Download or read book Essential Gnostic Scriptures written by Marvin Meyer and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2011-11-22 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The people we’ve come to call gnostics were passionate advocates of the view that salvation comes through knowledge and personal experience, and their passion shines through in the remarkable body of writings they produced over a period of more than a millennium and a half. Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer have created a translation that brings the gnostic voices to us from across the centuries with remarkable power and beauty—beginning with texts from the earliest years of Christianity—including material from the Nag Hammadi library—and continuing all the way up to expressions of gnostic wisdom found within Islam and in the Cathar movement of the Middle Ages. The twenty-one texts included here serve as a compact introduction to Gnosticism and its principal ideas—and they also provide an entrée to the pleasures of gnostic literature in general, representing, as they do, the greatest masterpieces of that tradition.
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 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 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 . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gnostics written by Sean Martin and published by Oldacastle Books. This book was released on 2010-08-01 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gnosticism is the name given to various religious schools that proliferated in the first centuries after Christ, nearly becoming the dominant form of Christianity, but was eventually branded as heretical by the emerging Christian church. The long and diverse history of Gnosticism is recounted here, as well as reasons for its continued relevance today. Although some Gnostic beliefs are close to mainstream Christianity, others examined here include that the world is imperfect because it was created by an evil god who was constantly at war with the true, good God; that Christ and Satan were brothers; that reincarnation exists; and that women are the equal of men. Also covered is the influence Gnostics had on the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, psychologist Carl Jung, the Existentialists, the New Age movement, and writers as diverse as William Blake, W. B. Yeats, Albert Camus, and Philip K. Dick.
Download or read book A Dictionary of Gnosticism written by Andrew Phillip Smith and published by Quest Books. This book was released on 2014-03-17 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Dictionary of Gnosticism is a scholarly yet accessible guide that covers the people, mythology, movements, scripture, and technical terms related to this pre-Christian Western religion. It contains nearly 1700 entries, from Aachiaram, an angel in the 'Secret Book of John to Zostrianos', a third-century Gnostic text, and is a reliable reference for the Nag Hammadi library and other Gnostic texts. An introduction explains who the Gnostics were and provides a whirlwind tour through the history of this captivating movement.
Download or read book St Mary Magdalene written by Tau Malachi and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2012-02-08 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Gospels of the Bible there are a few comments about Mary Magdalene here and there. But in the Gnostic scriptures that have been discovered, there are tantalizing hints that both her relationship to Jesus and her role among Jesus' disciples may have been profoundly important. Among several schools of Gnostic Christianity, Mary plays an essential role in the revelation of the gospel. Here, for the first time in print, is a Sophian Gospel of St. Mary Magdalene. No secret oral tradition as extensive as this has ever been recorded, and none has ever presented a Gnostic view of Mary Magdalene as she is portrayed in this groundbreaking work—as a powerful holy woman, the innermost disciple and beloved wife of Jesus, and a Christed woman who is coequal with Jesus in the Christ revelation.
Download or read book The Essential Gnostic Gospels written by Alan Jacobs and published by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gnostics were early Christians whose beliefs and practices put them at odds with the orthodox Church; indeed, the Church considered Gnostics to be heretics and made a concerted effort to destroy their writings. However, in 1945, a remarkable discovery was made in Nag Hamadi, in the Egyptian desert: a jar containing 13 papyrus documents, dating back to the fourth century ad, with genuine Gnostic texts in the original Greek. In addition, this manuscript included four gospels that offered accounts of Jesus and His times that are strikingly different from the New Testament. Alan Jacobs brings his unrivalled scholarship to bear on these illuminating and eye-opening works, offering inspiring and poetic translations that capture the verses’ uplifting spiritual message and beauty.
Download or read book The Gnostic Paul written by Elaine Pagels and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1992-03-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this highly original work, Elaine Pagels demonstrates how evidence from gnostic sources may challenge the assumption that Paul writes his letters to combat "gnostic opponents" and to repudiate their claims to secret wisdom. Drawing upon evidence from the gnostic exegesis of Paul, including several Nag Hammadi texts, the author examines how gnostic exegetes cite and interpret key passages in the letters they consider Pauline-1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. Besides offering new insight into controversies over Paul in the second century, this analysis of gnostic exegesis suggests a new perspective for Pauline study, challenging students and scholars to recognize the presuppositions-hermenuetical and theological-involved in their own reading of Paul's letters. Elaine H. Pagels is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author of The Gnostic Gospels, which won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Johannie Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, and the best-selling Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.
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 World written by Garry W. Trompf and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-03 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gnostic World is an outstanding guide to Gnosticism, written by a distinguished international team of experts to explore Gnostic movements from the distant past until today. These themes are examined across sixty-seven chapters in a variety of contexts, from the ancient pre-Christian to the contemporary. The volume considers the intersection of Gnosticism with Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Indic practices and beliefs, and also with new religious movements, such as Theosophy, Scientology, Western Sufism, and the Nation of Islam. This comprehensive handbook will be an invaluable resource for religious studies students, scholars, and researchers of Gnostic doctrine and history.
Download or read book Cold Case Christianity written by J. Warner Wallace and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.
Download or read book The Gnostic Scriptures written by Bentley Layton and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 761 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of extra-biblical scriptures written by the gnostics, updated with three ancient texts including the recently discovered Gospel of Judas.
Download or read book A Gnostic Prayer Book written by Surekha Minati Keerthana and published by Glorian Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pocket-sized compilation gathers essential prayers, mantras, and spiritual practices for daily use, healing, protection, and more. Drawn from the Gnostic tradition taught by Moses, Solomon, Jesus and his Apostles, Hermes Trismegistus, Samael Aun Weor, and many others, the magical words and phrases given here are powerful and proven techniques for effective spiritual work. Based upon and directed towards personal experience of the Divine, this book provides a comprehensive set of tools anyone can use to develop and awaken their soul, and to provide spiritual aid to others, such as through healing, exorcisms, or protection. Take this helpful companion with you anywhere, to assist you in times of need as a source of inspiration and strength.
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 Rethinking Gnosticism written by Michael Allen Williams and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1999-04-12 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most anyone interested in such topics as creation mythology, Jungian theory, or the idea of "secret teachings" in ancient Judaism and Christianity has found "gnosticism" compelling. Yet the term "gnosticism," which often connotes a single rebellious movement against the prevailing religions of late antiquity, gives the false impression of a monolithic religious phenomenon. Here Michael Williams challenges the validity of the widely invoked category of ancient "gnosticism" and the ways it has been described. Presenting such famous writings and movements as the Apocryphon of John and Valentinian Christianity, Williams uncovers the similarities and differences among some major traditions widely categorized as gnostic. He provides an eloquent, systematic argument for a more accurate way to discuss these interpretive approaches. The modern construct "gnosticism" is not justified by any ancient self-definition, and many of the most commonly cited religious features that supposedly define gnosticism phenomenologically turn out to be questionable. Exploring the sample sets of "gnostic" teachings, Williams refutes generalizations concerning asceticism and libertinism, attitudes toward the body and the created world, and alleged features of protest, parasitism, and elitism. He sketches a fresh model for understanding ancient innovations on more "mainstream" Judaism and Christianity, a model that is informed by modern research on dynamics in new religious movements and is freed from the false stereotypes from which the category "gnosticism" has been constructed.
