integrating Buddha, Tao, history, and biblical interpretations. It seems an updated version of Leo Tolstoy's The Gospel According to Jesus -- or that of Thomas Jefferson. I read parts each night for about two months and mulled over the concepts as I slept.

I have several of Mitchell's translations of sacred texts and really enjoyed this one. It attempts to peel away the dogma and hubris of two millennium to get at what Jesus actually said and taught. What would I have heard if I was there to hear him speak? It's about peace and love.

Mitchell did well in general, but his mistranslation of "mamzer" irked me, especially considering that it was an easily corrected error. The closest English equivilent is "bastard," yes, that's true, but it's not exact, it's an approximation. Mamzer is, however, more specific, and only applied in cases of a child concieved out of incest or adultery.

Still, his consolidation of Jesus' teachings was very good, and his introduction (longer than the rest of the book) was also, generally, well thought out.

attempts to remove all the parts of the gospels with which Jesus would not agree; what is left is actually quite powerful