Voices of Gnosticism: Interviews with Elaine Pagels, Marvin Meyer, Bart Ehrman, Bruce Chilton and Other Leading Scholars [Paperback]

Miguel Conner (Author), Elaine Pagels (Author), Bart Ehrman (Author), Bruce Chilton (Author), Marvin Meyer (Author), Stevan Davies (Author), April DeConick (Author), David Fideler (Author), Karen L King (Author), Birger Pearson (Author), John W Turner (Author), Einar Thomassen (Author), Jane Schaberg (Author), Jason BeDuhn (Author), Andrew Phillip Smith (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2011

For several years, Miguel Conner has engaged the most prominent writers and scholars on Gnosticism and early Christianity on Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio. These interviews with 13 leading scholars represent one of the best ways to get to know ancient Gnosticism, the movement that has inspired Dan Brown, Philip Pullman, Philip K. Dick and The Matrix movies. Read what the best minds have to say about the Gnostic sects, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Judas, Mary Magdalene, heresy, the origins of Gnosticism, and the original teachings of Jesus. Elaine Pagels * Marvin Meyer * Bart Ehrman * Bruce Chilton * Stevan Davies * David Fideler * Birger Pearson * John Turner * Einar Thomassen * Jason BeDuhn * Karen King * Jane Schaberg * April DeConick “Gets at the Gnostics as they were, not as many people today would like them to be.” Bruce Chilton, author of The Way of Jesus and Rabbi Paul “Aeon Byte is one of the most exciting and far-seeing programs in the world of Webcasting.” Richard Smoley, author of Forbidden Faith, The Dice Game of Shiva, and Inner Christianity “A great help to all who possess an interest in and/or devotion to the Gnostic tradition. Warmly recommended!” Stephan Hoeller, author of Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing and Jung and the Lost Gospels “An invaluable resource for those interested in the history and continuing relevance of Gnosticism.” Sean Martin, author of The Gnostics: The First Christian Heretics, The Cathars, and The Knights Templar “Sophia and her aeonic friends should be delighted.” Marvin Meyer, author of The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, The Gospels of Mary “You are holding in your hands a Gnostic gem, a book that contains the rich wisdom of thirteen world-renowned scholars who study Gnosticism and the classical world.” April D. DeConick, author of The Thirteenth Apostle

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Bardic Press (December 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906834121
• ISBN-13: 978-1906834128
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the mystic hybrid of Irish and Portuguese parents. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, I have traveled around the world and certainly around parallel worlds.

I am the host of Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio, a popular show dealing with Gnosticism, mythology & comparative religion, the Occult & Esoterica in general, and certainly conspiracy theories in legion.

My fiction and nonfiction writings have appeared in various publications including The Gnostic Journal, The Houston Press, Examiner, The Cimmerian Journal, The Stygian Vortex, and many others.

I am a midwifer of ancient & new mysteries, researcher of all that shouldn't be & jack of all heresies, and a voice in the wilderness crying out to bring out your inner divinity through my works. My only advice is the same the ancient Gnostics had for Truthseekers:

Write your own Gospel and live your own myth. The rest is just commentary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, February 5, 2011

By 

Shilo Michelle "Sister" (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices of Gnosticism: Interviews with Elaine Pagels, Marvin Meyer, Bart Ehrman, Bruce Chilton and Other Leading Scholars (Paperback)

Being very interested in Gnosticism for quite some time now, I have read many, many books on the subject. Some wonderful, some not so wonderful. Voices of Gnosticism has a style that made for a very rewarding read.
I have a very short attention span, truly, and this book just caught me up and totally sucked me in. Listening to the opinions of the different authors and scholars etc. interspersed with Miguel Connor's engaging writing style is fantastic. If you've ever listened to his show Aeon Byte, you'll know that he is not only entertaining but very intelligent and informative.
An absolute MUST READ, not only for those with a particular interest in Gnosticism and early Christianity, but even for the average Joe.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can read this book anywhere you would like., April 24, 2011

By 

redynstruc "Kurt" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Voices of Gnosticism: Interviews with Elaine Pagels, Marvin Meyer, Bart Ehrman, Bruce Chilton and Other Leading Scholars (Kindle Edition)

When I read "Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited" in the "Product Details" section for this book, I was hoping this wasn't some fancy way of saying I could loan it to as many friends as I wanted, but only with a password which expired in 14 days - or some other nonsense such as this. As it turns out, it means just what I was hoping: you can read it with any program that supports the AZW file format.

Kudos to the author/publisher for not putting digital rights management (DRM) controls on this book. Several weeks ago, I swore off ever buying another book with DRM from Amazon because it prevented me from being able to load it into my library manager - Calibre - and read it with Calibre's internal reader.

As for the content of the book, itself, as a relatively new student of Gnosticism (BTW, I make no apologies to Professor Pagels for the use of this term), I found it extremely invaluable. By bringing together some of the most knowledgeable people on this subject and, in an interview format in which the interlocutor appears to be as knowledgeable as his guests, I was able to grasp the differences between the various Gnostic traditions, the subtlety of which, until now, had mostly confused me.

For one who might be swimming in all the books on Gnosticism, wondering which way to go, Voices gives you a very good sense of who you might want to read next. For my part, I will be avoiding Professors Pagels and King (two individuals who seem not to recognize that Gnostic Christianity is different enough from Orthodox Christianity to deserve its own category) and, instead, moving in the direction of folks like Professors Meyer and DeConick whose views, while starkly different on the role of Judas, both serve to enlighten the reader on some of the core beliefs of Gnosticism.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Journey into Early Christianity, February 14, 2011

By 

Derek Johnson (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Voices of Gnosticism: Interviews with Elaine Pagels, Marvin Meyer, Bart Ehrman, Bruce Chilton and Other Leading Scholars (Paperback)

Miguel Conner's fascinating book is a journey into the depths and origins of true Christianity before it was hijacked by a priest cast determined to use Christianity to forward their agenda.

Miguel's 13 interviews are a distillation of some of the most brilliant minds on early Christianity. One might rightfully say true Christianity. It's been said that "theology is intellectual wrapping around the spiritual kernel of a religion. If this is true, then it is also true that most religions are being strangled and stifled by their wrappings." Thankfully Gnosticism is not guilty of this. Reading this book will greatly expand your mind, knowledge and spirituality.

One final note: Miguel's amazingly broad and deep knowledge of this subject matter helps guide the interviews and constantly unearths new nuggets of information while doing so in a greatly engaging and entertaining way.