
Amazon Prime Free Trial
FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button and confirm your Prime free trial.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited FREE Prime delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
$48.31$48.31
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: ISHOPONLINE LLC
Save with Used - Good
$19.93$19.93
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Paula D, LLC
1.76 mi | Ashburn 20147
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief Paperback – November 1, 2006
There is a newer edition of this item:
Purchase options and add-ons
"Lash is capable of explaining the mind-bending concepts of Gnosticism and pagan mystery cults with bracing clarity and startling insight. . . . [His] arguments are often lively and entertaining."―Los Angeles Times
In Not in His Image John Lamb Lash explains how a little-known messianic sect propelled itself into a dominant world power, systematically wiping out the great Gnostic spiritual teachers, the Druid priests, and the shamanistic healers of Europe and North Africa. Early Christians burned libraries and destroyed temples in an attempt to silence the ancient truth-tellers and keep their own secrets. But as Lash reveals the truth cannot be hidden or destroyed.
Not in His Image delves deeply into the shadows of ancient Gnostic writings to reconstruct the story early Christians tried to scrub from the pages of history, exploring the richness of the ancient European Pagan spirituality–the Pagan Mysteries, the Great Goddess, Gnosis, the myths of Sophia and Gaia.
Long before the birth of Christianity, monotheism was an anomaly; Europe and the Near East flourished under the divine guidance of Sophia, the ancient goddess of wisdom. The Earth was the embodiment of Sophia and thus sacred to the people who sought fulfillment in her presence. This ancient philosophy was threatening to the emerging salvation-based creed of Christianity that was based on patriarchal dominion over the Earth and lauded personal suffering as a path to the afterlife. As Derrick Jensen points out in the afterword, in Lash’s hands Jesus Christ emerges as the agent provocateur of the ruling classes.
"Sometimes a book changes the world. Not in His Image is such a book. It is clear, stimulating, well-researched, and sure to outrage the experts. . . . Get it. Improve not just your own life, but civilization’s chances for survival."―Roger Payne, author of Among Whales
- Print length464 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherChelsea Green Publishing
- Publication dateNovember 1, 2006
- Dimensions6 x 1.13 x 9 inches
- ISBN-10193149892X
- ISBN-13978-1931498920
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: An Enlightening Compilation of Gnostic Manuscripts Revealing New Perspectives on Early Christianity, Ancient Judaism, and Greco-Roman ReligionsPaperbackFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Jan 3
Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of EvilPaperbackFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Jan 3
Wetiko: Healing the Mind-Virus That Plagues Our WorldPaperbackFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Jan 6
ALIEN PARASITES: 40 GNOSTIC TRUTHS TO DEFEAT THE ARCHON INVASION!PaperbackFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Jan 3
Not in His Image Publisher: Chelsea GreenPaperback$3.99 shippingGet it Jan 9 - 22Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
The Reveal: The Next Stage of Human AwarenessPaperbackFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Jan 3
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book insightful and life-changing. It provides an in-depth look at history and reveals archaeological and scholarly evidence. They describe it as beautiful and life affirming, offering a new perspective. Readers trust the story of Sophia, the wisdom goddess. However, some feel religion is misunderstood and a tool of control.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book insightful and life-changing. They appreciate the analysis of Gnostic philosophy as distorted by ancient mystery schools. The book provides valuable ideas and is the result of deep study and inquiry by its author. Readers say it liberates their thinking and releases them from deeper religious beliefs. Overall, they describe it as an important work that is an extraordinary listener to wisdom itself.
"...This establishes a broad and tripod-like understanding, not to mention the obvious aid to memory...." Read more
"...The potential of the human is to evolve eternally. Evolve psychologically. Conscious evolution with the planet and with the cosmos...." Read more
"Don't get me wrong. I loved this book. Helped me to understand much that was formerly confused due to my salvationist conditioning...." Read more
"...A valuable source for individuals interested in the history of the ancient Gnostics...." Read more
Customers find the book's history insightful and engaging. They appreciate the author's use of history, personal experience, and common sense to provide a clear perspective on ancient civilizations. The book provides bold revelations and new insights that readers find captivating.
"Finally, a book that reveals the archaeological and scholarly evidence that resonates with the GAIA-Sophia mythology, which has been suppressed by..." Read more
"...and dominion = enslavement world we now have is explained in great historical detail...." Read more
"...He reverently offers up the secrets of an ancient, earth-friendly, pre-Christian belief system in Europe...." Read more
"...This book is the culmination of 40 years of research into mythology, theology, anthropology, and many other "ologies"...." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and life-affirming. They appreciate its insights into the core Judeo-Christian beliefs and how they differ from what's taught in schools.
"...redeemer and salvationist doctrine, Hypatia, Zadikites, and other great highlights...." Read more
"A brilliant and life-changing book...." Read more
"...and not the ridiculous evil one, either... Lash shows the power, beauty, joy, SENSE of Paganism and what he calls sacred ecology...." Read more
"...It goes into very fine detail about what's wrong with the core Judeo-Christian-Islamic values and mindset...." Read more
Customers find the book offers a profound vision and new perspective. It points a clear path toward resolution of problems.
"...It points a clear and ancient path toward the resolution of our problems through the recognition of our individual and collective nature as embedded..." Read more
"...to any particular religious bend, this book will really give you a new perspective...." Read more
"...this book is just beautiful..:. I was wholly in rapture of its profound vision of a truth I deeply feel and know.. awakened by the resonance..." Read more
"The Goddess speaks! This book will open your eyes. Thank you Mr. Lash for thought-provoking, balancing energies...." Read more
Customers find the book's characterization appealing. They appreciate its resonance with the GAIA-Sophia mythology and summary of the Fallen Goddess Scenario. The author presents the pagan goddess in all her splendor.
"...In stead I have gained absolute confidence and trust in the story of Sophia and how it relates to the present day situation in politics, education,..." Read more
"...the archaeological and scholarly evidence that resonates with the GAIA-Sophia mythology, which has been suppressed by the patriarchal, Archontic,..." Read more
"...It also summarizes the Fallen Goddess Scenario of Sophia, the wisdom goddess who plunged from the Pleroma and morphed into the planet Earth herself...." Read more
"...the most important point to keep in mind is that he presents the pagan Goddess in all Her splendor...." Read more
Customers have different views on the book's readability. Some find it well-written and easy to understand, with clear logic and a rational approach. Others find it challenging to follow, dense, and difficult to read, especially for non-experts. The book is described as bold and controversial.
"Well written and meticulously documented treatise on the Nag Hamaddi Texts...." Read more
"...Lash, whatever his real qualifications might be, writes like an autodidact, with all of the related faults...." Read more
"Ok Well it's a great piece of writing and he has some very interesting and valuable ideas, but, is he just re imagining the Gnostic's "in his image"..." Read more
"...Rather, he impresses the reader with clear logic and a rational approach to the topic of where and when did Christianity go wrong...." Read more
Customers dislike the book's religious views. They say religion is misunderstood by most religions and a tool of control. The book presents a romanticized view of pagan and gnostic practices as an eco-friendly, hippie fairytale.
"...This mythos is misunderstood by most religions, if not entirely deleted from history, except for what fragments of the Gnostic tractates that have..." Read more
"...Fundamentalism is essentially a-scholarly, rejecting literary criticism of the Bible, and ignoring as irrelevant any theology but its own...." Read more
"Here is a book and an author who has done his homework. Religion is the scourge of mankind...." Read more
"...of stuff that isnt true that you are left with a romanticized view of Paganism and Gnosticism...." Read more
Reviews with images
LET THE HEART BE OUR GUIDE.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2011Prospective readers will do well to examine all customer reviews here; buy this book, and then think a bit more for yourself. This is a book that I have waited over fifty years to read -- and it was only published in 2006.(!)
If you're like me, here you will find the confirmation of many things you already Know; the explanation of certain things you have deeply wondered about; and the tying together of yet other things that once seemed quite unrelated. And example of the latter is what Gurdjieff called the several varieties of "Hasnamuss" and the different types of psychopathic personalities that have recently come under broad general discussion.Particularly interesting is the idea that the more powerful psychpaths are able to convert normal people into a secondary grade of psychopath. Is there a one-to-one correspondence here between "hasnamuss and "psychopath?" And are these the souls that the Archons "steal by night" as Jonh Lash mentions?
There's an old adage that when studying new ideas it's wise to attempt to connect each one to at least two other things you already know about. This establishes a broad and tripod-like understanding, not to mention the obvious aid to memory.
What are two other topics that would best be studied in conjunction with "Not In His Image," by John. L. Lash?
Well, since nobody in his right mind would buy into salvationist non-sense, we must assume that people who claim to be salvationists are either cunning psycopathic opportunists and manipulators or people who are so naive, unobserving, and unthinking that they have been converted into neurotic sheeple by the above-referenced psycopaths. So a study of Political Ponerology is certainly called for! I suggest reading the book by the same name, and several others on the topic -- most of them may be had via Amazon; some are available online in PDF format.
So now that we know who "They" are (Psychopaths), and where they came from (Achonic manipulation), now it would be useful to learn "how "They" do it." Meaning how "They" are able to control the entire world full of generally well meaning people, none of whom really wants to go along with things as they are or be shunted into the psychopath's various slaughter houses.
The answer to the above will be found in the current system of so-called "finance" and "money." To wit: the practices of usury and fractional reserve banking have allowed "Them" to buy up everything they need for world domination, and to finance the creation of whatever has been lacking. And this has been going on since the days when pretty pieces of rare metals were cunningly substituted for true value in the means of exchange.
The two most instructional books about the money power issue are Captain David Astle's "The Babylonian Woe," and a newer tome (free in PDF on the web) titled "The Sumerian Swindle," which is a much easier and generally eye-opening read than the heavier and densely footnoted book by David Astle. "The Sumerian Swindle" even presents a really good idea of exactly how and when the entire Salvationist mythos was concocted to be passed off upon a helpless and unsuspecting world in exactly the way that John Lamb Lash has illustrated in "Not In His Image," which actually may be, as others here have pointed out, the current "Most Important Book In The World!" Try it. You won't like it, but you need to Know!
- Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2021When I read the first edition of Not In His Image it marked a point of no return. I realised that my inner knowing had been on the right track all along.
My field had been the schooling of children and international marketing. In both fields I experienced that they were based on non-human values. Professing to be beneficial to the development of societies and culture, it dawned on me that they were the opposite - means of debasing in stead of nurturing our potential as humans.
This book is one of a kind. There is to my knowledge, none like it. It shatters the holy bible to smithereens and everything based on it.
Not only that - it gives you the full story of how we came to be along with the planet Earth. In stead of endless debates on esoteric matters, the knowledge of this book can be experienced by me as an individual in the material world. The result for me is release of basic fear. In stead I have gained absolute confidence and trust in the story of Sophia and how it relates to the present day situation in politics, education, finance, science, culture, race, medicine and on and on.
Not In His Image is a signpost to a field of experience and exploration that has been hidden away and is now fully exposed. It's shows to a never ending story of life that leaves the dead end story behind.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2021After reading the negative reviews and the claims that Lash was merely making things up I want to recommend this book based on my own experience and studies. The main point or comparison Lash makes in his effort to focus on reconnecting humanity to the earth and creation is to contrast the salvationist-redeemer male creator complex to the Gnostic(Pagan/Initiate/Mystery/Indigenous) models of creation and the cosmos. This book will rub you the wrong way if you are new to the topic or have never thought about the problem or if you have any ties or investment, even a little remaining belief, in the Abrahamic religions. Many are jumping to the conclusion that this critique is anti-Semitic when it isn't.
The key contrast is that between what the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths promise for following Their God versus what the Gnostics believed and knew about humanity and the cosmos. With the Abrahamic Yahweh believers you get a reward in a heaven after death. You get to inherit the earth or parts of the earth. We should focus on Christianity given the way history was essentially driven by the Roman Catholic then the Protestant branches and dogma. We are facing a potential end to humanity and society because of the book of Revelations and the salvationist promise. The idea that the Archons can only promise a false heaven.
With the Sophia myth, humanity already inherits the earth. The potential of the human is to evolve eternally. Evolve psychologically. Conscious evolution with the planet and with the cosmos. This is the basic essential teaching of the Gnostic/Mystery/Indigenous teachings and world views. Go read some Huna books by Serge Kahili King or Wasserman (Bowl of Light). Read 'Grandfather' by Tom Brown Jr. Read 'Opening of the Way' by Isha Schwaller de Lubicz. Even 'Pagan Christ' by Tom Harpur. Go learn the contrasting models. And if you are really brave read 'Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson' by Gurdjieff. There is more truth in Beelzebub's Tales than in the old or new testament.
This is the strength of Lash's book. He is just another human who is not perfect so stick to what he says in this book. There are claims that Lash is now espousing anti Semitic or white nationalist rhetoric. This would be an unfortunate development but...there is no evidence that Lash was ever some kind of ascended master. That was never his point.
He attempts to show why the Gnostic model of reality and critique of Yahweh reconnects the human being to the cosmos, creation and the the earth. Don't get stuck in literalism. Lash is successful in his aim in this book. I have spent my life reading volumes of books about God and religions and I have engaged experience. There is no heaven after death. There is no punishing redeemer God who will save only his followers after Armageddon. But there is a right wing extremist effort to bring about the end of the world because they think their savior will return. We live in the world created by humans who follow Mammon and Yaldaboath. These people are destroying the planet, our home, only for their own profit. Evangelicals are working to manifest the book of Revelations. We are on the verge of a potential new dark age and the end of humanity. And at the root of this horror is the degenerate demented promise of the salvationist-redeemer complex.
Top reviews from other countries
-
Rob MReviewed in Mexico on January 15, 20221.0 out of 5 stars No es una crítica literaria
Califico para señalar el mal estado en el que me vino este libro...
Califico para señalar el mal estado en el que me vino este libro...1.0 out of 5 stars No es una crítica literaria
Rob M
Reviewed in Mexico on January 15, 2022
Images in this review
lynda holtReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 20245.0 out of 5 stars A book that changes your life , the way you look at things and will look at things!
It was a great in depth well researched book. Made me realise how programmed and conditioned I was when I thought I was quite aware! It also helped with a few missing puzzle pieces. Highly recommend if you want to realise you are actually an eternal soul living on a living Goddess Earth. Mother Bumi, Gaia, Sophia. Wow. What do I read next? Actually just watching all Johns YouTube documentaries now. Don’t check out without reading this.
Mrs.Veronika MaximReviewed in Canada on April 13, 20205.0 out of 5 stars 💯 stars!!!
Absolutely brilliant, thorough, poignant, deep and far reaching in its purpose. Finally Gnosis is treated not as a version of early Christianity or some sort of an alternative religion but as a lucid and substantial alternative TO the religion. Reading it with gusto👌
rickeyReviewed in India on May 13, 20145.0 out of 5 stars the gnostic's classic, bar none.
5 star for the simple language used to explain the gnostics pov. Anyone who's not familiar with gnostic beliefs, this is the book to read. Spirituality, nature worship, pagans, Christianity, and extra terrestrials, anyone interested in any of these topics will surely love this book. Highly recommended.
JanReviewed in France on November 24, 20135.0 out of 5 stars Has become one of my best reads ever
Hard going, stimulating, never, never dull. The only book I've ever read a second time as soon as I'd finished the first read.
John presents to us a documented history of the effect religion has had on society, its origins and our morals by revealing our belief system from before 'religion' and the Church took hold and turned us into who we are today.
Crammed with information, John does not back away from telling us how it was, and how it is now, which clearly demonstrates why we need to change our mindset towards as to why we are on planet Earth.
Ecology, consciousness, 'quantum' energy fields, and hundreds of years of genocide are just a few of the subjects affected by the way religion has caused us to see our place on this planet.
Anyone who has ridiculed the idea of alien visitations in our past will find themselves re-evaluating their concepts.
Similarly if you are sitting on the fence regarding this idea or have some knowledge of the Gnostics, Dead sea scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts, the 44 omitted Biblical gospels, this book brings them all together in a way that is a real wake up call.
I highly recommend this to anyone who has even the tiniest inkling that something is seriously amiss in the way humans have behaved over the last 2000 years.
I also recommend it to 'new agers' and Pagans who will discover that their ideas are still being deeply affected by religion. They will understand that modern ideas of paganism and 'New Age' are far removed from their original sources.



