The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: A Study of Gnostic Scriptures and Early Christian Thought

Contrary to the sensationalism that many people love and want to buy into, these "gospels" are not lost. They are not gospels or inspired to begin with, even if they are named after known biblical characters, and you can tell when you start reading them and then comparing them to the actual gospels that are inspired (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). These are 2nd - 3rd century documents were fabricated as gospels by a heretical sect called the gnostics, who believed that God did not create the universe but that it was a demiurge who did, and that there was hidden knowledge that needed to be understood to gain enlightenment unto salvation. They also believed that the physical was evil and the spiritual was good, contrary to God's account of creation in Genesis when He called everything "good" (see Colossians 2:16-22 also). To try and validate their beliefs, they named their false gospels after known apostles and biblical characters. The Gospel of Thomas, for example, portrays Jesus as a speaker of secret sayings, and it teaches that we need to discover the hidden meaning of His words and "finding the light within". There is no focus on His death and resurrection, or any mention at all. Also, in 114, the Gospel of Thomas claims that Jesus said to Mary Magdalene that she had to become a male to enter the kingdom of Heaven. In gnosticism, it was believed that males symbolised fullness in spirituality while females symbolised materialism. This is a big problem. Again, no mention of God’s love through Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins. Furthermore, the tone of Jesus makes Him sound like a much different person in these gnostic texts, and they fall in comparison to the original gospels as historical accounts of Jesus' life. The writing is sloppy; the sequence between the texts is poor, and it is just easy to tell they are not historical narratives. Oddly, reading them strengthened my faith, not because there is any inherent good or divine inspiration behind them, but because of how easy it was to notice why they aren't included in scripture, especially after seeing so many sensationalist content claiming that they're lost books from the Bible. Truly, only the four synoptic gospels are inspired and faithful accounts of our Saviour's life. However, this book is excellent for studying those documents. If you want to understand them and complete a collection you've started, I highly recommend it.

Contained in the fragments of this book is the explanation of Life, the human race, our place in existence and our creator. Its supremely difficult to comprehend but It answered every question i have ever had about the human race, our origins, our end, our religions, philosophy, death, life and why we exist and what will become of us when we die. Its incredibly deep in places, even for a philosopher or scholar. Its certainly not a simple read and i had to stop reading to reflect on many sentences and think deeply on their meaning before i could proceed to the next sentence or paragraph. Its probably way beyond most people to even begin to comprehend a fraction of it. Any question i ever had about the concept or reality of what we call God is answered in the lines of these scriptures. I also felt after reading and studying The Bible and The Quran in depth that we truly already have all the answers to anything we wish to know, all the keys to happiness and ultimate knowledge but like these Nag Hammadi scriptures the ultimate truth has been hidden from us in a cave for centuries and not become a freely available part of our lives. It has been hidden, obscured and changed to suit the purposes of Rulers and Kings for centuries. For example; the Book of Esther is in The Bible but not one of the Nag Hammadi scriptures is. The question is.....why?

Nice looking book, arrived in perfect condition. It will be an interesting read...

A mixed bag. Some good stuff. No as heretical as some seem to think. Atheists will always find "evidence" to undermine the truth but generally it's a confirmation of The Good News in my view.

Very enlightening read, a piece of history that escaped being erased. Sensational read and a beautiful quality book.

I found this book excellent in the insight it gives us into all the books that didn't make it into the Bible. There is a lot of good cross-referencing with the appropriate Bible texts and helpful introductions to each of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures. I would suggest that it is required reading for anyone, particularly Theology students of any faith not just Christian, who wishes to know more about the whole story of Christ, and particularly about the significance of Mary of Magdala. The book is quite difficult to tackle but well worth while for those with an open mind and imagination to other points of view rather than simply those we are offered in the New Testament. Actually as a Catholic it has deepened my faith and I hope this will happen for others too.

If you're into this kind of stuff at all, then it's a must read.

Quem quer conhecer mais a fundo o gnosticismo tem que ler esse livro.

Fantastic

The book is very interesting but, unfortunately, the print is small and will strain your eyes after a while.

Great! Love it and the understanding you get. Beautifully worth it!

There is a wealth of knowledge in these gospels that should have been in the Bible. I absolutely adore this book