c 1917, 8th ed, 1940 & Sequoia Seminar Found

The three synoptic Gospels are printed side-by-side according to a scheme which allows each gospel to be read straight through and at the same time compared passage by passage with the other synoptic Gospels. The gospel of John is printed separately with references to the synoptic Gospels. Texas from the King James version

Compares the three synoptic Gospels side-by-side so that each gospel can be read straight through and at the same time compared with similar passages in the other Gospels. The gospel of John is printed with references to the three synoptic Gospels. Text is from the Revised Standard Bible, c1946.

This updated version of Sharman's original 1917 parallel of the gospels uses the Revised Standard Version and includes references to the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas.

The Sharman fonds at the National Archives of Canada contain some of the first drafts of Sharman's 1917 book. It would appear that Sharman asked but two people for their input on how the gospels ought to be paralleled. One was his wife, Abby Lyon Sharman, and the other was Elizabeth Boyden Howes.

Boyden Howes has played a part in this reprint as well. ( )

"Records of the Life of Jesus" (first published in 1917) grew out of the work Sharman did in comparing the gospels together, in preparation for his doctorate (See: The Teachings of Jesus About the Future). Sharman used the Revised Version of 1881 in this first edition. The book remains in print which attests to its appeal and longevity.

The 'Records' contains no questions, but is the basis of all his later questioning books. I have heard that the original dust-cover claimed it was a 'Super-harmony', although as Sharman himself noted within, it cannot be termed a "harmony" because he presents three chapters of Matthew slightly out-of-order. To force the records into a "harmony" would have required even more damage to the original documents. Some of his Minnesing students who used the book extensively sometimes refered to the text affectionately as the "Sharmony".

Beginning with this book, Sharman learned much about the use of typeset to present ideas on the page. Later, in his book 'Jesus as Teacher', the beauty of his books was recognized.

In 'Records of the Life of Jesus', Sharman was intent on just showing the records side by side, not in trying to force them into an order determined by a theory as to "literary or other relation" of the records, one to another. This suggests that around this time he had not only abandoned Burton's solution to the Synoptic Dilemma but also that he was no longer interested in it as a solvable problem. Sharman certainly did not try to harmonize John with the other gospels, although due to the urgings of his wife and friends he did extensively cross-reference it to the synoptics, and it comprises within this tome what is sometimes refered to as 'Volume 2' -- but it never was a separate book.

If no 'theory' is behind the paralleling of various events in Jesus' synoptic life story, how did Sharman put the books together? During one of his famous Algonquin Minnesing camps, Sharman revealed his method: he took the smallest book (Mark) and divided it episodically, i.e. along the natural anecdotal breaks provided by the work itself. Then he took the next smallest book (Luke) and divided it episodically, and any events that were similar in context and/or teaching he placed side-by-side. He discovered Luke follows the entire order of Mark, and often the same wording. Finally, he took the largest book (Matthew) and put its episodes in parallel with Mark and Luke; Matthew was found to be out of Mark's order in the main for a mere three chapters. Finally, Sharman printed the parallels together in the order they are encountered in the New Testament, not giving literary primacy to any. Because of his unique use of typeset, one is still able to read the individual books in the order in which they were written. The achievement is remarkable.

This book is indispensible to the study of the rest of Sharman's works (but curiously, not absolutely necessary: one can work through any of the question books without it, using nothing but one's favourite Bible). ( )