The gnostic bible: revised and expanded edition - willis barnstone

This expanded edition of The Gnostic Bible includes the Gospel of Judas--the recently discovered and translated gnostic text--in its most accessible translation yet.

Also included are such important and topical texts as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and the Gospel of Thomas.

A collection of Gnostic texts spanning centuries, geographical locations, and cultural traditions--a wonderful achievement (Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels ) Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium CE--with earlier antecedents and later flourishings--whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience.

Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early Christian and non-Christian thought.

For example, some gnostic texts suggest that god should be celebrated as both mother and father, and that self-knowledge is the supreme path to the divine.

Only in the past fifty years has it become clear how far the gnostic influence spread in ancient and medieval religions--and what a marvelous body of scriptures it produced.

The selections gathered here in poetic, readable translation represent Jewish, Christian, Hermetic, Mandaean, Manichaean, Islamic, and Cathar expressions of gnostic spirituality.

Their regions of origin include Egypt, the Greco-Roman world, the Middle East, Syria, Iraq, China, and France.

Also included are introductions, notes, an extensive glossary, and a wealth of suggestions for further reading.