Rating: 
Summary: Good History, Questionable Spirituality
Review: There is no doubt that the Nag Hammadi library is one of the major historical finds of the twentieth century, and I think that anybody who has an interest in the history of Christianity should give the book a serious read. It is well done from the scholarly point of view, and it provides us with a wealth of material on the Gnostic sects that inhabited Egypt in early Christian times.It worries me, however, how many people are willing to pick up the ideas expressed in these scriptures and run with them. This book has a little bit of something for everybody that is into alternative Christian spirituality. For the feminist, there is Sophia and Mary Magdalene. For the seekers of magick, there are spells and incantations. For those that would argue the case of Christ's marriage and progeny, there are tantalizing clues. Two things bother me about this. First of all, despite all the material that we have, I think that we still know very little about what the ancient gnostics really thought, and this book, consciously or not, encourages us to find whatever we want in their system of belief. Secondly, it never fails to amaze me how many people are dissatisfied with Christianity as a system of thought, and yet rather than turning to alternatives they prefer to try to turn Christianity into something else. Please don't mistake me for an apologist for mainstream Christianity - far from it! But I believe that for better or worse it is more or less a closed system, and it is futile to attempt to turn it into a system of belief that accepts the idea of a "secret" knowledge, just the same as I believe that the widespread attempt to make Christianity more gender neutral is a project doomed to failure in anything but a superficial sense. To sum up, this book is an excellent scholarly resource, but it doesn't stand up as an alternative bible, no matter how much anybody may try to make it one.
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