num_pages: 192
description: As discussed in The Da Vinci Code... Long buried and suppressed, the Gnostic Gospels contain the secret writings attributed to the followers of Jesus. In 1945 fifty-two papyrus texts, including gospels and other secret documents, were found concealed in an earthenware jar buried in the Egyptian desert. These so-called Gnostic writings were Coptic translations from the original Greek dating from the time of the New Testament. The material they embodied - poems, quasi-philosophical descriptions of the origins of the universe, myths, magic and instructions for mystic practice - were later declared heretical, as they offered a powerful alternative to the Orthodox Christian tradition. In a book that is as exciting as it is scholarly, Elaine Pagels examines these texts and the questions they pose and shows why Gnosticism was eventually stamped out by the increasingly organised and institutionalised Orthodox Church.
language: English
title: The Gnostic Gospels
titlecomplete: The Gnostic Gospels
characters: Mary Magdalene
genres: Christian, Spirituality, History, Philosophy, Religion, Theology, Gnosticism, Nonfiction, Mythology, Christianity
ratings_count: 17704
awards: awardedAt: 315561600000
name: National Book Award
category: Religion/Inspiration (Hardcover), awardedAt: 284025600000
name: National Book Critics Circle Award
category: Criticism
publisher: Phoenix (Orion)