In the first half of this book, editors Thomas Moore and Ray Riegert tell the amazing story of the sutras. With chapters describing the journey of Christian monks who brought the sutras to China, the creation of a monastery at Da Qin at the request of the Chinese Emperor, the mysterious hiding of the sutras in a cave around A.D. 1005, their accidental discovery in 1907 and the recent translating of the sutras and rediscovery of the original monastery. The second half of the book presents a collection of the sutras. The sutras are divided thematically and each section includes a running commentary that draws on Moore's unique experience as a former priest and enlightening author. Together with Riegert, Moore shows how the sutras combine Jesus' teachings with Taoist maxims and Eastern meditations to create a more gentle and spiritual form of Christianity.

Dramatically discovered in Egypt in 1945 after being lost for 1,600 years, the Gospel of Thomas forces a reassessment of both Jesus and his message. This accessible translation of the text allows readers to see a Jesus unadulterated by 2,000 years of myth and interpretation -- a strikingly different figure from the one in the New Testament.