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God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible
From an award-winning biblical scholar, the untold story of how enslaved people created, gave meaning to, and spread the message of the New Testament, shaping the very foundations of Christianity in ways both subtle and profound.
For the past two thousand years, Christian tradition, scholarship, and pop culture have credited the authorship of the New Testament to a select group of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. But hidden behind these named and sainted individuals are a cluster of enslaved coauthors and collaborators. Although they almost all go unnamed and uncredited, these essential workers were responsible for producing the earliest manuscripts of the New making the parchment and papyri on which Christian texts were written, taking dictation, and polishing and refining the words of the apostles. When the Christian message began to move independently from the first apostles, it was enslaved missionaries who undertook the dangerous and arduous journeys across the Mediterranean and along dusty Roman roads to move Christianity from Jerusalem and the Levant to Rome, Spain, North Africa, and Egypt—and into the pages of history. The influence of these enslaved contributors on the spread of Christianity, the development of foundational Christian concepts, and the making of the Bible was enormous, yet their role has been almost entirely overlooked until now.
Filled with profound revelations both for what it means to be a Christian and for how we read individual texts themselves, God’s Ghostwriters is a groundbreaking and rigorously researched book about how enslaved people shaped the Bible, and with it all of Christianity.
For the past two thousand years, Christian tradition, scholarship, and pop culture have credited the authorship of the New Testament to a select group of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. But hidden behind these named and sainted individuals are a cluster of enslaved coauthors and collaborators. Although they almost all go unnamed and uncredited, these essential workers were responsible for producing the earliest manuscripts of the New making the parchment and papyri on which Christian texts were written, taking dictation, and polishing and refining the words of the apostles. When the Christian message began to move independently from the first apostles, it was enslaved missionaries who undertook the dangerous and arduous journeys across the Mediterranean and along dusty Roman roads to move Christianity from Jerusalem and the Levant to Rome, Spain, North Africa, and Egypt—and into the pages of history. The influence of these enslaved contributors on the spread of Christianity, the development of foundational Christian concepts, and the making of the Bible was enormous, yet their role has been almost entirely overlooked until now.
Filled with profound revelations both for what it means to be a Christian and for how we read individual texts themselves, God’s Ghostwriters is a groundbreaking and rigorously researched book about how enslaved people shaped the Bible, and with it all of Christianity.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 26, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 2, 2024
There is a problem that exists in the world of Christian scholarship that does not exist anywhere else. Speculations and guesses are normal with human beings, but not even the most imaginative fiction writer or even wizards can surpass many contemporary writers in their ability to conjure.
This book is one of the greatest examples of that tendency. It goes like this: read a passage of scripture, come up with a possible interpretation of a passage, sentence, or word. Make a protracted speculation on this novel reading, ignore the testimony of historical interpretation, and attribute the historical interpretation to powerful interests. By the time you are done, this tissue of speculation becomes a rock upon which castles of assertions are made.
The book is based on a simple and uncontroversial idea: many of the New Testament authors used enslaved people to write their books. That's it. Simple. But that by itself is not a good enough reason to write a book. Upon this simple idea, piles of speculations begin to be poured. Maybe Mark was a slave. Maybe some of the words in the letters of Paul were really chosen by the enslaved person who wrote it. Maybe the reason why the Gospels and epistles have a "slavish" tone is because they were all written by slaves. Maybe the reason why Mark's gospel does not have a birth story of Jesus is because Jesus, like Mark, was a slave. Or maybe because Jesus' mother was a slave. Or a sex worker. Or an enslaved sex worker.
These kinds of speculations increase until by the end of the book we are now told of the very possible problem of the faithfulness with which the New Testament texts have been transmitted based on the possibility that these books were copied by slaves who were not even Christians. Not only that. In fact, if we assume that these books were written by slaves then we can understand some portions of the New Testament better than they have been understood prior to now. It even gets better. If we assume these books were written and copied by enslaved people then this can explain variant readings not as mistakes or doctrinal corruptions, but as ways in which these slaves exercised their agency.
This book is one of the greatest examples of that tendency. It goes like this: read a passage of scripture, come up with a possible interpretation of a passage, sentence, or word. Make a protracted speculation on this novel reading, ignore the testimony of historical interpretation, and attribute the historical interpretation to powerful interests. By the time you are done, this tissue of speculation becomes a rock upon which castles of assertions are made.
The book is based on a simple and uncontroversial idea: many of the New Testament authors used enslaved people to write their books. That's it. Simple. But that by itself is not a good enough reason to write a book. Upon this simple idea, piles of speculations begin to be poured. Maybe Mark was a slave. Maybe some of the words in the letters of Paul were really chosen by the enslaved person who wrote it. Maybe the reason why the Gospels and epistles have a "slavish" tone is because they were all written by slaves. Maybe the reason why Mark's gospel does not have a birth story of Jesus is because Jesus, like Mark, was a slave. Or maybe because Jesus' mother was a slave. Or a sex worker. Or an enslaved sex worker.
These kinds of speculations increase until by the end of the book we are now told of the very possible problem of the faithfulness with which the New Testament texts have been transmitted based on the possibility that these books were copied by slaves who were not even Christians. Not only that. In fact, if we assume that these books were written by slaves then we can understand some portions of the New Testament better than they have been understood prior to now. It even gets better. If we assume these books were written and copied by enslaved people then this can explain variant readings not as mistakes or doctrinal corruptions, but as ways in which these slaves exercised their agency.
December 4, 2023
One of the main writers in "God's Ghostwriters'' by Candida Moss is Paul. He too had helpful writers walking behind him. It can not remain unsaid. There are the enslaved who write too. Most of us love and respect Paul. We know about his life because he shares it in his letters. It is hard for us to believe he is disliked and terribly misunderstood by some people in Ephesus and other places like Corinth. His message just rubbed these people the wrong way. I suppose he wonders what will happen when he gets to Rome. For sure, the hate will grow louder. Chastity is not a favorite topic for most men and women. We do know he will find himself in a Roman dungeon. This book explains the lives of writers who followed along with authors. It also includes the enslaved. I wonder should these people not have a chance to hear a thank you from our Modern countries and cities. They were very needed and not easy to find. Not every person could write and read in Rome and elsewhere. If you have an interest in life in Rome, this book tells about those who lived there, known and observed by Ancient Historians.
April 7, 2024
I cannot overstate how thought-provoking this book is.
March 30, 2024
Accessible and thought-provoking. Deepens the reader's understanding of the New Testament and ancient slavery.
April 4, 2024
Admittedly, my mind tends to wander when I listen to nonfiction, but this was a fascinating read. It didn’t go so far as to cause me to abandon my entire belief system but may cause some questions.
April 17, 2024
Liked. An interesting read/listen about the likely role that enslaved scribes and secretaries had in writing and editing the books of the Bible and how that can inform the way we read them.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews