Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas | Elaine Pagels

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas | Elaine Pagels | A wonderful book!!!

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Beyond Belief: The...

	Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas Elaine Pagels Pan Books, 2005 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 173 reviews view larger image
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awesome

I loved this book. It reads fast, it's to the point, absolutely exciting! I liked "Gnostic Gospels" when I read it last year, but found it a struggle to get through. "Beyond Belief" just has a flair to it. Couldn't put the book down. Also, and most importantly, Ms. Pagels is fair as she presents "accepted Christianity" alongside "hidden Christianity." The entire Gospel of Thomas isn't included in this book. A quick internet search will get you the 100 odd lines of that. "Beyond Belief," rather, puts the G.O.P. (oops, I'm not taking about the Republicans) in its proper mosaic perspective among early and EVOLVING Christian thought. Great job, Ms. Pagels!!! I recommend this book to anyone interested in Christianity, on any level.

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A wonderful book!!!

This is a highly interesting book. I also recommend it to anyone looking for speculative "answers" about Christianity.

You may not agree with everything -- and that's certainly OK.

But take whatever you get from this book and then go research the possibilities!

Also recommended: "What Did Jesus Really Say, How Christianity Went Astray: [What To Say To A Born Again Christian Fundamentalist, But Never Had The Information]" by Peter Cayce

Seeking understanding

Elaine Pagels wrote the Secret Gospel of Thomas when she was seeking understanding of her son's illness, her life in the scope of the world, and her own christianity. From this perspective of a search for understanding, I found the book to be wonderful, although I didn't entirely agree with all of its premises.

In this book, Pagels examines the conflicting gospels of John and Thomas. In the gospel of John, Jesus is portrayed as exclusively divine and that the only way to god is via his representative on earth. John is where the 'I and a Thou' relationship with God comes from. In the gospel of Thomas, Jesus is portrayed as divine, but this divinity is a divinity accessible to all - a divinity that could be found in every human. The gospel of Thomas suggests that Jesus's message is that the kingdom of God is within. If you seek, you shall find.

Pagels translates from the 'Secret Book'. Parts of the translations suggest that God sent Adam, a helper, a creative, inventive consciousness which comes out of him, who is called Life, Eve, and she 'helps' the whole creation. She does this by working with him, by restoring him to his full being, by teaching him about the descent of his kind, and by showing him the way to ascend, the way he came down. In this way, Eve symbolizes the gift of spiritual understanding, which enables us to reflect upon divine reality.

Something to think about. I like the thought on the surface, and I will certainly continue my reading in search of understanding.

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Ms Pagels Does it Again

Elaine Pagels is essential reading for all those either curious regarding the early history of Christianity or for serious scholars intent on bringing their general knowledge upto date. This relatively short book, "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas", is filled with relevant historical fact but also presents historiographical interpretations and facinating personal asides. I strongly recommend it as well as her earlier works.

Perhaps a great find?

Found this today at the annual library sale for 25 cents and now that I have read the reviews on Amazon I am anxious to read it.

Update: of all the books I got that day at the library sale this was the first I started and it has been interesting so far. Not nearly as "heavy" as my James Dunn.

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