Customer Reviews

The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition

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This is the most comprehensive collection of Jewish (e.g. Book of Baruch by Justin), Christian (e.g. Songs Of Pearl), Hermetic, Mandaean, Manichaean (Mani's incomplete works, but still great works. You will be amazed by Mani's 'similarities' with Jesus & at some point he was quite very popular!), Zoroastrian, Pagan, Gnostic Gospels (e.g. Gospel of John, Gospel Of Thomas, Gospel Of Mary Magdalene, Gospel Of Philip, etc), other Nag Hammadi Books (e.g. On The Origin Of The World, The Letter Of Peter To Philip, etc), Islamic & Cathar books all in one volume by far. These various books span from first century & some are being translated here into English for the first time! Professors Willis Barnstone & Marvin Meyer do make a very strong case that "The Gospel Of John" differs significantly from the Gospels of Mark, Luke & Matthew [In its framework, individual episodes it relates to & particularly in the way it represents the voice of Jesus] and hence its inclusion in "Gnostic Bible". This is an eye opener book on the great variety of religious views & theology : translated in English with extensive helpful introductions (who wrote the book or gospel, when was it written & under what circumstances it was written), footnotes & interpretations of these different books! Tit for tat attacks against each other in the Gnostic Gospels is also very interesting (Cathars against the sacrament of Eucharist, 'the doubting Thomas' in Synoptic Gospels against Jesus's 'twin brother' in Gospel of Thomas writing the Gospel, etc) [putting a human face in the whole religion thing!]. The afterword section is also quite excellent : professors Willis Barnstone & Marvin Meyer summarize the variety of religion & theology contained in books in the "Gnostic Gospels", their perspectives & differences that they have. They also indicate that some groups e.g. Cathars. & Mandaeans have been misunderstood for a very long time. This is a highly recommended resource on ancient wisdom, Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Islamic & much more books/religions in one compilation of a very high standard aimed at the general public! A must buy resource if you are interested in "The Nag Hammadi Library", "Gnostic Gospels", "Islamic", "Pagan" & much more religions that did not make it into the Old Testament (Jewish/Torah), New Testament (Gnostic Gospels) & much much more!

It is a massive collection so I have not read it all yet, but I have a VERY positive impression so far! The translation is far more readable than other versions I have looked at, and this is an excellent collection. For anyone who has a serious interest in Gnosticism, I'd say this should be at the top of your reading list. It's one thing to read Elaine Pagels, or Bart Ehrman for a scholarly analysis or to read Stephan Hoeller or Timothy Freke for a contemporary approach to an ancient tradition, but at some point, if you're serious about understanding Gnosticism, you need to go directly to the source and read the Gnostic scriptures for yourself. Compared to the other major collections and translations I've seen, this is the best on both counts. I've never seen another collection with this many Gnostic texts from so many sources, and I've never seen a translation that's such a pleasure to read.

Great reading, a massive in depth comprehensive collection of gnostic Literature I ever found on line! Including Hermetic, Valentinian, and Islamic Mystical writings amongst others. If you're searching for answers in the traditional canonical scriptures, but feel you getting nowhere, this book is for you. Ancient christian mysticism on the form of gnostic gospels isn't for everyone, but for those seeking the hidden connection between nature, one-self and your creator regardless of religious denomination. I seriously recommend this book...

I was reading samples of the book on Google Books (available only as a preview) and I was surprised by many of the things that were not included in the Bible. But more importantly, I was surprised by certain details that were in front of me the whole time but didn't notice. After viewing the samples on Google Books, I decided to order the book to get more in-depth details. It is because of this book and others like it that profoundly changed my life and my view of the world around me and within me.

Originally, I was born and raised a Catholic. But after seriously reading the details about the Gnostic Gospels and reviewed the traditional Orthodox Christian bible that I had with me, I came to the realization that I was better off being a Gnostic because much of what I was taught as a Catholic made no sense. Even though Gnostic beliefs share their roots with Christian beliefs as well, how they interpreted the word of Yeshua and the words of Jehovah helped provide the second side of the coin that I was looking for all my life. Reading this even helped fill in holes in the stories as described in the modern-day Christian Bible.

I'm still reading it. It has same text as nag hammandi texts and more. Another good source to have in you library.

Precious, Excellent Book!!!
It should be known to everybody and present at everybody's home library.
I also want Kindle edition for reading outside home.
Hope, it will be available soon. I will buy definitively.


As of the service: fast delivery, came in very good condition. 5 stars.

This book is really interesting and offers an expandied version over the King James and other standard Christian (church edited) Bibles. I highly reccomend it for anyone who wants to learn more about "missing" books of the Bible.

this book has lots of information that I did not know existed good book and I liked this one will use it for many years thanks

I'm not real far into it yet, but from what I've read and studies I've done in the past it's an excellent book.