Download or read book Beyond the Gnostic Gospels written by Eduard Iricinschi and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume gathers contributions from both junior and senior scholars whose studies have developed in dialogue with Elaine Pagels' work on Nag Hammadi literature and ancient heresiology. Published initially in 1979, Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels represents a landmark of scholarship in religious studies. It not only made the Nag Hammadi writings and Gnosticism popular topics in modern culture, it also invited scholars to rethink early Christianity from new perspectives. What were previously seen as dry theological arguments and intricate Gnostic mythologies received new interpretations in the Gnostic Gospels as echoes of political debates about orthodoxy and heresy, clerical authority, martyrdom and gender. After The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels extended her research in various directions, from perceptions of sexuality in early Christianity and identity politics in the Christian creation of the "Satan figure" to ancient biblical interpretations, ritual in Nag Hammadi texts, and, recently, the Gospel of Judas and ancient apocalypses. The studies included in this volume engage each stage of Pagels' vast trajectory, and provide critical evaluations of the field of "Gnosticism studies" as it has developed over the past four decades, in the subfields of the "Sethian" and "Valentinian" schools, and beyond. The studies include new interpretations of the Nag Hammadi texts and fresh analyses of ancient heresiological literature.
Download or read book The Gnostic Gospels written by Elaine Pagels and published by Random House. This book was released on 2004-06-29 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Gnostic Gospels is a landmark study of the long-buried roots of Christianity, a work of luminous scholarship and wide popular appeal. First published in 1979 to critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Gnostic Gospels has continued to grow in reputation and influence over the past two decades. It is now widely recognized as one of the most brilliant and accessible histories of early Christian spirituality published in our time. In 1945 an Egyptian peasant unearthed what proved to be the Gnostic Gospels, thirteen papyrus volumes that expounded a radically different view of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ from that of the New Testament. In this spellbinding book, renowned religious scholar Elaine Pagels elucidates the mysteries and meanings of these sacred texts both in the world of the first Christians and in the context of Christianity today. With insight and passion, Pagels explores a remarkable range of recently discovered gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, to show how a variety of “Christianities” emerged at a time of extraordinary spiritual upheaval. Some Christians questioned the need for clergy and church doctrine, and taught that the divine could be discovered through spiritual search. Many others, like Buddhists and Hindus, sought enlightenment—and access to God—within. Such explorations raised questions: Was the resurrection to be understood symbolically and not literally? Was God to be envisioned only in masculine form, or feminine as well? Was martyrdom a necessary—or worthy—expression of faith? These early Christians dared to ask questions that orthodox Christians later suppressed—and their explorations led to profoundly different visions of Jesus and his message. Brilliant, provocative, and stunning in its implications, The Gnostic Gospels is a radical, eloquent reconsideration of the origins of the Christian faith.
Download or read book Beyond Gnosticism written by Ismo Dunderberg and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Valentinus (100-160 C.E.) was an influential Gnostic opposed to the practices that would later become part of the Christian orthodoxy. This text covers Valentinus's interpretation of the biblical creation myth, in which he affirms mankind's original immortality and places a special emphasis on the 'frank speech' afforded to Adam by God.
Download or read book Beyond Belief written by Elaine Pagels and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2004-05-04 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Beyond Belief, renowned religion scholar Elaine Pagels continues her groundbreaking examination of the earliest Christian texts, arguing for an ongoing assessment of faith and a questioning of religious orthodoxy. Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the “secret” Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations, and that the “rogue” voices of Christianity encourage and sustain “the recognition of the light within us all.”
Download or read book The Nag Hammadi Library in English written by James McConkey Robinson and published by Brill Archive. This book was released on 1984 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Gnostic Gospels written by Alan Jacobs and published by Paul Watkins. This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A superb series of compact, beautifully presented editions of sacred texts selected from the major writings of the world's spiritual traditions in reliable and accessible translations. and values, an urge to break free from the orthodoxies of our own cultural heritage and to explore beyond its frontiers in search of fulfilment and enlightenment. This search for truth leads us to the great sacred texts of the world's literature. The four titles this season include the Tao Te Ching, poetry brimming with Taoist wisdom about our need to bend to nature's currents; the inspirational Bhagavad Gita, which addresses the issues of conflict - both internal and external; the deeply mystical texts of the Kabbalah, which has recently become very popular in the West; and the fascinating forgotten scriptures of the Gnostic Gospels. These texts offer us a new compass to steer by in our quest for the truth and poetry of the spirit.
Download or read book The Gnostic New Age written by April D. DeConick and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gnosticism is a countercultural spirituality that forever changed the practice of Christianity. Before it emerged in the second century, passage to the afterlife required obedience to God and king. Gnosticism proposed that human beings were manifestations of the divine, unsettling the hierarchical foundations of the ancient world. Subversive and revolutionary, Gnostics taught that prayer and mediation could bring human beings into an ecstatic spiritual union with a transcendent deity. This mystical strain affected not just Christianity but many other religions, and it characterizes our understanding of the purpose and meaning of religion today. In The Gnostic New Age, April D. DeConick recovers this vibrant underground history to prove that Gnosticism was not suppressed or defeated by the Catholic Church long ago, nor was the movement a fabrication to justify the violent repression of alternative forms of Christianity. Gnosticism alleviated human suffering, soothing feelings of existential brokenness and alienation through the promise of renewal as God. DeConick begins in ancient Egypt and follows with the rise of Gnosticism in the Middle Ages, the advent of theosophy and other occult movements in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and contemporary New Age spiritual philosophies. As these theories find expression in science-fiction and fantasy films, DeConick sees evidence of Gnosticism's next incarnation. Her work emphasizes the universal, countercultural appeal of a movement that embodies much more than a simple challenge to religious authority.
Download or read book Beyond Death The Gnostic Book of the Dead written by Samael Aun Weor and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2011-05-18 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leaving behind both fear and belief, Samael Aun Weor explains through vivid stories what happens when we die and how we can prepare ourselves now to take full advantage of the experience. Instructions to prepare the soul for the process of dying and the experiences of the afterlife are found within the scriptures of every mystical tradition, especially the Bible, The Theban Recension (Egyptian Book of the Dead), and the Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead), yet they are veiled in cryptic symbolism and are difficult for most people to understand. Now, for the first time, this book fearlessly approaches the topics of death, dying, and the afterlife for our day and age -- and for those who are tired of theories and are ready to know the truth through their own experience.
Download or read book The Secret Book of John written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2012-12-14 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ancient Gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual quest The Secret Book of John is the most significant and influential text of the ancient Gnostic religion. Part of the library of books found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945, this central myth of Gnosticism tells the story of how God fell from perfect Oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how by knowing our divine nature and our divine origins—that we are one with God—we reverse God’s descent and find our salvation. The Secret Book of John: The Gnostic Gospel—Annotated & Explained decodes the principal themes, historical foundation, and spiritual contexts of this challenging yet fundamental Gnostic teaching. Drawing connections to Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, kabbalistic Judaism, and Sufism, Davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the Gnostic religious quest. He illuminates the Gnostics’ ardent call for self-awareness and introspection, and the empowering message that divine wholeness will be restored not by worshiping false gods in an illusory material world but by our recognition of the inherent divinity within ourselves. Now you can experience and understand this foundational teaching even if you have no previous knowledge of Gnosticism. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the most important and valued book in Gnostic religion with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary. It provides deeper insight into the understanding that in Gnosticism the distinction between savior and saved ceases to exist—you must save yourself and in doing so save God.
Download or read book The Gnostic Bible written by Willis Barnstone and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2006 with total page 874 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most comprehensive collection of gnostic literature ever published, this volume is the result of a unique collaboration between a renowned poet-translator and a leading scholar of early Christian texts.
Download or read book Revelations written by Elaine Pagels and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-03-06 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A startling exploration of the history of the most controversial book of the Bible, by the bestselling author of Beyond Belief. Through the bestselling books of Elaine Pagels, thousands of readers have come to know and treasure the suppressed biblical texts known as the Gnostic Gospels. As one of the world's foremost religion scholars, she has been a pioneer in interpreting these books and illuminating their place in the early history of Christianity. Her new book, however, tackles a text that is firmly, dramatically within the New Testament canon: The Book of Revelation, the surreal apocalyptic vision of the end of the world . . . or is it? In this startling and timely book, Pagels returns The Book of Revelation to its historical origin, written as its author John of Patmos took aim at the Roman Empire after what is now known as "the Jewish War," in 66 CE. Militant Jews in Jerusalem, fired with religious fervor, waged an all-out war against Rome's occupation of Judea and their defeat resulted in the desecration of Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome. Soon after, however, a new sect known as "Christians" seized on John's text as a weapon against heresy and infidels of all kinds-Jews, even Christians who dissented from their increasingly rigid doctrines and hierarchies. In a time when global religious violence surges, Revelations explores how often those in power throughout history have sought to force "God's enemies" to submit or be killed. It is sure to appeal to Pagels's committed readers and bring her a whole new audience who want to understand the roots of dissent, violence, and division in the world's religions, and to appreciate the lasting appeal of this extraordinary text.
Download or read book Beyond the Gnostic Gospels written by Eduard Iricinschi and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume gathers contributions from both junior and senior scholars whose studies have developed in dialogue with Elaine Pagels' work on Nag Hammadi literature and ancient heresiology. Published initially in 1979, Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels represents a landmark of scholarship in religious studies. It not only made the Nag Hammadi writings and Gnosticism popular topics in modern culture, it also invited scholars to rethink early Christianity from new perspectives. What were previously seen as dry theological arguments and intricate Gnostic mythologies received new interpretations in the Gnostic Gospels as echoes of political debates about orthodoxy and heresy, clerical authority, martyrdom and gender.After The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels extended her research in various directions, from perceptions of sexuality in early Christianity and identity politics in the Christian creation of the »Satan figure« to ancient biblical interpretations, ritual in Nag Hammadi texts, and, recently, the Gospel of Judas and ancient apocalypses. The studies included in this volume engage each stage of Pagels' vast trajectory, and provide critical evaluations of the field of »Gnosticism studies« as it has developed over the past four decades, in the subfields of the »Sethian« and »Valentinian« schools, and beyond. The studies include new interpretations of the Nag Hammadi texts and fresh analyses of ancient heresiological literature.Survey of contentsHarold Attridge: Plato, Plutarch, and John: Three Symposia about Love - April DeConick: Gnostic Spirituality at the Crossroads of Christianity: Transgressing Boundaries and Creating Orthodoxy - Ismo Dunderberg: How Far Can You Go? Jesus, John, the Synoptics and Other Texts - John Gager: Paul the Zealot, A Man of Constant Sorrow - Deirdre Good: Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Egypt - Eduard Iricinschi: 'The Teaching Hidden in Silence' (NH II 1,4): Questions, Answers, and Secrets in a Fourth-Century Egyptian Book - Lance Jenott: Clergy, Clairvoyance, and Conflict: The Synod of Latopolis and the Problem with Pachomius' Visions - David Jorgensen: »Nor is one ambiguity resolved by another ambiguity«: Irenaeus of Lyons and the Rhetoric of Interpretation - Karen King: Rethinking the Diversity of Ancient Christianity: Responding to Suffering and Persecution - Nicola Denzey Lewis: The Problem of Bad Baptisms: Rethinking Early Christian Initiation and Its Implications - AnneMarie Luijendijk: Buried and Raised: Gospel of Thomas Logion 5 and Resurrection - Hugo Lundhaug: Begotten, Not Made, to Arise in This Flesh: The Post-Nicene Soteriology of the Gospel of Philip - John Marshall: 6 Ezra and Jewish Reception of Revelation - Marvin Meyer: Thought, Forethought, and Afterthought in the Secret Book of John - Geoff Smith: Irenaeus, the Will of God, and Anti-Valentinian Polemics: A Closer Look at Against the Heresies I.12.1 - Einar Thomassen: The Valentinian Materials in James (NHC V,3 and CT,2) - John D. Turner: Baptismal Vision, Angelification, and Mystical Union in Sethian Literature - Michael A. Williams: A Life Full of Meaning and Purpose: Demiurgical Myths and Social Implications - Holger Zellentin: Jesus and the Tradition of the Elders: Originalism and Traditionalism in Early Judean Legal Theory.
Download or read book The Gnostic Gospels of Thomas Mary John written by Katherine John and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-01-28 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collected here are three gnostic writings from Thomas, Mary, and John. These books that were left out of the New Testament shed light on the life and relationships of Jesus Christ and his friends and family, especially his mother Mary.
Download or read book The Gospel of Mary written by Esther De Boer and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2005-06-20 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The success of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code has raised new interest in Mary Magdalene and in the Gospel of Mary. Here, the author examines Mary Magdalene's influence on the beginnings of Christianity and asks what was her impact and her message? And furthermore, what became of her and her ideas? Esther de Boer studies the Gospel of Mary (the only Gospel to be named after a woman) to discover what it reveals about Mary Magdalene and to determine the origin of its portrayal. She argues that the Gospel of Mary is not a Gnostic writing but is more closely related to the writings of Philo, the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John. She demonstrates that esteem of Mary Magdalene did not just belong to the Gnostic tradition but to a broader Christian context. In order to determine this context, the study identifies the different portrayals of Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, analyses their concepts of discipleship and their views on women, and investigates their historical 'reality'. Esther de Boer concludes that the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mary is close to that in the Gospel of John, and investigates the possibility that she is concealed in the Johannine disciple loved by Jesus.
Download or read book Reading Judas written by Elaine Pagels and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-03-06 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The instant New York Times bestseller interpreting the controversial long-lost gospel The recently unearthed Gospel of Judas is a source of fascination for biblical scholars and lay Christians alike. Now two leading experts on the Gnostic gospels tackle the important questions posed by its discovery, including: How could any Christian imagine Judas to be Jesus' favorite? And what kind of vision of God does the author offer? Working from Karen L. King's brilliant new translation, Elaine Pagels and King provide the context necessary for considering its meaning. Reading Judas plunges into the heart of Christianity itself and will stand as the definitive look at the gospel for years to come.
Download or read book Hidden Gospels written by Philip Jenkins and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2002-12-05 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This incisive critique thoroughly and convincingly debunks the claims that recently discovered texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and even the Dead Sea Scrolls undermine the historical validity of the New Testament. Jenkins places the recent controversies surrounding the hidden gospels in a broad historical context and argues that, far from being revolutionary, such attempts to find an alternative Christianity date back at least to the Enlightenment. By employing the appropriate scholarly and historical methodologies, he demonstrates that the texts purported to represent pristine Christianity were in fact composed long after the canonical gospels found in the Bible. Produced by obscure heretical movements, these texts have attracted much media attention chiefly because they seem to support radical, feminist, and post-modern positions in the modern church. Indeed, Jenkins shows how best-selling books on the "hidden gospels" have been taken up by an uncritical, drama-hungry media as the basis for a social movement that could have powerful effects on the faith and practice of contemporary Christianity.
Download or read book The Origin of Satan written by Elaine Pagels and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1996-04-30 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the National Book Award-winning and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Gnostic Gospels comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. "Arresting...brilliant...this book illuminates the angels with which we must wrestle to come to the truth of our bedeviling spritual problems." —The Boston Globe With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan’s story into an audacious exploration of Christianity’s shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.
