The Gnostic Gospels (Paperback)

Paperback. NEWLY REVISED AND EXPANDED: Now with 29 complete texts and updated scholarship.In 1945, a farmer in Upper Egypt cracked open a sealed clay jar and found thirteen codices buried since 367 CE. Inside were gospels, cosmologies, hymns, and visions from a rival Christianity so sophisticated it nearly won. For a thousand years, everything we knew about these texts came from the people who destroyed them. Now you can read them yourself.Twenty-nine texts in clear, modern English. No archaic phrasing. No dense scholarly apparatus. Just the words, made readable.The Gospels: The Gospel of Thomas (114 sayings of Jesus, some older than the New Testament), Philip, Truth, Mary Magdalene as teacher and visionary, Judas recast as the only disciple who understood, and the Secret Book of James.The Dialogues: Dialogue of the Savior, Sophia of Jesus Christ, and the Book of Thomas the Contender.The Cosmologies: The Secret Book of John (the Gnostic Genesis), Reality of the Rulers, On the Origin of the World, Exegesis on the Soul, and Eugnostos the Blessed.The Visions: Apocalypse of Adam, Apocalypse of Peter (Peter watches the crucifixion while the living Jesus stands beside him, laughing), Second Treatise of the Great Seth, Paraphrase of Shem, Trimorphic Protennoia, and Allogenes.Poetry and Liturgy: Thunder, Perfect Mind ("I am the whore and the holy one"), The Hymn of the Pearl, and The Three Steles of Seth.Letters and Fragments: Treatise on the Resurrection, Letter of Peter to Philip, Gospel of the Egyptians, and the Gospel of the Savior.Three Essays: "The Gnostic Jesus," "The Discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library," and "Gnosticism and the Early Church."Every text is complete, in modern prose, with chapter divisions and section headers. No fragments disguised as full works. No excerpts. Start anywhere: Thomas for the sayings, the Secret Book of John for the creation myth, Thunder, Perfect Mind if you want to be unsettled by something you cannot explain.A Clear Text Edition. Classic works. Clear words.For readers interested in: Nag Hammadi Library, Lost Gospels, Gnostic Christianity, early Christian history, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Gospel of Judas, apocryphal scriptures, forbidden books of the Bible, alternative Christianity, early church history, mystical Christianity, comparative religion, ancient manuscripts, Coptic texts, hidden Christian traditions This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…