The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus offers fresh English translations of some of the earliest and most reliable texts that shed light on the Christian messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. The astounding discovery sixty years ago by an Egyptian camel driver of a jar filled with ancient papyrus manuscripts, known collectively as the Nag Hammadi library, was one of the archaeological finds of the century. These fragments at Nag Hammadi, painstakingly restored and translated, reveal a fascinating alternative perspective on Jesus and the beliefs of many of his earliest followers.

"Gnosticism," a term alluding to a special mystical knowledge, designates a series of religious movements that have existed since ancient times. In The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus, a foremost scholar of gnosticism and Christian origins has selected and translated gnostic gospels and related texts from the Nag Hammadi scriptures, plus a handful of texts from other sources such as the Berlin Gnostic Codex. The struggle to publish these manuscripts has at times felt like an ancient story of Egyptian magic — filled with curses and drama. But here they are at long last, in elegant English translations with helpful introductory essays and extensive notes that provide what the reader needs to know to understand these secret texts.

Here are several gospels of Jesus's life that never made it into the modern Christian Bible, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Truth, and the Egyptian Gospel, as well as related texts on Jesus including the Secret Book of John, the Secret Book of James, the Book of Thomas, the Dialogue of the Savior, the Second Word of Great Seth, the Book of Baruch, and the Round Dance of the Cross. A treasury of lost and esoteric wisdom, The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus portrays Jesus as the ultimate teacher of wisdom, a Jewish master who continues to challenge readers with a message of enlightenment and liberation.

For all those readers curious to read the actual texts of the Gnostic Gospels, here is the definitive collection of all the Gnostic Gospels and Gospel-like texts.

o  Marvin Meyer, premier scholar of Gnostic and other Christian literature outside the New Testament, presents every Gnostic Gospel and Jesus text with a brilliant overall introduction, introductions to each text, and notes that explain everything the reader needs to know to understand the text. He includes his latest translations of not only the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Mary, but other texts such as the Secret Book of John, which some scholars regard as the second part of the New Testament Gospel of John. The material is largely from the discovery at Nag Hammadi, freshly translated and introduced, but also includes texts found elsewhere. The texts, especially taken together, present an image of Jesus as the ultimate wisdom teacher, a kind of mysterious Jewish Zen master, who scandalized listeners by his radical egalitarianism (regarding women, slaves, the poor, the marginalized as of equal status, or more, with establishment male believers) and his insistence on living the message, spiritual experience, vs. outer observance only.

o For those wanting to learn more after reading The Da Vinci Code. This book provides the definitive next book for those looking for expert presentation of the alternative Gnostic stream of Christianity, in which there is no talk of crucifixion and Mary Magdalene is presented as the disciple that Jesus loved best. Marv is one of the original secret gospels scholars who has done an enormous amount of work to bring these texts to light. All of his research onthe Nag Hammadi texts is having an incredible impact on our knowledge of early Christian history--it is virtually redefining it. --Dr. Elaine Pagels, Princeton University

 

 

For all those readers curious to read the actual texts of the Gnostic Gospels, here is the definitive collection of all the Gnostic Gospels and Gospel–like texts.

o Marvin Meyer, premier scholar of Gnostic and other Christian literature outside the New Testament, presents every Gnostic Gospel and Jesus text with a brilliant overall introduction, introductions to each text, and notes that explain everything the reader needs to know to understand the text. He includes his latest translations of not only the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Mary, but other texts such as the Secret Book of John, which some scholars regard as the second part of the New Testament Gospel of John. The material is largely from the discovery at Nag Hammadi, freshly translated and introduced, but also includes texts found elsewhere. The texts, especially taken together, present an image of Jesus as the ultimate wisdom teacher, a kind of mysterious Jewish Zen master, who scandalized listeners by his radical egalitarianism (regarding women, slaves, the poor, the marginalized as of equal status, or more, with establishment male believers) and his insistence on living the message, spiritual experience, vs. outer observance only.

o For those wanting to learn more after reading The Da Vinci Code. This book provides the definitive next book for those looking for expert presentation of the alternative Gnostic stream of Christianity, in which there is no talk of crucifixion and Mary Magdalene is presented as the disciple that Jesus loved best. "Marv is one of the original secret gospels scholars who has done an enormous amount of work to bring these texts to light. All of his research on the Nag Hammadi texts is having an incredible impact on our knowledge of early Christian history––it is virtually redefining it." ––Dr. Elaine Pagels, Princeton University

Marvin Meyer is one of the foremost scholars on early Christianity and texts about Jesus outside the New Testament. He is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. Among his recent books are The Gospel of Judas, The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus, The Gospels of Mary, The Gospel of Thomas, and The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.