This Christian text you've never heard of, The Shepherd of Hermas, barely mentions Jesus!

Esoteric texts that required deeper philosophical knowledge, like the Gospel of Truth or Gospel of Judas, may have been ideal for some Christians
By: The Conversation
 
HOUSTON - Sept. 27, 2023 - PRLog -- By: Chance Bonar, Tufts University

People usually think about the Bible as a book with a fixed number of texts within its pages: 24 books in the Jewish version of the Bible; 66 for Protestants; 73 for Catholics; 81 if you're Ethiopian Orthodox.

Writings that didn't make it into the Bible, on the other hand, are often called "apocrypha," a Greek term that refers to hidden or secret things. There are hundreds of apocryphal Jewish and Christian texts that, for one reason or another, were not included in different versions of the Bible. Some simply fell out of use. Some caused theological headaches for later Jews or Christians, and some were rejected because of their author – for supposedly not having really been written by an apostle, for instance. (When used with a capital "A," Apocrypha refers to a handful of books included in the Catholic and Orthodox versions of the Old Testament, but not most Protestant ones.)

Just because a text was deemed apocryphal, however, does not mean that it was unpopular or lacked influence. Many texts that are treated as unimportant or unbiblical today were considered central at one time. As a scholar of early Christianity, some of my research centers on what was once an extremely well-read text, but one that most people today have never heard of: The Shepherd of Hermas.

Enslaved to God

The Shepherd of Hermas was written sometime between 70–140 C.E. and takes place on the road between Rome and Naples. Hermas, who is presented as the text's author and narrator, has various encounters with two divine figures called the Church and the Shepherd, who give him commandments and visions that he is instructed to share with other believers.

The Shepherd is a sizable text – 114 chapters long – and substantial portions describe a vision of a tower under construction. The tower represents the church itself, in the sense of all Jesus' followers, built out of stones that represent different types of believers. Some fit right in, others must be reshaped or recolored, and some are rejected altogether. For example, stones representing rich people or businessmen are urged to repent, while hospitable people are portrayed as properly shaped.

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https://theconversation.com/this-christian-text-youve-never-heard-of-the-shepherd-of-hermas-barely-mentions-jesus-but-it-was-a-favorite-of-early-christians-far-and-wide-212737

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