The Gnostic Gospels

This is a fantastic introduction to the Gnostic Gospels.  Pagels selected primarily the Gnostic Christian sources of the Origins of Gnosticism, she intend to show how Gnostic forms of Christianity interact with Orthodoxy and what this tells about the origin of Christianity itself. The fifty-two writings discovered at Nag Hammadi offer only a glimpse of the complexity of the early Christian movement. Pagels shows that what is called Christianity and what is identified as Christian tradition - actually represents only a small selection of specific sources, chosen from among dozens of others. Pagels shows who made that selection, and for what reasons, why the other writings were excluded and banned as "hersey", and what made them so dangerous. Those who wrote and circulated these texts did not regard themselves as "heretics." Most of the writings use Christian terminology related to a Jewish heritage. These writings offer traditions about Jesus that are secret, hidden from "the many" who constitute what, in the second century, came to be called the "catholic church." These Christians are now called gnostics, from the Greek word gnosis, usually translated as "knowledge." For as those who claim to know nothing about ultimate reality are called agnostic (literally, "not-knowing"), the person who does claim to know such things is called Gnostic ("knowing"). But gnosis is not primarily rational knowledge. The Greek language distinguishs between scientific and reflective. ("He knows mathematics") and knowing through observation or experience ("He knows me"), which is gnosis. As the Gnostics use the term, we could translate it as "insight," for gnosis involves an intuitive process of knowing oneself thru physic and meditative means. To know oneself, is to know human nature and human destiny. Yet to know oneself, at the deepest level, is simultaneously to know God; this is the secret of gnosis.Gnostic Christians undoubtedly expressed ideas that the so-called orthodox church leaders abhored. For example, some of these Gnostic texts question whether all suffering, labor, and death derive from human sin, which, in the orthodox version, marred an originally perfect creation. Others speak of the feminine element in the divine, celebrating God as father and mother. Still others suggest that Christ's resurrection is to be understood symbolically, not literally. A few texts even denounce Catholic Christians themselves as heretics, who although they do not understand mystery and that the mystery of truth belongs to them (gnostics) alone. I really enjoyed this book but I gave it a three rating due to my due to my personal interpretation. Pagels often leaned towards the support of the Roman Catholic Church siding with orthodox so-called church leaders. She repeatedly called the Gnostic Christians "heretics," once referring to them as the "enemy." I was given the impression that Pagels condoned the genocide committed through out the Catholic Church's bloody 2,000 year history. As if she backed the means to justify the ends. The Gnostics were a threat to the wealth and power of the so-called church leaders which is why the their writings were considered dangerous and heretical. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book and strongly recommend it for anyone interested in the origins of the Christian tradition. My personal opinion based on extensive research: The early Christian movement evolved into two radically different interpretations of Jesus's writings and teachings. Those who perceived with from a mystical/spirituality/enlightenment perception thru gnosis and those organizing Christianity into into a political regilious dictatorship via the Roman Catholic Church who had an hidden agenda of suppressing our spiritual abilities. The Gnostics were spirituallly awakened via the seven chakras. The sixth chakra (third eye) gives you the ability to see beyond the five senses. The actual Nag Hammadi scriptures clearly indicate that Jesus's message was enlightenment, spirituality, and each of us obtaining Christ Consciousness.  This why the Gnostics were able interpret Jesus's real messages. They were able to see his spiritual body via the sixth chakra. As Pagels stated, it's the winners who write history. If the Gnostic writings and the real teachings of Jesus would have prevailed then the Corrupt-Child-Molesting/New World Order supporting Roman Catholic Church would not be in existence today and the world would be a better place. This is why the Gnostic writings were considered heretical and dangerous. The corrupt so-called Catholic leaders didn't want a spiritually awakened human race who were able to see the truth. A spiritually awakened humanity can't be controlled and profited from. This is why Jesus's true teachings were twisted, edited, and left out of the bible. These so-called dangerous writings were a direct threat to the political agenda of the Roman Catholic Church. This is the side from Pagels few comments in the book the she leans towards. If she would have kept truly an unbiased analysis, the book would be a five from my personal interpretation of it. As soon as I read her various comments in book towards the backing of the The Roman Catholic Church. I had to investigate her a little closer. According to Wikipedia, one of her many awards was the Rockefeller Fellowship, I shouldn't have to say no more. As stated above, it's still a good book either way.

This book is very enlightening and I think highly significant for anyone professing the Christian faith. In the second century of our common era, the Catholic Church, under their interpretation of Christianity, which differed from the Gnostics, as found in the Nag Hammadi. In this they constructed the bible cannon including the 66 books commonly used by all current day Protestants, and in addition, the apocryphal. In turn, they rejected scores of other books that were just as valid expressions of the Christian experience. In this, they omitted crucial variations into the understanding of an experience that went far beyond mere doctrines and dogma. And this is exactly what the Gnostics endorsed, a Christianity that emanated from individual subjective experiences, each having a private interior journey, as in the case of St. Paul, as opposed to prescribed doctrines and organization hierarchy. They supported an invisible brotherhood of inclusive equality as opposed the visible hierarchal organization endorsed by the Orthodox. Thus they violently opposed each other; however there were exceptions made for the Orthodox within different schools of Gnosticism. In this they did not support a physical resurrection, but rather subjective experiential visions as in Christ's (visionary) appearance to Martha and later to St. Paul on the road to Damascus and his vision of being "caught up in a third heaven," which equated to the rejection of Christ's sole appearance to the Apostles, supposedly designating their unique authority and the inherited authority of their so-called successors, the Orthodox Catholic church. While the Gnostics walked in the uncertainty of self discovery and freedom of choice, the Orthodox rested in the fundamentalism of certainty, safety and captured structure.What I think makes this book so good is that fact that is comprehendible without the philosophical, theological abstractions and circular semantics you will find in other explanatory expressions in Gnostic scholarship.Unlike the Orthodox, the Gnostics did not seek answers, but instead they sought furthering the process of asking questions. This is a major difference. Like the East in various forms of Buddhism and Hinduism, their progression of understanding existed in subjective experience through meditation, contemplation and the search inward as opposed to the external search of traditional monotheism found in various forms of Judaism and the Orthodox. It was an internal search to "know thyself," as Socrates had so stated, as well as the contemporary Plotinus, although he was an objective philosophical metaphysicist, who rejected both Eastern thought, Gnosticism, and all Christianity for that matter, for its simplicity and lack of definitive philosophical explanation, which be believed was the only way to enlightenment.In this, the Valentinus school of Gnostic thought rejected the literalization of the Hebrew Scriptures, rejecting the God of Israel's claim of Oneship, perceiving him as a lesser divine being who serves as the instrument of the higher powers, and thus stated in ignorance, "I am the only God, there is no other," and "I am a jealous God." In this, they defined the Creator as Plato's demiurge, the creator was not the same as the divine essence the permeated all Beinghood. Rather, the creator existed as a form apart from the perfect absolute idea that rested beyond the form, as in the case of Sophia, the mother of the demiurge, similar to Paul Tillich's expression of the "God beyond God." Anotherwards, the dualism of Plato's God of Good, the eternal and unchanging in the world of perfect forms of Sophia-Wisdom and the God of Demiurge, the fleeting and impermanent God, Yahweh, in the world of changes. The Creator of the Hebrew Scriptures is not the eternal God, Valentinus explains, but the demiurge who reigns as king and lord, who acts as a military commander, who gives the law and judges those who violate it. Achieving gnosis recognizes the ignorance that dwells both in the demiurge's claims of being the "only God" and that of those who interpret this world of senses as reality. Gnosis involves coming to recognize the true source of divine power, the depth of all being, the Father and Mother. Before gaining gnosis, the candidate worshiped the demiurge, mistaking him for the true God, but now has been released from the demiurge's power, declaring his independence, transcending it. Valentinus' writes to his opponent, Clement:"You claim to represent God, but, in reality, you represent only the demiurge, whom you blindly serve and obey, I, however, have passed beyond the sphere of his authority and so, for that matter, beyond yours!"In this Valentinus rejected the idea of one creator God of this world of senses, one Bishop and one visible Church to obey, but favored subjective experience, as in visions, dreams, intuitive awareness and flashes of insight and artistic expression.Interestingly, they followed the Newtonian cause and effect of a belief system, as in Orthodoxy with gatherings and shared expressions, and yet, they rejected hierarchy, letting the Quantum law of acausal effect take place in that they had no hierarchy, no dogmas and no strict organizational structure. Therefore they drew lots at each meeting to decide on the spot who would be the priest, leader and directors of each meeting, inclusive to all, both male and female.Now there were various schools of thought within Gnosticism, Valentinus, Basilides, Marcion and others, not all endorsed the above and they fought amongst themselves, which makes this information much more detailed. This book contains not only information on the Gnostics but various quotes from the well known Orthodox leaders, as Clement, Tertullian (who later left the Orthodox), Irenaeus, Ignatius and others in their views against the Gnostics for a well rounded view of both the Gnostics and its opposing viewpoints, although there were many variations. Also, Pagels has other books on the Gnostics, The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis, The Gnostic Paul, The Secret Gospel of Thomas and Beyond Belief, which go further into the Gnostic teachings.

I love this book. It is a must read. It is the best historical account of Orthodox Christianity and Gnosticism, but all in one book. The author does such an awesome job of showing how Orthodox Christianity formed from the questions posed by great minds that had be freed by gnosis. She gives deep details in a very unbiased manner.

I was disappointed that there was not a lot of the textual context of what was discussed. I had expected more of the original texts included. The general gist was somewhat helpful, but I found reading the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves gave me a different picture from Pagel's conclusions.

easy read of a fascinating subject. Elaine Pagels' life concentration and fascination is distilled through the pages as if she is sharing a coffee and talking to you. Well written, superb research. Fantastic to discovery our past and how is diverges or matches (sometimes) the stories we are told by institutions.our life story - our connection with deep past - excellent for our times.

Excellent unbiased and well researched book by one of the finest scholars in the early Christian Church & what did and didn’t make it into the New Testament

This is one of the most readable books.This is a well researched and presented book. It satisfys in respect of being both wondefully grounded while losing none of its power to present information that can be added to any seekers libary of gnosis. It presents a rich source of information that helps in desiphering the politics of this new world order whilst shining a light on that which has passed and by which we have all been left poorer.This is a book to rouse the spirits of the individual and give valuable insight in to the machinations of those without a true heart and no genuine spiritual insight whom would seek to control the life of the spirit

A fascinating journey through the early establishment of the Christian church through the review and comparison of two different interpretations of Christs work. One being the version that prevailed, the other encapsulated in these incredible gospels. All in all, a highly readable and enjoyable look at the ancient idea of finding God through the study of ones self.