Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Well the reviewer from Boise was not even reviewing the book but using this as a forum to preach his politics, so I think that "review" should be removed by Amazon. I'm not sure they are enforcing their stated review guidelines in this case because I can't see how this would be acceptable since it is filled with "spiteful remarks" which they claim will not be posted.
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Summary: Minds are like parachutes, they only work when open...
Review: This book opens a door to the possibilities. Of God as a celebration of both male and female aspects. Of Jesus, living and loving as a human male. Of Judas Thomas, Jesus's twin brother. Of Mary Magdaline and her role within the disciples as a both a spiritual leader and a chief advisor to Jesus. Of how the current version of christianity was influenced by ancient politically-motivated selections of the "truth" and how different christianity may have been if all the gospels and codex were included. This was a very readable book. The material was well-researched and sensitively presented.Like several others who have commented on the review given by the person from Boise, I must say that his attitude is definitely NOT representative of any of my friends, family and associates in the USA. I find this person's position...based in compassionless hatred...to be extremely violent, vulgar, deplorable and repugnant. His one-sided egregious rhetoric shows a definitive lack of respect and tolerance for other people, other cultures and other viewpoints. My version of the bible states: "And God so loved the WORLD...". The "WORLD", not just "Idaho" or the "United States". I pray God opens his mind.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading, superb writing
Review: I had to review this book, mainly because of the review by the person from Boise. Clearly, this person is seriously ill, deluded and very, very angry - this person is truly frightening. It's from minds like that that events like September 11 occur - evil in it's most evil form - this person hates and hates. I hope to God that this person will find compassion and grace and love. God is about miracles and hope - this book opens us up to understanding the dualities of life and I pray that hate will be replaced with love, evil with good, and judgement with compassion.
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Summary: Looking Forward To Reading This
Review: I am a Christian and am looking forward to reading this book. Having perused the Gnostic gospels online, I am glad that there seems to be a well-written, intelligently thought out approach to these documents. There are many questions unanswered about the early days of Christianity, and knowing how this world is nothing an evolving work in progress, I'm interested to see how how modern-day Christianity evolved from its roots. The "gentleman" from Idaho clearly shows why that particular state has developed an image problem, and he makes me ashamed to be an American. For those overseas readers, please do not think we're all like that - this person is entitled to spew his ignorant venom thanks to the rights given everyone in our Consititution, but thankfully his views are in the smallest minority. Anywhow, getting back to the reveiw, I'm certainly open-minded enough to be fascinated by the subject matter of this book and the possibilities of further enlightenment and spiritual growth.
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Summary: What is this reviewer from Boise talking about?
Review: Sorry, I have this book and I enjoyed reading it with an open mind. I just wanted to react to this reviewer from Boise who obviously spilled his brains somwhere on his way to the loo. What is he talking about?
Rating:
Summary: Anticipating a Great Read
Review: While most of these reviews were extremely helpful, there was one that highly entertaining. It made up my mind for me and I will be ordering not only one copy of The Gnostic Gospels, but many to hand out to my friends. E. Pagel is an educated and enlighted woman whom I hope never runs into her ignorant critic in Idaho. I certainly hope I don't!! This world is filled with enough hate, and I just feel sorry for the people who choose not to make our stay here better for all humanity. Sounds cheesy, I know, but I believe that leaving our world a kinder, more peaceful place than how we found it is why we're here. And honestly, I can't believe I'm even responding, but I think it's worth it.
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Summary: Unbiased look at both Christianity and Gnosticism
Review: In the recent hypes where gnostic gospel is declared to be the true account of Jesus and a victim of Christian oppression, this book really opens the eyes of the intellectually blind.
The author carefully investigates the political struggle and historical background that were essential in laying out the foundation for the birth of gnosticism and its struggle with Christianity. The author carefully examines both gnosticism and Christianiy with a neutral objective of seeking the truth. And although she does not say right out that Gnostic Gospels are bunch of conspiracies and mythological crap, excuse me for saying this, she does give them some credit in historical and literary aspects.
All in all, this book is a must-read for those who are blind enough to be believe in the biggest hoax ever: gnosticism. And you would soon throw out DaVinci's Code into the gutter.
Rating:
Summary: In Defense of a Book Unfairly Criticised
Review: I read this book a few years ago, and cannot understand why so many orthodox Christians find it offensive. I say this as an orthodox Catholic fully committed to upholding the teachings, moral and doctrinal, of the Catholic Church. (I even have a special affinity for the Tridentine [Traditional Latin] Mass!) It's obvious the Pagels's sympathies lie with the Gnostic heretics, and she makes no attempt to hide it. For this, she deserves to be commended, rather than scorned. Our beliefs and our worldview to cloud our analysis and study, and to pretend that this isn't true is probably the worst bias one can have of himself! Pagels is very fair in her presentation of the facts. She doesn't over-romanticize or generalize the doctrines of the Gnostics. She makes no secret of the fact that their beliefs were inconsistent, and pretty much varies from Gnostic to Gnostic. Nor does she make an explicit claim that Gnostic teachings derive from those of the APosltes, or even Jesus himself. Quite honestly, I cannot see where this book deserves the scorn it is often given in "conservative" literature. Pagels has to be duly credited for her efforts to introduce the beliefs of the Gnsotics to a popular audience, making these understandable and even readable. I can reccomend no other book for an objective overview of the Gnostics' beliefs, as compared with those of Catholic Christianity. As an added bonus, non-Catholic Christians of an orthodox persuasion will understand, and maybe even appreciate, the debt they owe to Cathlic Christianity's preservation and presentation of the true faith through centuries of doctrinal formulation and confusion. To understand the early Church, I wouldn't reccomend this book by itself, but in conjunction with others. Two of the most readable surveys I know of are Mike Aquilina's "The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers" and "The Mass of the Early Christians." I haven't read Pagels' follow-up to this book, "Beyond Belief." I understand that book is more of a spiritual memoir than a scholarly presentation, so it might be more subjective, and less worthy of serious consideration. Still, the merits of "The Gnostic Gospels" should not be judged by those of her later work.
Rating:
Summary: The Losers' Side of the Story
Review: The Gnostic Gospels which were discovered in Egypt in 1945 show us the variety of gospels circulated among early adherents during the first few centuries after Christ. In describing the effects of these gospels on the development of Christianity Elaine Pagels is able to make a complex subject seem quite understandable. We always knew that the orthodox believers frequently denounced gnostic ideas. The discovery of the gnostic texts has revealed how gnosticism defended itself and in turn attacked orthodox beliefs. The orthodox position was that the generations of Christians who lived after the time of the apostles could not possibly have the same access to Christ as the apostles did during Christ's lifetime on earth. Therefore these later Christians would have to look to the church and its bishops for teaching and leadership. The gnostic attitude was that access to God was available to any believer and some church elders themselves may not yet have had this same God experience. Many gnostics believed that all who had received this gnosis had transcended the authority of the church's hierarchy. People received gnosis when they came into contact with the living Christ. In the orthodox view God was described as being definitely masculine while gnostics often referred to God in both masculine and feminine terms. The orthodox idea of God supported the custom of awarding the highest roles of church leadership to males. Gnostics tended to make a distinction between mature believers who acquired the spiritual gifts of healing, prophecy and gnosis and those followers who did not yet have these attributes. The orthodox communities emphasized mostly the divide between clergy and laity. Gnostic teaching put great stress on the discovery of the divine within oneself while the orthodox position stressed finding Jesus only through the church. The main benefit I have received from reading THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS has been a greater appreciation of the early development of Christianity. I was able to see for the first time the other side of the story - a view of the contentious debate among early Christians from the losing side. As for the winning side, it had never occurred to me before reading Pagels' book that the structure of the Roman Catholic church was based on an organizational model of the Roman army.
Rating:
Summary: author understands Christian politics
Review: The author's argument that Christian orthodoxy grew out of the political considerations of the day, and served to legitimize early church leadership is well-made. The book confirmed what I suspected, that a "gnostic" religion (i.e. one based on knowledge of the self) could never survive against one that was based largely on politics and easily distillable bromides for the masses. The situation is no different today. Successful religions are still based on establishing power (real or imagined) over the followers and discouraging independent thought.
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