Rating: 
Summary: We should be thankful for this book regardless of.......
Review: ....if we believe these 'other' gospels are pure fiction (and if we believe the canonized four as well). It is the first time that all the known gospels have been incorporated. Instead of having to hunt down books one-by-one the JS has done all the work for us. I strongly recommend this book.Besides this, I felt there were a number of minor to substaintial flaws in the book. It all starts on the cover, where one of the leaders of the JS states that this book is: "Everything you need to empower your own search for the historical Jesus." (John Dominic Crossan). Now notice that this book contains the two infancy gospels (James' and Thomas'). If this book contains everything we need to find the "historical Jesus" we must strongly wonder why those two documents were included in this collabatation. In the JS' "The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?" they tell us that these two infancy gospels are entirely fiction: "The two infancy gospels, composed in the second century C.E., are entirely imaginative constructs. Since they contain no reliable historical information, they have been omitted from "The Acts of Jesus." (pg. 499) So if this book is all that we need to find the "historical Jesus" why the heck did they include documents which they only a few years later state are entirely fiction and contain no historical data?! On page six of TCG, they also give their dating for the various gospels. Many of these dates will make conservative scholars actually laugh. Such as dating "Dialogue of the Savior" and the Gospel of "Peter" earlier than Luke and John (which in themselves are given unusually late dates). They also date Thomas to 50 A.D. which is ridiculous. They give these dates not based upon factual data analysis but upon "development" of the "early Christian tradition". I strongly recommend Wenham's "Redating Matthew, Mark, and Luke" for a solid response to these dates. Overall -- good book that is well worth the money though I found some of their conclusions to be very unusual.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Tool
Review: A wonderful achievement and a great tool for laypersons, Ministers and Priests. This is where the historical Jesus search begins!
Rating:
Summary: Good for students
Review: For three years I have used this book in an upper level college section on the historic Jesus. It works very well, once students understand the principles behind this new translation. The introductions and footnotes prove valuable for students, as do the resources at the back of the book. The translation provides fresh insight into the teachings, the historic milieu and the perspective of the gospel writers. The only drawbacks are that the book does not include Acts in Luke/Acts, which I consider vital to understanding Luke.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful reference, nothing more
Review: However you feel about the Jesus Seminar, it's worth looking at all the early accounts of Jesus, if only to deepen one's understanding of early Christianity. In that sense, "The Complete Gospels" is worth the investment. There's the strange imagination behind the Infancy Gospels, and more importantly, there's a critical missing passage from Mark which explains why a youth in a sheet tears off naked into the night after Jesus is arrested. Those accounts, and others in the book, give you a window into the mind of the first Christians, from their view of the Messiah to their beliefs. In some cases, those beliefs are strange. The Gnostics, for example, are usually seen as victims of orthodoxy's triumph, but the Gospels the Gnostics left behind leave doubts about the sect's long-term viability. Gnosticism was a classic Mediterranean mystery religion, with an impersonal, enigmatic figure (Jesus, in this case) at its center. Christ is a literal talking head in The Gospel of Thomas and a font of bizarre "wisdom" in the Secret Gospel of James. Those books, of course, reflect the Gnostic view of Jesus as a ghostly teacher of wisdom, but that Jesus can't compete with the human Messiah of the canonical Gospels. Speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, "The Complete Gospels'" rendering of those works is awful. Whoever said the prose "leaps of the page" is right -- it leaps, trips, falls on its head, rolls down the stairs and breaks a hip. The translators say they wanted to modernize the "archaic" prose of the Gospels, and you can argue the Seminar is less interested in the poetry of the gospels than the literal, historical text. But it's hard to see how Christianity triumphed if early Christians read "Blessed are the poor" or "Blessed are the peacemakers" as "Congratulations, poor!" or "Congratulations, peacemakers!" It gives the Sermon on the Mount all the comfort and inspiration of a dinner at the Rotary Club. Still, people won't buy "The Complete Gospels" for its style. Take a look, if only to see non-Biblical visions of Christ and get an acquaintance with the Jesus Seminar's work. And try not to squirm when "kingdom of God" becomes "God's Imperial Rule."
Rating:
Summary: Useful reference, nothing more
Review: However you feel about the Jesus Seminar, it's worth looking at all the early accounts of Jesus, if only to deepen one's understanding of early Christianity. In that sense, "The Complete Gospels" is worth the investment. There's the strange imagination behind the Infancy Gospels, and more importantly, there's a critical missing passage from Mark which explains why a youth in a sheet tears off naked into the night after Jesus is arrested. Those accounts, and others in the book, give you a window into the mind of the first Christians, from their view of the Messiah to their beliefs. In some cases, those beliefs are strange. The Gnostics, for example, are usually seen as victims of orthodoxy's triumph, but the Gospels the Gnostics left behind leave doubts about the sect's long-term viability. Gnosticism was a classic Mediterranean mystery religion, with an impersonal, enigmatic figure (Jesus, in this case) at its center. Christ is a literal talking head in The Gospel of Thomas and a font of bizarre "wisdom" in the Secret Gospel of James. Those books, of course, reflect the Gnostic view of Jesus as a ghostly teacher of wisdom, but that Jesus can't compete with the human Messiah of the canonical Gospels. Speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, "The Complete Gospels'" rendering of those works is awful. Whoever said the prose "leaps of the page" is right -- it leaps, trips, falls on its head, rolls down the stairs and breaks a hip. The translators say they wanted to modernize the "archaic" prose of the Gospels, and you can argue the Seminar is less interested in the poetry of the gospels than the literal, historical text. But it's hard to see how Christianity triumphed if early Christians read "Blessed are the poor" or "Blessed are the peacemakers" as "Congratulations, poor!" or "Congratulations, peacemakers!" It gives the Sermon on the Mount all the comfort and inspiration of a dinner at the Rotary Club. Still, people won't buy "The Complete Gospels" for its style. Take a look, if only to see non-Biblical visions of Christ and get an acquaintance with the Jesus Seminar's work. And try not to squirm when "kingdom of God" becomes "God's Imperial Rule."
Rating:
Summary: Useful reference, nothing more
Review: However you feel about the Jesus Seminar, it's worth looking at all the early accounts of Jesus, if only to deepen one's understanding of early Christianity. In that sense, "The Complete Gospels" is worth the investment. There's the strange imagination behind the Infancy Gospels, and more importantly, there's a critical missing passage from Mark which explains why a youth in a sheet tears off naked into the night after Jesus is arrested. Those accounts, and others in the book, give you a window into the mind of the first Christians, from their view of the Messiah to their beliefs. In some cases, those beliefs are strange. The Gnostics, for example, are usually seen as victims of orthodoxy's triumph, but the Gospels the Gnostics left behind leave doubts about the sect's long-term viability. Gnosticism was a classic Mediterranean mystery religion, with an impersonal, enigmatic figure (Jesus, in this case) at its center. Christ is a literal talking head in The Gospel of Thomas and a font of bizarre "wisdom" in the Secret Gospel of James. Those books, of course, reflect the Gnostic view of Jesus as a ghostly teacher of wisdom, but that Jesus can't compete with the human Messiah of the canonical Gospels. Speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, "The Complete Gospels'" rendering of those works is awful. Whoever said the prose "leaps of the page" is right -- it leaps, trips, falls on its head, rolls down the stairs and breaks a hip. The translators say they wanted to modernize the "archaic" prose of the Gospels, and you can argue the Seminar is less interested in the poetry of the gospels than the literal, historical text. But it's hard to see how Christianity triumphed if early Christians read "Blessed are the poor" or "Blessed are the peacemakers" as "Congratulations, poor!" or "Congratulations, peacemakers!" It gives the Sermon on the Mount all the comfort and inspiration of a dinner at the Rotary Club. Still, people won't buy "The Complete Gospels" for its style. Take a look, if only to see non-Biblical visions of Christ and get an acquaintance with the Jesus Seminar's work. And try not to squirm when "kingdom of God" becomes "God's Imperial Rule."
Rating:
Summary: An incredibly useful resource
Review: I have followed the work of the Jesus Seminar for a while now, and this book was long overdue. Finally, in one collection they have put all the various "gospels" together. Moreover, they have re-translated even the more common gospels into modern English, complete with quasi-idiomatic renderings, in other words they are ever so much easier to read now.
The authors also provide numerous mini-essays on topics that may be somewhat obscure -- two examples are "Establishing the text of Q," (how they attempt to do that) and "The Judeans" (which goes into the 3 major phases of Judaism's existence). Finally, preceding each gospel, there is a 3-4 page explanation of the major issues, dating, origins, etc.
This is THE most useful book I have read so far in understanding how the Jesus Seminar has arrived at its opinions.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and Exciting
Review: I have found the book very simple to read and understand. It does away with the conventional and difficult language of the conventional bible. For the first time that I was able to read the bible's gospels with such interest, passion and ease. I would even appreciate it if the old testament would be retranslated to accomodate the simple and exciting language adopted by "The Complete Gospels". The content itslef is obviously most interesting.
Rating:
Summary: The Gospel Truth . . .
Review: I have read several of the Jesus Seminar series now and have many more on the shelf to read as well as books from some of the individual scholars. But what intrigues me about this volume is the cross reference work and foot notes that help me to better understand the context of the Gospels. In addition, there is the delight of gospels of which I had never heard prior to this book. This work, and the companion work The Acts of Jesus, comprise an awesome set of references for serious New Testament work. The incredible amount of reference and cross-reference helps tie all the loose ends together for the lay person as well as professional. Another must have for the reference library!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Scholarly
Review: If you are interested in devoting the time, energy, and effort to search for the historical Jesus Christ, read this book after first reading the New Testament (e.g. as presented in the Catholic Study Bible), along with an introductory history of the Hellenistic-Roman backgrounds of early Christianity (e.g. Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Everett Ferguson). The Complete Gospels has fascinating introductory articles and excellent footnotes to the texts of the canonical and extra-canonical gospels that help to make these inspirational and life-giving books clear and understandable.
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