A provocative study of the gnostic gospels and the world of early Christianity as revealed through the Nag Hammadi texts.

As discussed in The Da Vinci Code... Long buried and suppressed, the Gnostic Gospels contain the secret writings attributed to the followers of Jesus. In 1945 fifty-two papyrus texts, including gospels and other secret documents, were found concealed in an earthenware jar buried in the Egyptian desert. These so-called Gnostic writings were Coptic translations from the original Greek dating from the time of the New Testament. The material they embodied - poems, quasi-philosophical descriptions of the origins of the universe, myths, magic and instructions for mystic practice - were later declared heretical, as they offered a powerful alternative to the Orthodox Christian tradition. In a book that is as exciting as it is scholarly, Elaine Pagels examines these texts and the questions they pose and shows why Gnosticism was eventually stamped out by the increasingly organised and institutionalised Orthodox Church.

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.

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."

Among the Gospels of the early Christian Church stands a document so provocative that it was banned by the Church and kept out of the orthodox Bible. The Gospel of Thomas contains "secret sayings of the living Jesus" that the politically organized church tried desperately to destroy. The question is: why? Insights from the Secret Teachings of Jesus gives us a powerful clue, and provides guidance in understanding this beautiful and wonderful collection of Jesus' teachings. The book reaches inside the reader and awakens a slumbering spirit. It is like listening to Jesus speak, and in hearing, one comes to understand why his teachings alarmed the ordinary, and enlivened those who longed for a deeper reality.

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.

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.

The discovery of Judas's Gospel has caused great controversy among biblical scholars, and in this detailed work, two experts of the Gnostic gospels approach many questions resulting from this important find. "How could a Christian imagine that Judas, the traitor, was Jesus's favorite?" "Why is the author of this gospel full of anger towards the other disciples?" "What vision of God does the author offer?" The answers to these questions introduce Christianity's vibrant and tumultuous beginnings and approach themes as polemic as the nature of God, the meaning of Jesus's death, and the suffering of the martyrs--questions that are of as much interest today as they were 19 centuries earlier. "El descubrimiento del Evangelio de Judas ha suscitado una gran controversia entre los eruditos biblicos, y en esta obra detallada, dos expertas en los evangelios gnosticos abordan muchos interrogantes planteados por este importante hallazgo. "Como podria un cristiano imaginar que Judas, el traidor, fue el favorito de Jesus? Por que el autor de este evangelio esta lleno de rabia hacia los otros discipulos? Que vision de Dios ofrece el autor?" Las respuestas a estas preguntas introducen los vibrantes y tumultuosos inicios de la cristiandad y abordan temas tan polemicos como la naturaleza de Dios, el significado de la muerte de Jesus y el sufrimiento de los martires--cuestiones de un enorme interes tanto hoy como 19 siglos atras."