Customer Reviews

Pistis Sophia

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ignore the 5 stars and put 6 stars instead! I am still wandering why it took such a long time for me to review this extraordinary gospel. This is one of the most easy to read and follow gospel within the Gnostic gospels, and indeed amongst many of the gospels. The language is clear and the gospel is well structured. Pistis is indeed a rare gospel: it tells of the secret words that you must say for you to reach the highest God and Goddess (not the God of creation); it informs you of the many gods and goddesses that exist and the levels of space they occupy. Mind you, all these is said by Jesus himself, that is the Gnostic Jesus. Mary Magdala (Jesus' partner) is so intelligent in her questions and answers, in fact Jesus tells her that her spirit has been purified and therefore at its best (of course hoping that this is a genuine praise and not based on partner favouritism). But yes, Mary Magadala, beside the praises from her partner, is quite outstanding. She even tells Jesus that she is scared of Peter since St Peter hates the female race! Do not expect anything canonical or convetional from this gospel. It is a very disturbing gospel, yet very powerful indeed. It even explains the difficult parables: "5 will be in a house and 3 will rise against 2 and 2 against 3..." It also explains the parable of the coin - give to Caesar that which belongs to him... This is one gospel, which I must concur, I also do not understand why it has not received much attention as the other gospels!

Although considered a minor Gnostic text by some scholars of Gnosticism, this document provides an excellent introduction to the universe of a Christian Gnostic of the time of Christ. After reading this I would suggest to go on to "Nag Hammadi" and "The Apocryphal New Testament : A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation."

This gospel can be read on many levels, Jesus explains the mysteries of Life to his disciples and his beloved Mary Magdeline. These discussions take place after his resurrection and describe his ascension into heaven and his return. Explaining the many levels (mysteries of the universe) also using Sophia (fallen angel and her redemption) as examples for greater understanding. Jesus was the alchemical blueprint for which humanity was to follow. We have greatly misunderstood his purpose and in reading this text you can only gather one level unless you understand that humanity's purpose is to make the ascension/resurrection and that we are all sons and daughters of the ONE I AM. ...

This revealed teaching is essential for anyone investigating Christian Gnosticism, post-resurrection narratives, kabbalistic cosmology, feminine Christology, or the writings of Hurtak. It is not a simple read, but deeply layered, speaking of the Kingdom of Light on many levels to humanity. The Savior truly shares a great revelation with his disciples and the author of the text had clearly been very gifted. This translation is not perfect, but conveys the messages true to the context in which they were intended: metaphysically. Serious para-Biblical students should definately acquaint themselves with Pistis-Sophia.

These writings of Jesus should be read by all christians. There was much said by Jesus regarding Sophia, and we never heard this in the church. It is understood in this book,and the Sophia of Jesus Christ, found in the Nag Hammadi Library, that Sophia is a real person, who came to earth in bodily form. The book "She Who Is" by Elizabeth Johnson, mentions that Sophia would come to earth to live with her children to make them friends with God. Also, states that Jesus was Sophia incarnate. So the Pistis Sophia describes by Jesus the trials Sophia faced while on earth. It is worth reading to see what Jesus had to say regarding Sophia

Prior to the Nag Hammandi codices there was the Pistis Sophia. These writings are very old..they date from around 100-300AD. Today we are fortunate to have these early esoteric church texts to read and study. Most of the early christian literature was labeled heretical and destroyed by the Alexandrian doctors of religious thought...there are things in there that didn't mix well with those Neoplatonists. The Pistis Sophia was purchased in 1795 and was the largest repository of Gnostic beliefs before the unearthing, in 1945, of the Nag Hammandi Library. Like time capsules, these writings have come to us, in purity, ready to be studied. They give us some very good source material for what these early churches believed.

The Pistis Sophia is about things that transpired between the resurrected Jesus, the First and Last Mystery, and his disciples. An interesting point is that those disciples included both men and women. The text is filled with involvement in the physical cosmos, purification from sin and salvation through the infinite compassion of the First Mystery. The path is layed out for the initiate to obtain an inheritance in the Light-Kingdom. To get to this level requires receiving the mysteries, and the way to get the mysteries is to be righteous and good.

Rounded with mysticism, obscurity and allegory, this codex is well worth adding to the Christian reference shelf.

This is the most important Gnostic work in my library. It is an invaluable reference book. This Gnostic Gospel of Jesus in its simplistic beauty is clear and easy to understand. This is a great affordable copy of an essential work.

For research, for the curious, this is a cleaner "write" than other versions I own and use; very accessable to every level of reader.

Anyone interested in Sophia and Gnostic literature will be enthralled by this treatise. Compelling, fascinating, and engrossing. Buy this book. It is an absolute must-have.

This book has the titles that (I assume aren't part of the text) run almost seamlessly into the body of the text so one ends up reading titles as if part of the body text, I don't know what other copies of Pistis Sophia are like but if you are considering buying Pistis Sophia I would suggest a different edition.

Pistis Sophia is of course historically important not only simply because it is an ancient Gnostic text but because this was -if I am correct- the only Gnostic work that scholars had basically in full to understand Gnosticism from (apart from of course what the Church Fathers accurately reported to of course) until the Nag Hammadi finds.

As to the work itself Pistis Sophia is of course a book of vile lies.