The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
This book primarily explores the implications of the discovery of Gnostic Gospels at Nag Hammadi in 1945. These gospels comprise the sacred books of one of the earliest Christian sects and are not included in the official canonized version of the New Testament. Their message and the teachings were considered heretical by the official orthodox Christianity and therefore were banned. They deal with issues that can be classified as Batini and give more importance to the personal dimension of knowledge and faith as opposed to following the official church creed or dogma and hence are radically different than the orthodox interpretation. For example, one of the gospels says: "Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."" which resonates the Ginanic verse "A diamond comes into your hands, brother, when you reflect upon His wisdom: he who deals with it is an honest trader, but he who does not deliver what he has borrowed becomes bankrupt." They also offer a radically different interpretation to the story of Adam and Eve which is very close to Ismaili interpretation. The book states: "the Testimony of Truth, for example, tells the story of the Garden of Eden from the viewpoint of the serpent(Iblis)! Here the serpent, long known to appear in Gnostic literature as the principle of divine wisdom, convinces Adam and Eve to partake of knowledge while "the Lord" threatens them with death, trying jealously to prevent them from attaining knowledge, and expelling them from Paradise when they achieve it."
The book is divided into 6 chapters that reflect the main controversies that this find at Nag Hammadi raises within Christianity. These are:
- The Controversy over Christ's Resurrection: Historical Event or Symbol?
- "One God, One Bishop": The Politics of Monotheism
- God the Father/God the Mother
- The Passion of Christ and the Persecution of Christians
- Whose Church Is the "True Church"?
- Gnosis: Self-Knowledge as Knowledge of God ( raises interesting parallels with our own traditions - the Ginans)
I think this book is very useful for anyone who is interested in knowing about Christianity and its various dimensions viz, it's historical evolution, its creed, politics of its institutions and major heresies. It is a useful source for anyone trying to understand Christianity from a comparative perspective with a view to promote interfaith understanding within the overall framework of pluralism. As the writer concludes, this find has caused a major re-evaluation of Christianity and presents an interesting prospect.