Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (Vintage)

BEYOND BELIEF provides the reader with an excellent insight into the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas. This Gospel of Thomas has been characterised in the Gnostic literature as one of the most important to shed new light on Christianity, and, particularly, the life of Jesus as portrayed in the four Gospels in the Bible's New Testament.

Great read

Still making up my mind but certainly gets you thinking.

This is a a clearly written, scholarly little book that is very interesting if you are a religious student. I bought the CD too. I will be reading more from Elaine Pagels.

This is another groundbreaking work from Elaine Pagels. Depth, meaning and mystery are all seamlessly rolled together in this academic yet spiritually enlightening tour de force.

I bought the Book of Judas as well, and the author needs to re-read what is written in her name - reflect on what is written and not to influence people

This is a very fine historical account of the background to this controversial gospel, but there is no real attempt to highlight and discuss the amazingly different account of Jesus's sayings, such as: "Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple, and whoever does not hate brothers and sisters, and carry the cross as I do, will not be worthy of me." Maybe to hold such a statement up to analysis was beyond the purpose of this book, but it certainly flies in the face of the traditional idea of Jesus as a proponent of love towards all, and I would have loved to "hear" how that could be reconciled to the usual view of the peace-loving Jesus!

This is a very readable book, accessible to the general reader, yet has a sound academic foundation. A good read

May be a wonderful book but the publication is a mess - paragraphs skipped, letters missing, entire sentences running into completely different sentences.

With "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas", Pagels returns after more than two decades of research and teaching - and the publication of three extraordinarily popular books distilling her insights - to the subject that first enlivened her interests as a graduate student at Harvard and then as young author and professor of religion: the vital voice of Gnosticism suppressed during the formation of Christian orthodoxy. She brings with her to this reconsideration the power of a mature, authoritative and very personal voice. The general content of Pagels book is well summarized elsewhere. What I would here add is a perception that Pagels tells much more in "Beyond Belief" than the lively story of the conflict between Irenaeus and the Valentinians, or of the textual formation of the Gospel of John in relation to the Gospel of Thomas (though, of course, she does both jobs brilliantly). Scholarly publications seldom interject a "personal voice" - and heretofore Pagels has properly avoided its use. However, as a reader - and after over twenty years of following Pagels' work, attending her lectures, and knowing a little about the tragedies that have touched her life - I found myself curiously ready to hear about her own personal journey with Christianity. Apparently she too sensed the time to speak had come. "Beyond Belief" interweaves ancient history with the quietly compelling tale of a modern scholar's quest to understand her heritage. It leads by careful and well-reasoned steps back through history, to an interior spiritual tradition within Christianity forgotten by the world - a tradition reviled as heresy, and excised from what became orthodox creedal faith. As most readers will perceive, Pagels' heart is keenly attuned to that forgotten Christianity. When "The Gnostic Gospels" was first published, The New York Times somewhat nefariously assigned Raymond Brown, a prominent New Testament scholar and Roman Catholic priest, to write the review. Brown's review, as Pagels amusingly summarizes it in her current work, went something like this (in speaking of her beloved Gnostic texts): "What orthodox Christians rejected was only `the rubbish of the second century' - and, he added, `it's still rubbish.'" Much has changed in the landscape of Christian scholarship over the last two decades. To review "Beyond Belief", this time The New York Times called upon Sir Frank Kermode, perhaps our most distinguished living critic of humane arts. This choice alone speaks a signal change - the subtle realization that the focus of Elaine Pagels writing is not simply history or theology or dogma, but instead, the ageless quest of the human spirit to understand itself. This uniquely humane book will stand as a landmark in our own age's growing understanding of that lost spirit within the legacy of Christianity. (For those wishing a broader general introduction to Gnostic studies - and after reading Beyond Belief many people will- I highly recommend Stephan A. Hoeller's recently published book, "Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing". It makes excellent companion reading to Pagels' fine new work. The subtitle of Pagel's book, "The Secret Gospel of Thomas" is also somewhat misleading. This is not a commentary on Thomas, but an examination of the history and fate of the tradition that cherished the Gospel of Thomas. For an introduction and excellent translation of the Thomas gospel, see "The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age" by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson.)

Cet ouvrage présente l'évangile de Thomas dans le contexte du christianisme primitif. Il est écrit dans un style facilement compréhensible tout en offrant aussi une grande richesse d'informations académiques (une riche bibliographie) pour le lecteur qui désire poursuivre une recherche plus approfondie. Elaine Pagels partage des éléments biographiques qui nous permettent de mieux comprendre ce qui a motivé ses recherches ou encore dans quelle perspective elle les fait. Ce qui donne une profondeur inattendue à son livre. Il est écrit avec le cœur. Comment s'articulent, se complètent ou s'opposent croyances et foi, d'une part et, d'autre part, expériences spirituelles personnelles, Intuitions, fruits d'une pratique spirituelle, etc. Tout au début du christianisme, il y a eu non pas, comme on l'a cru longtemps, un tronc homogène qui se serait diversifié par la suite. C'est tout le contraire ! On constate une floraison énorme de mouvements divers, de doctrines, d'idées et de pratiques. Mais, à partir du IIème siècle, sous l'impulsion d'Irénée de Lyon, on a voulu mettre de l'ordre dans ce foisonnement afin d'avoir une foi, un système de croyance unique et une église elle-même unique qui se voulait universelle. L'unification s'est faite lentement, en deux ou trois siècles mais sûrement. Ceux que les orthodoxes—littéralement qui pensent droit—ont appelés hérétiques—littéralement choisissent—ont été chassés et excommuniés, tout comme les documents, les papyrus, les écris non conformes à la doctrine proéminente détruits. Pourtant, un grand nombre de ces documents, dont le contenu est parfois peu ou très différent de l'orthodoxie ont été providentiellement retrouvés à Nag Hammadi en Egypte. C'est dans l'esprit de ces découvertes qu'Elaine Pagels retrace l'histoire des origines du christianisme dans une perspective élargie. Du même auteur Il vaut la peine de lire aussi Les Évangiles secrets, ouvrage qui a l'avantage d'être traduit en français.

DO LIVRO: A autora aborda um tema bastante sensível para os cristãos de todo o mundo. Todavia, seus estudos são embasados por estudos de outros grandes autores. Faz-nos pensar um pouco mais criticamente como foi construído o conhecimento atual em torno da estrutura atual dessa crença que ocupa a vida de pouco mais de 1/3 da população mundial. DA AMAZON: O envio do livro durou mais de dois meses. Muito triste fazer a venda de um produto que não há disponível em estoque.

What a fantastic and knowledgeable writer. So easy to read and so well written, could not put the book down, full of pertinent history/infos.