Norman geisler from the baker encyclopedia of christian apologetics, baker, 1999 the gnostics followed a variety of religious movements that stressed gnosis or knowledge, especially of ones origins. I think you might find this website pretty helpful in guiding you toward sources among the books they have listed under their books section, i found gnosticism. The nag hammadi library also known as the chenoboskion manuscripts and the gnostic gospels is a collection of early christian and gnostic texts discovered near the upper egyptian town of nag hammadi in 1945 thirteen leatherbound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named muhammed alsamman. The 6 core beliefs of modern gnosticism neo gnosticism.
Within a short time after the last book in the old testament was written, the entire jewish nation was unanimous in accepting every one of its books as canonical, and in rejecting as false the claims of any other book to similar recognition. The gnostics held a totally different view of the bible, of jesus christ, of salvation, and of virtually every other major christian doctrine. Since, according to the gnostics, matter is evil, deliverance from material form was attainable only through special knowledge revealed by special gnostic teachers. The early church did not quote from these books and some contemporary writers of the time disputed their authenticity. The writings in these codices comprise 52 mostly gnostic. The gnostic society bookstore, offering a carefully selected collection of recent books on the subject of gnosis and gnosticism.
Todays heirs to gnosticism continue to strive to create a temple of new cosmic understanding. The gnostics, on the other hand, use a variety of early heretical writings known as the gnostic gospels, a collection of forgeries claiming to be lost books of the bible. The teachings we study here have been safeguarded by the greatest human beings who ever lived. New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing by stephan a. However, they did not have any writings by apostles to validate their beliefs. These various groups emphasised personal spiritual knowledge over orthodox teachings, traditions, and ecclesiastical authority. The documentation we possess on the gnostics is almost as scanty as that on the etruscans and much of it comes from the opposition, so to speak, from the church fathers.
The gnostic gospels are writings by early christian gnostics. Gnosticism was a contemporary of early christianity, and its demise can be traced to christianitys efforts to silence its teachings. The gnostic gospels is a landmark study of the longburied roo. Gnosticism is a thread of spiritual thought running through various iterations throughout history. Modern day gnostics, neognostics, or gnostic sympathizers should be aware of some gnostic elements which decidedly clash with modern tastes. For more on the gnostic texts discovered at nag hammadi, read this excerpt. But there is one locus classicus, of the gnostic myth that is found in a book called. Gnosticism pronounced nos tuh siz um was a secondcentury religious movement claiming that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge. The only way to get the books was from a handful of schools who put up many obstacles and restrictions, requiring students to. Whether or not you know it, youve probably been influenced by the beliefs of the gnostics and their powerful grasp over aspects of western spirituality. Budge t rans testament of solomon pdf 155 kb translated by conybeare. It is the knowledge of the divine via direct experience. In the second edition, martin delves even deeper with many wonderful insights including the often overlooked legacy of scifi writer. Here is a brief synopsis on the early writings and compilations of the scriptures.
Gnosticism and the gnostic jesus christian research. The books were inspired the moment pen hit parchment, and were widely recognized as such. It is as convincing a reconstruction of the way the gnostics lived and thought as d. To understand what a gnostic is, you must first understand what gnosis is throughout our entire history, there has been a protected and difficult to acquire knowledge. Lacarriere has heavyweight fans like lawrence durrell and marguerite yourcenar. Thankfully, the early church fathers were nearly unanimous in recognizing these gnostic scrolls as fraudulent forgeries that espouse false doctrines about jesus christ. Gnosticism used a number of religious texts that are preserved, in part or whole, in ancient.
This too is the vision of the gnosis, the arabic meaning of algebraic is. Online shopping for gnosticism theology from a great selection at books store. Gwatkin, is christianity perverted by learning and speculation early church history 73. Glorian publishing is a nonprofit 501 c3 organization that was started in 1999 in order to bring the books of samael aun weor to english language readers. Gnostics believed that the story of creation found in the bible was a lie and that god wasnt actually the one responsible for the creation of our world, at least not directly. But it is not imperfect because of us and the other creations. Secret knowledge among gnostics would mean something moreit would not only be a deeper insight into the mystery of the names, but also would be a direct and personal experience of the divine illumination or enlightenment they symbolize.
Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The 66 books that in the bible today do not in any way reference any of the gnostic books nor the apocrypha. First, although pagels, like jung, has shown the gnostics in a positive psychological light, the gnostic outlook is just as much theological and cosmological as it is psychological. A vast collection of materials and audio lectures dealing with gnosis and gnosticism, both ancient and modern. There are two basic components to beliefs commonly labeled as gnostic, although the importance of one over the other can vary immensely. A final myth about gnosticism is that it was prosex and that traditional christianity was antisex.
The gnostic store provides worldwide access to the publications of glorian publishing, a nonprofit organization. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The clue to the understanding of gnosticism is given in the word from which it is derivedgnosis, knowledge. Gnostics and other heretics early documents suggest the first christian communities had radically different interpretations of the meaning of jesus life and teachings. The intellectual pride of the gnostics refined away the gospel into a philosophy. In other words, gnostics celebrated sexuality and traditional christians were puritanical prudes. The site includes the gnostic society library with the complete nag hammadi library, and a large collection of other primary gnostic scriptures and documents. A landmark work of scholarship and literary translation, the gnostic bible presents the most significant and beautiful sacred texts of gnostic mysticism. The book of enoch pdf1015 kb smaller edition less intro etc. Its influence extended from the middle ages to the sufis, carl jung, rudolf steiner, and the rosicrucians and freemasons. You know, the list of acceptable books, the list of acceptable teachings, the rituals.
After the first century of christianity, two primary divisions developed the orthodox and the gnostics. The marginalization of teaching social scientific studies has relegated amazing growth of your selfcontrol and chided the willpower with the inappropriate integration, propagation and training of scholars. Lets first start by getting our nomenclature right. Hoeller and the gnostic gospels by elaine pagels probably the best to begin with. Late latin gnosticus, from greek gnostikos of knowledge, from gignoskein. Early christian church fathers such as origen, tertullian, justin martyr and eusebius of caesarea condemned gnostic teachers and beliefs as heretical. At that time, the only books in english were made on copy machines, were terribly expensive, and most of the translations were filled with errors, omissions, and confusion. Gnosticism encompasses a very wide range of beliefs and is better viewed as a collection of religions sharing some common themes rather than as one specific religion. We gnostics love our books, and here are some of our favorites. The story of the storytellers gnostics and other heretics from. This also work aptly plumbs the chronicles of the gnostic heresy, yet with more depth than holroyd like dealing with the mad gnosis of philip k. Lacarriere nicely conveys the alienated horror the ancient gnostics felt for the world around them.
Recommended gnostic books for the 21st century heretic. Christ was the divine redeemer who descended from the spiritual realm to reveal the knowledge necessary for this redemption. Your purchases fund the publication of additional books. The nag hammadi library, a collection of thirteen ancient books called codices containing over fifty texts, was discovered in upper egypt in 1945. The gnostics were religious thinkers who believed that salvation is found through mystical knowledge and personal religious experience. The apostolic christians accepted as divinely inspired the books we now have in the bible. The gnostic handbook page 6 of the real nature of the equation, to find the essential form through the many shards or forms.
The queen of sheba and her only son menyelek pdf 841 kb w. Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early christian and nonchristian thought. Bentley layton, the gnostic scriptures garden city, ny. From the gnostic gospels by elaine pagels vintage books, new york. The gnostic handbook page 7 but it is perhaps desirable to state unequivocally that the teachings here, however, fragmentary and incomplete belong neither to the hindus, the zoroastrian, the chaldean, nor the egyptian religion, nor to buddhism, islam, judaism or christianity exclusively. Is there a complete list of the gnostic books that were. Five myths about the ancient heresy of gnosticism canon. The physical world is imperfect numerous religions sustain the same thing. It is through inner and secret knowledge as defined by gnosticism that a truthseeker actually becomes a.
Walk into any large bookstore and you will discover a few shelves of books. Many schools of metaphysics, the occult, mystical teachings, and even fraternal organizations and secret societies have. New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing quest books, 2002 buy the book there has long been need for a comprehensive introductory guide to the gnostic tradition. A comprehensive bibliography and reading list on the subject of gnosis and gnosticism, both ancient and modern. Gnosticism definition and meaning bible dictionary. Lawrences intuitive recreation of the vanished etruscans. While some gnostics were quite sexually licentious as noted above with marcus, a large strain of the. The story of the storytellers the gnostic gospels pbs. Subscribe to the talk gnosis after dark podcast for even more on this subject. The orthodox christians held to books we now have in the bible and to what is today considered orthodox theology. T he gospel of thomas pdf 155 kb translated by conybeare. This book is a lyrical meditation on ancient gnosticism as the betrayal of the physical cosmos. Scholar elaine pagels explores these documents and their implications. The gnostic gospels by elaine pagels, the nag hammadi library by anonymous, the gnostic bible by willis barnstone, the gnost.