The Gnostic Gospels (1979)

I cannot recall when I read this volume, but, of course, people don't "read" scriptures, they study them. As people may or may not know, there were many books and letters often user as scripture until the early Church decided to create the "official" version now known as "The Holy Bible," but the now generally used versions (Catholic Bibles have 4 more books than Protestant Bibles) was actually created after the church had become an institution and developed its theology and dogma. Thus, documents, no matter how authentic, that disagreed with the party line were not included in the final version. Religion today would be much different if they had been. Since the dogma and theology were in place when the Bible was compiled, those earlier books, epistles and other writings that were inconsistent with the "official" dogma were eliminated. In fact, there were huge efforts to destroy every copy of them.
These books included the Gnostic writings and the Gospel according to St. Thomas, generally considered b modern bible scholars to be the most accurate and authentic of all the available gospels.
Pagels has both compiled these earlier documents and also commented upon and elaborated upon them and their history.
To read the bible as literature rather than as official scriptural dogma and theology absolutely requires that these earlier gospels be included in the study. ( )

In 1952 nr Nag Hammadi in the upper Egyptian desert, 52 papyrus texts were discovered in an ancient earthenware jar. including gospels and other secret writings dating back some 2000 years to the beginning of the Christian era. After years of scholarly investigation and analysis, the Nag Hammadi texts have turned out to be among the most important archaeological discoveries of modern times. Professor Pagels’ book is the first account written for the general reader about these profoundly revealing documents.
The so-called gnostic writings describe many of the people and events found in the New Testament, but from a strikingly different perspective. They show us that the early church, far from being unified was from the beginning deeply split: that many followers of Christ disagreed on the key points of his life, the meaning of his teachings, or the form that the church should take. Many gnostic groups challenged priestly authority and believed instead in the presence of the divine within the human; that the way to salvation was through self-knowledge. Many of the gnostic groups believed in a God who is both Father and Mother, and that women and men are spiritual equals.
In this brilliantly lucid account, we discover why the orthodox church chose to suppress these gnostic texts and why the gnostics themselves were condemned as heretics as early as the first century. Pagels shows us how these extraordinary texts compel us to reconsider profoundly the traditional view of the origins and meaning of Christianity ( )

This was a really informative look at the early days of Christianity. The Gnostic teachings were similar to Buddhist teachings, in that they felt that the divine was within each individual, and could only be reached by contemplation and the unwritten teachings of a mentor or teacher. During the early stages of a religion, this does not lend itself well to becoming a mass phenomenon, which in turn leads to the formation of most Christian churches as we know them today. As Pagels states, "the religious perspectives and methods of gnosticism did not lend themselves to mass religion. In this respect, it was no match for the highly effective system of organization of the catholic church."

Really interesting book for those interested in the beginnings of the Christian church, or anyone interested in the formation of any religion in general. ( )

A very interesting read. Though the information is somewhat dated now, this work sheds light on the diversity found in the early christian community based on translations of texts found at Nag-Hammadi, Egypt and other places. The early gospels reveal a wide range of beliefs that only distill later into the councils and creeds of orthodoxy. More on this in her "The Gospel of Thomas". ( )

Reprinted 1979.