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jenniferstringer's review against another edition
3.0
Once I got over the Osama Bin Laden look-alike on the cover, I was able to get into this book. The title of the book is "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas" and that is my biggest beef with the book. Hardly any of it was about Thomas. She did explain the difference between gnostic and traditional study. Of course, like the gospels, the book of Thomas wasn't written by Thomas, but by his students decades later. In reading this book, I saw for the first time how things weren't so black and white. There were a lot of folks claiming to be Christian and profiting from the title - so there came a need to find some "universal" or catholic principles that all Christians could agree on. The dispute was primarily one of belief vs. knowledge and I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with aspects of both. It was intersting to read how the Jesus-is-God idea crept into thought, and how spiritual inspiration was discredited and eventually banned as herectical. It's easy to understand how so many seminary students find themselves loosing their faith when discover the history of how the Bible was put together.For me,when Love speaks to your heart, the history matters litte.
anotherpath's review against another edition
4.0
Pagels' examination of the juxtapositions of the Gospel of John and the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas which was hidden from the world for nearly two thousand years is brilliant. Thomas Christianity, the idea that Jesus was a human example of the path to God that we can actually emulate isn't really a thing, because John's Gospel (almost definitely written after the Gospel of Thomas) was used to elevate Jesus from prophet to Son of God. Irenaeus used this to wrestle out the first smatterings of 'Catholic Orthodoxy', which was later used by Constantine's Nicene Council to create the actual Bible as we received it. Later translations would reinforce this elevation of Christ in language, and disappear the contextual differences in how he was perceived by his followers immediately following his life.
It's interesting to note that a few men directed the course of Christianity and humanity for centuries. Pagels shows you why so much of your indoctrination as a child uses verses from John like 1:1 and 3:16. Without that elevation of Christ, their entire idea of God and theology falls apart.
I'm not casting stones. It's just fascinating.
It's interesting to note that a few men directed the course of Christianity and humanity for centuries. Pagels shows you why so much of your indoctrination as a child uses verses from John like 1:1 and 3:16. Without that elevation of Christ, their entire idea of God and theology falls apart.
I'm not casting stones. It's just fascinating.
joeybiscuit's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
archivaltendencies's review
1.0
Great idea, but very poor scholarship. Bart Ehrman's early work on Gnosticism makes a similar argument but with a solid exegetical backbone.
booksrockcal's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I read this book for our EfM book club. Many of the books chosen are theological and dry- not this one. Pagels has written a highly readable and extremely interesting exploration of texts of the Bible and the history of the early Christian Church. She discusses the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of John, the former focusing on Jesus as a personal savior and the source of a light within each person while John focuses on the transcendent and triune Jesus. Pagels explores the differing approaches to interpreting Jesus and his life and teachings and discusses how the version of Christianity contained in the four gospels and then the Nicene Creed came to predominate. This is a very interesting read that will inspire me to read more in this topic or to return to Dermot Mcculloch’s magnum opus in the history of Christianity.
jrobinw's review against another edition
3.0
This was an excellent history of how our scriptures were compiled. In truth, I only give it 3 stars because the title was a misdirect for me. Had hoped the book focused on Thomas.
bookpossum's review
3.0
This was interesting, though I was disappointed that it was not more about the Gospel of Thomas specifically, as the title indicated, but was more generally about the strife within the early Christian church/es as to which "version" should prevail.
saradriediger's review
4.0
The entire book set the stage for a powerful final 4 pages. Great book and I learned a lot.