Customer Reviews

Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism

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This book is easily the most comprehensive, easy to read, well researched book on esoteric spirituality. All of this in the space of 256 pages! The index is thorough (have you noticed that more and more non-fiction books are being published without indices?! Not this one, I am happy to report!)and the chapters are well organized. The book serves well either as an introduction to esoteric/gnostic spiritualities, as a historical survey of the history of those spiritualities, or as an up-to-date series on recent developments in this area of knowledge. Richard Smoley is an authority on these matters and has done a marvelous job with this book. I was especially interested in and appreciative of the section of the book that discusses A Course in Miracles. This one is a "must have" book! Highly recommended.

"Forbidden Faith" serves up the usual introductory material regarding the history and legacy of early Christian Gnosticism. Gnosticism and many of the related esoteric subjects like the Knights Templar, the Cathars, the Holy Grail, etc. are all the rage these days thanks to books like "Da Vinci Code" which have brought the subject of Gnosticism and its ancient texts to the mainstream.

"Forbidden Faith" provides a background history to the origins of Gnosticism and its relationship and influences with other ancient belief systems. It shows that Gnosticism borrowed heavily from the dualist beliefs that featured so prominently in Zoroastrianism in the centuries preceeding the birth of Christianity. Later, the Gnostics and their teachers created a much more mystical version of Christianity which was at odds with mainstream orthodoxy, ultimately leading to its followers being labeled heretics and persecuted unto death by rival Christian factions. The Gnostics lost their battle for acceptance and virtually all of their history and religious texts were lost for nearly two thousand years, that is until the revolutionary discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts in 1945. The book also traces the various Gnostic influences on other well-know heretical groups like the Cathars and the Bogomils who shared many fo the same ideas about a malevolent creator deity and the inherent evil of the corrupted material world in which we live. Finally, the book highlights a number of Gnostic ideas that have seeped through into modern pop culture such as films like "The Matrix" and the works of sci-fi author Phillip K. Dick which often deal with the concept that the world is nothing more than an elaborate illusion created by malevolent forces to manipulate and control the protagonist.

"Forbidden Faith" is a decent intro to the concept of Gnoisticsm and gives a good background on its origins, history, and legacy. It also highlights some modern works that draw on Gnostic concepts or revolve around the history of this ancient group of believers who have finally, after some 2000 years, gotten their due.

A wonderful introduction to the labrythine history of this fascinating religious group. Smoley, a Harvard and Oxford educated scholar, writes in an accessible way that really draws you in to the subject. Read it along with Elaine Pagels, "The Gnostic Gospels."

I recently went to my local library to pick up a couple of books on the changes in American spirituality from that associated with institutionalism and place to that of a personal quest orientation. As I was leaving, the library display of books caught my eye. It was a collection of books associated with The Da Vinci Code, but a book on Gnosticism engaged my curiosity. I ended up checking it out, Richard Smoley's Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy From the Gospels to the Da Vinci Code (HarperSanFrancisco, 2006). The dust jacket for the book describes Smoley as the editor of Gnosis magazine, and co-author of or author of several books on esotericism and "inner Christianity."

Smoley writes in popular fashion and provides an overview of the history and varieties of Gnostic thought. He looks not only at ancient forms of Gnosticism but also traces it to more recent times in what he calls the "Gnostic Revival." This chapter, along with Gnosis and Modernity, and The Future of Gnosis, represent some of the more interesting treatments as he traces neo-Gnostic elements in various facets American culture, including pop culture as exemplified by The Matrix films and The Da Vinci Code.

It should come as no surprise to either traditional Christians or those supportive of various forms of neo-Gnosticism that I disagreed with portions of his book, particularly his discussion of the canonical Gospels and his claim that none of them were written by eyewitnesses. Smoley also speculates that the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas might indeed be dated earlier than the second century due to its alleged resemblances to the hypothetical Q document, and therefore it might be the first gospel and represent some of the earliest expressions of the faith of the early Christian communities. A blog is not the place to rehash these debates, but suffice it to say I believe the weight of scholarship runs counter to Smoley's claims. Hopefully traditional and "inner Christians" can continue to not only debate but also to discuss our differing views in these areas.

The book also includes other troubling areas when Smoley describes the evangelical emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ as little more than a mental construct that represents a relationship with an imaginary friend. But before evangelicals get too upset we need to consider Smoley's reminder that, "As harsh as this characterization may sound, it is in many ways milder than the accusations flung by many evangelical Christians at the spiritual experiences of others, which (insofar as they are granted any reality at all) are frequently dismissed as delusions engendered by demons."

Despite these disagreements, traditional Christians should take note of several items in this book. For example, Smoley touches on the shortcomings of Christian clergy that reveals problems in the education and contemporary cultural awareness of Christian clergy:

"A modern priest or minister might be well schooled in the theology of Bultmann, Tillich, and Karl Barth and may be intimately familiar with the question of the Q document and its strata of composition, and yet find himself at a total loss when a parishioner has seen an angel."

Here Smoley touches on Western Christendom's tendencies toward emphasis on the rational elements of faith, on doctrine, and on the history of Christianity in the West, but its frequent inability to address the experiential elements, specifically within the contexts of the shift away from preferences for an institutionalized form of faith and toward a spirituality of quest with the increasing influence of Eastern and esoteric spiritualities. Such insights demonstrate that it is time for our seminaries and other Christian educational institutions to broaden their theological educational focus in light of changing cultural circumstances in order to address our shortcomings. It appears that we need to prepare less for educating chaplains in Christendom culture and instead prepare missional apostolic types for cultural engagement as well as pastoral care.

How can we explain the increasing interest in neo-Gnosticism, often more readily accepted than the institutionally and modernity connected Chrisendom? Smoley notes that the reasons are multiple and complex, but he states that one of the reasons seems to be perceived shortcomings and a loss of vitality in Christianity. He uses the illustration of an egg with the yoke and white sucked out of the inside leaving only the shell. While it still looks good on the outside, the inner vitality is gone and the remaining shell is fragile. Might the interest of growing numbers of Westerners in forms of neo-Gnosticism be due at leas in part to our failures to live out and put forward a robust form of the spiritual path of Jesus?

Finally, Smoley concludes the book with a discussion of faith, reason, and gnosis (inner knowledge). He interacts with the insights of Wouter Hanegraaff, a noted scholar of esotericism in the West. Hanegraaff states that Western civilization is rooted in the "three major impulses" of reason, faith, and gnosis:

"Reason holds that 'truth - if attainable at all - can only be discovered by making use of the human rational faculties, whether or not in combination with the senses.' Faith, by contrast, says that reason in itself does not provide us with ultimate answers, which can only come from a transcendental realm and are encapsulated in dogmas, creeds, and scriptures. Gnosis teaches us that 'truth can only be found by personal, inner revelation. . . .This 'inner knowing' cannot be transmitted by discursive language (that would reduce it to rational knowledge). Nor can it be the subject of faith . . .because there is in the last resort no other authority than personal, inner experience."

Hanegraaf notes that the scientific enterprise has valued reason, while institutional Christianity has valued faith, although these are not mutually exclusive categories and institutional category has valued faith within an epistemological framework that also places great value on reason . Hanegraff notes that gnosis has been much less valued. While I disagree with the characterization of gnosis in the quote above, opting instead for forms of inner experience that provide one but not the only means to truth, and which can to some extent be described and transmitted by discursive language, thus removing the gnosis-rationality dichotomy, I am sympathetic to the notion that Western Christianity has not valued inner experience, or a form of gnosis if you will, as much as it should. Might it be possible for missional and culturally engaged Christians to rethink and rework the relationship between reason, faith and a form of Christian gnosis? Perhaps if we can it will bring us closer to recapturing a more biblical form of faith, and put some of the substance and vitality back into the shell of Christianity.

What a great book! Gnosticism can be difficult to understand but Mr. Smoley makes it very easy to read and comprehend the Legacy. Richard Smolely did an excellent job of researching the tenets of Gnosis throughout "known" history. It got a little boring and it was a stretch during the Medeival Church era but it was worth it to find out where he was going with it at the end of the book.

For example he analyzes the movie "The Matrix". It really is not a Gnostic movie. I never considered this but when "Thomas" Anderson discovers he is not in the real world, their reality is "worse" than the Matrix. This is NOT Gnosticism. What is Gnostic is what follows: "The only character who expresses anything close to true Gnosticism is, ironically, Agent Smith----the truly disembodied mind who is forced to take on physical form and interact in the simulated physical world within the Matrix. As he says to Morpheus: 'I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that I've somehow been infected by it.' He is desperate to return to a pure state of disembodied existence, just as any true Gnostic would. Yet he is the embodiment of the enemy."

And then he further gathers the following from Meister Echardt "I put detachment higher than love." For Echart, it is detachment from the world and its experiences that leads on toward God. "Experience must always be an experience of something, but detachment comes so close to zero that nothing but God is rarefied enough to get into it, to enter the detached heart." This statement is practically a one sentence summary of the path of Gnosis.........

This is exactly what happens during meditation if done correctly....when one looks......inward!

This book is loaded with "Secret Knowledge" or Gnosis!

Richard Smoley is clearly a Gnostic Scholar. I shall keep this book in my library for future reference.

Jesus said "Become of Passers-by".......Gospel of "Thomas" (Nag Hammadi Library).

I came across this book during the course of my usual duties as a bookstore employee. I had seen books on the topic before but never had I been struck by any of them (at least not strongly). I had just finished reading the extended newer edition of 'The Essential Rumi' by Coleman Barks (I had read the previous publishing twice) and his recommendation on the back of this book sold me. I looked into Richard Smoley's past works, checked the amazon reviews, and came back to purchase it the next day (as well as perform the neccessary duties assigned to me during my working hours). This book introduced me to many mystical movements, inspired individuals, and small divisions of the christian church that I had no foreknowledge of . Most of my background has been in eastern religions; the strongest focus being on the poetry and writings of the sufis of Islam. This book was a great introduction to the esoteric traditions that stemmed from multiple interpretations of the teachings of christ. Most important to me was that this book reflected many concepts I had been wrestling with in my head for some time. This book presents a lot of information in a quick and understandable format and for the person who is interested in the evolution of mystical thought (not to mention the commonalities shared by the diverse spiritual movements of the world), this would be a great addition to one's library. My interest does not lie in New Age interpretations of historical texts and if you're like me, this will not dissappoint. Very well written and does not stray into fantastic personal interpretations of history. Presents possibilities, commonalities, historical fact, and to some's dismay, does not hold The Da Vinci Code in high regard.

Having read Smoley's previous books and the magazine (Gnosis) he edited for many years, I was pleased to see him take up the history of Gnosticism. His background in philosophy and religion and his fluid, accessible style of presenting complicated material make this book a great intro to the subject.

Buy this book if you would like to read a study of the entire history of the Gnositcs from what Jesus said in the biblical gospels all the way up to what the Da Vinci code had to say about Dan Brown's theories of Gnosticism. The authors covers all bases in between he discusses the Egyptian roots of Gnosticism, the Cathars, the sages of the renaissance, Rosicrucianism, and the Knights Templar. The book explains how Gnosticism changed up to the current time with most of the myth and symbolism being dropped in favor of a more psychological approach through archetypes and symbolism. This journey will take you through the thougts of Boehm, Blake, Phillip Dick and many others. At the end of the book high explains Gnostic theology and what the future may hold for reason, faith, and gnosis. If you are interested, buy this book-

I've read several books on Gnosticism. Some academics seem to think that these ideas only exist in words in books. I became interested in Gnosticism after having a few mystical experiences myself, and knew Gnosis was an experience and not just "ideas." This (copyright 2006) has the best overview of Gnostic and Gnostic related thought through western history and other books on Gnosticism I've seen. While it is not clear what actual experiences Smoley has had, he is clear that this subject is about religious experiences and not just theories, and that the history of western religion has largely been an issue of the scribes and pharisees vs the mystics. So far the pharisees have taken over every religion in the west. But he offers hope. Quite insightful.

If you have an interest in the development of Christianity, the Western Mystery Tradition or heresiology, this book by Richard Smoley proves to be an interesting read.

The book itself is written at a level where only a basic knowledge of Christian history and theology is required to get a grasp of the thesis of the book. Smoley takes the reader through nearly 2200 years of Gnostic thought and history, starting with Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism and running through modern times, including the popular perceived offshoots such as the Albigensian Cathars, the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, the Knights Templar all the way to Jung, Blavatsky, the DaVinci Code and the Matrix.

While he tries to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short book, you get the flavor of Gnostic themes as an ever evolving, ever present element interweaving itself through Christian history. Smoley discusses not only the history, but the theology and the psychology of the various Gnostic themes, explores and discusses common information like the Nag Hammadi library and the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as reviews basic mainstream Christian theology in a compare and contrast exercise including a look at "mainstream" Christian (both Western and Orthodox) mysticism and prayer practices.

If you have an interest in this topic, this is a good read.