Gnostic Bible

<b>A collection of Gnostic texts spanning centuries geographical locations and cultural traditions--a wonderful achievement (Elaine Pagels author of <i>The Gnostic Gospels</i>)</b> <p/>Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium CE--with earlier antecedents and later flourishings--whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience. Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early Christian and non-Christian thought. For example some gnostic texts suggest that god should be celebrated as both mother and father and that self-knowledge is the supreme path to the divine. Only in the past fifty years has it become clear how far the gnostic influence spread in ancient and medieval religions--and what a marvelous body of scriptures it produced. <p/>The selections gathered here in poetic readable translation represent Jewish Christian Hermetic Mandaean Manichaean Islamic and Cathar expressions of gnostic spirituality. Their regions of origin include Egypt the Greco-Roman world the Middle East Syria Iraq China and France. Also included are introductions notes an extensive glossary and a wealth of suggestions for further reading.