The Nag Hammadi Library
The Nag Hammadi Library was discovered in 1945 buried in a  large stone jar in the desert outside the modern Egyptian city of Nag  Hammadi. It is a collection of religious and philosophic texts gathered  and translated into Coptic by fourth-century Gnostic Christians and  translated into English by dozens of highly reputable experts. First  published in 1978, this is the revised 1988 edition supported by  illuminating introductions to each document. The library itself is a  diverse collection of texts that the Gnostics considered to be related  to their heretical philosophy in some way. There are 45 separate  titles, including a Coptic translation from the Greek of two well-known  works: the Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus' brother Judas, and  Plato'sRepublic. The wordgnosisis defined as "the  immediate knowledge of spiritual truth." This doomed radical sect  believed in being here now--withdrawing from the contamination of  society and materiality--and that heaven is an internal state, not some  place above the clouds. That this collection has resurfaced at this  historical juncture is more than likely no coincidence.--P. Randall  Cohan