Exploring the Oldest Gospel:  *Evangelium by Matthias Klinghardt
Channel: Quiet Waters Publications
Date: 27/02/2024

The *Evangelium is a hypothetical early Christian gospel believed to have been in circulation in the mid-second century. This text, associated with Marcion of Sinope and his followers, supposedly was published alongside ten Pauline letters, forming a distinct corpus within early Christian literature. The original *Evangelium, written in Greek, is primarily known through references and critiques by early Christian heresiologists such as Tertullian, Epiphanius, and others who opposed Marcion's theological views. Unfortunately, no manuscripts of this original publication have survived, making any direct analysis or reconstruction speculative and reliant on later patristic sources. These sources suggest that the *Evangelium was later edited and became the canonical Gospel According to Luke, albeit with significant theological and textual differences.
Matthias Klinghardt's edition of the *Evangelium represents a significant scholarly effort to reconstruct this lost text. This reconstruction endeavors to piece together what the *Evangelium might have looked like, presenting it in both its original Greek and in an English translation. Klinghardt's methodology involves a meticulous evaluation of the textual variants, consideration of the historical context, and an analysis of the theological implications of the reconstructed text. 
Klinghardt's edition, therefore, is not a direct transmission of a second-century manuscript but a scholarly reconstruction based on indirect evidence and critical analysis. It aims to provide academics, theologians, and interested readers with a plausible representation of what the *Evangelium entailed, offering insights into early Christian diversity, scriptural interpretation, and the process of canon formation. By presenting the text in Greek and English, Klinghardt makes the *Evangelium accessible to a broader audience, facilitating further research, discussion, and understanding of early Christian texts and their theological nuances.