Review by Choice Review
This handbook includes 25 essays on a variety of topics related to early Christian apocryphal literature. Though no comparable resource exists, the essays are uneven. Some of the contributors are not specialists on Christian apocrypha, and some of the most significant international scholars on Christian apocrypha are absent. The first section (of two) comprises six introductory essays, one addressing what apocrypha are and five surveying various genres of apocrypha. These genres are defined by the texts of the New Testament canon, whereas most recent research in early Christian apocryphal literature seeks to resist imposition of canonical norms on this corpus. The second section, "Key Issues and Themes," includes 19 essays, some of which are invaluable and offer excellent overviews, and some which are downright problematic. Among the latter is "Encratism and the Apocryphal Acts," in which Yves Tissot sharply criticizes and dismisses sociological and feminist approaches to the apocryphal acts (he includes a lengthy section titled "The Intrusion of the 'Gender' Problem into the Study of the Apocryphal Acts"). This essay does not represent the current thinking on the issue, so though the handbook provides some solid scholarship it should be used with care. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty. --Stephen J. Shoemaker, University of Oregon
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
