Rating: 
Summary: Which is the Truth?
Review: This book, a collection of gospels not used by any major Christian Church is interesting to read for an 'alternate' viewpoint on Christianity. But is it the truth?What is amazing is how many people read these books, and accept them, simply because they are alternate! It is amazing how easily people are led. There is really no logic to suppose that these are the truth, just because this collection was buried in the desert for over 1,000 years! (Though, other Gnostic books have been around). If I wrote a book giving a conflicting account of Jesus, I'd be able to sell it... just look at the sales of anti-Christian books such as "Losing Faith in Faith" (here at amazon.com). People seem to need to find something other than the truth... like the X-Files, because life itself doesn't seem wonderful enough.(!) If you believe that Jesus was not God, then you will accept these books as the truth. If you believe that there's something insidious in your own church, a conspiracy to keep you from 'the truth' then these books are for you. Are they inspired? They are certainly inspiring, but that is something again most people seem to confuse. And, what do they inspire? These books have not spawned any great revival of Christian faith. They have only sowed doubt in people's minds. What great works of art, music etc. have been inspired by these books? What person has stood up and said, "This is the truth", and said so, even as they've thrown him to the lions? Where are the Gnostic Churches? All you who read these books and feel that they are the truth, are you not compelled to live your life in the 'Gnostic' way? How then do you worship God? This is where you can guess whether these books have been inspired or not.
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Summary: A difficult book for beginners
Review: I'll admit that I'm a beginner in the study of Gnosis, and over estimated myself when I ordered this book. After reading snippets of it, like I would the bible, I realized that I was nearly in over my head. This book is confusing. Many others who I've spoken to have advised that one reads many books about the Nag Hammadi findings before they read the actual findings. They couldn't be closer to the truth. Besides the fact that it's confusing, it's a common Gnostic belief that you must learn from a teacher before learning on your own. On that note, despite how useful this book is. I'd advise anyone, at all interested in the subject matter, to first look for books by Elaine Pagels and Stephan Hoeller, first to get an idea of what you can expect to actually be reading.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent resource
Review: With all the discussion over the past few years of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hamadi Library has been too much neglected. I bought this book specifically for the non-canonical Gospels it contains, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary (Magdelene) etc. Frankly, the Gnostic thinkers don't interest me that much, but I was delighted to discover the much-mangled selection from Plato's Republic. Conventional wisdom has it that the early christians had no use for pagan philosophers, but here is evidence to the contrary.
An excellent source-book. Eugene S. Erdahl
Rating: 
Summary: A must have for the independent thinker!
Review: This book is always at my bedside. It has been since 1989. The book can be picked up for casual reading or it can be thoroughly studied. Deserted on a tropical island? What two books would I take?
THE NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
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Summary: *****Find the Original 1977 printing of this book*****
Review: I ordered my new edition copy 2 weeks back. While awaiting receipt I borrowed the 1977 printing from our local library. I rate the 1977 edition at full 5 stars. I expected the copy I ordered to be simply a paperback edition of the hardback version I had on loan. The new copy is revised. Introductions to each of the published tracts does make them clearer to follow. If you want the highest connection with Spirituality, as what must have truly been in the original texts, don't settle for anything less than the 1977 printing of this book. Word usages and phrase placements in the newer edition have drastically minimized the Spiritual impact and feeling of connection one receives from reading the 1977 translation text. It is as though the worms of "political correctness" have entered the minds of the translators, causing them to minimize the Actuality of the Spiritual Power and Powers which must have been truly experienced by the originators of these tracts in both the Coptic texts and in the native tongue of their authorship.
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Summary: Increase my faith!
Review: I have to confess that the strange movie "Stigmata" piqued my interest in these "unpublished" writings. I saw that movie and it made me think pretty hard about my faith, so I bought the book and stuffed it into my briefcase to read on the subway. I soon found that I couldn't do that -- the Holy Spirit speaking to me through these chapters made tears run like rivers down my face. My only complaint was that some of the chapters are missing a lot of text, (which leaves my mind hungering for what is missing) but the text you *do* read will blow you away. I was "born again" in 1994, and would have to say that this book inspired yet another epiphany. If your faith is lagging and you appreciate being challenged spiritually, this just might be the "kick in the pants" needed to re-open your eyes to the wonders of our Lord. I bought this book over a year before ago and even now am awed by it. If you are set in your ways and do not approach this book with an open mind, you will be a bit startled. Who could comprehend the chapter about all the elements that went into creating man in God's image? When I read the verses on man's creation, my first thought was "Wow, man was created by a committee! Who woulda thunk it!?" So that gives you an idea of what some of this book is about.
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Summary: REVELATIONS OF THE HEAVENLY PLEROMA
Review: This is an overwhelming body of work to digest - mercifully the explanatory introductions to each of the 45 chapters help a lot to make sense of it all. Just like the Dead Sea scrolls, these texts cast new light on the early years of the Christian era. Not all the books are strictly speaking Gnostic scriptures, as it even includes a part of Plato's "Republic." None of them refers to itself as "gnostic" and not all stand in the Christian tradition. There are text with strings of vowels and magic words/mantras that will make sense to New Agers, e.g. sound healing by stimulating the charkas. The excellent introduction by James M. Robinson discusses what is known about the history of the Gnostics, the background to the documents and their theological significance. The works that I find fascinating include The Gospels of Thomas and Philip, The Thunder: Perfect Mind, The Concept Of Our Great Power, Asclepius 21 - 29, The Three Steles of Seth, The Exegesis of the Soul, Zostrianos and The Apocalypse of Peter. Although there are different approaches and contradictions, I get the following main message from the Nag Hammadi texts: every individual must find the divine in themselves, in other words, the kingdom of heaven is within. The afterword by Richard Smith: The Modern Relevance of Gnosticism, is particularly relevant and readable as it traces Gnostic ideas through Edward Gibbon, the Enlightenment writers, William Blake, W.B. Yeats, Helena Blavatsky, Carl Jung, Herman Hesse, Nicholas Roeg's film The Man Who Fell To Earth, science fiction writers like Philip K. Dick and beat writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. This is a brilliant piece and I am inspired by the excerpt from Jung's "Abraxas" poem to further investigate the Jung connection. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but this volume has enormous significance and will continue to increase in stature in the following decades. It is moreover not only of importance to historians and theologians but to all spiritual people who seek to broaden their knowledge.
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Summary: The Bible Orthodox Christianity doesn't want you reading
Review: This is the best work I've purchased. The library is complete in only one edition and allows for a quick introduction to the world of Gnosis. If you study Chrisitanity this should be in your collection. One has to wonder after reading this what the Bible would have been like if it had been allowed to be truly universal. Many of the works quote a Jesus that is not the same as the traditional bible. The Sophia texts give an excellent taste of femininity to Christianity and allows for a home for Goddess within the teachings. The commentary before each work is scholarly and often allows for several readings from different perspectives. This is a book that can't be read only once, but requires reading and re-reading. Buy this book.
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Summary: DOCTRINES OF JESUS INCLUDE SOPHIA
Review: This book should be studied along with "The Other Bible",Harper & Row.These scrolls apparently not touched by human hands since the time of Jesus, are valuable and should be read by every Christian. With the scrolls giving us the book "Jesus The Man", by Barbara Thiering, one would need to recapture their faith with the Nag Hammadi Library and The Other Bible. The doctrines of the Essenes teach as much about Jerusalem Sophia as about Jesus, calling her the Logos, the Holy Spirit and Lord. In the book "Pistis Sophia, there are found writings of Jesus which explain the fall of Sophia to a material body to Earth, and how He rescued her. Teachings in the book "The Gnostic Paul", by Elaine Pagels, explain the difference between the "Physics, and "Pneumatics. This is a remarkable discovery that Paul, too, wrote gnosis scriptures in the Bible. Without these books studied along with the Nag Hammadi Library, it is impossible to determine what one should do in light of the discovery of these scrolls.
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Summary: Will make you think twice about your 'Bible'...
Review: This text, as already mentioned, is invaluable. If you have interest in early Christian thought, and I do not mean simply the "Church's" brand of thought, then you must read the writings of the Gnostic texts. Unfortunately, only a few have survived, and some are not even in full form. This certainly does not mean that the text is devoid of meaning or understanding. In truth, we must look at as much of the 'whole picture' as we possibly can. I applaud the many scholars that worked on this translation, and the many hands that fought so hard to make it public. The "Church" has suppressed so called 'heretical' knowledge for too long. May peace be with you today...
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