Customer Reviews

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Elaine Pagels is perhaps best known for her text, 'The Gnostic Gospels' first published in 1979, in which she explores the different alternative gospel and scriptural writings used by (or at least known to) the Gnostic sects of Christians and proto-Christians in the early years of the common era. In this book, 'Beyond Belief', she returns to this subject by focusing more intensely upon the Secret Gospel of Thomas, one of the many gospel texts floating around the ancient Christian world, prior to the time the canon of scripture was more-or-less solidified.

She begins with a remarkably personal tale, her idea of faith and the power of God in the face of her own son's problem - he had been diagnosed with a fatal disease, one that is required painful and risky procedures with little hope of success. Where does faith come from in a time like this? Where does faith go?

Her first chapter talks about the power of the community, and she traces a history of early initiation rites and community-forging events (including the martyrdom of many). Pagels then relates these back to her own experiences, tracing a connection between then and now. The controversies the early church faced - the participation in communal feasts that were misunderstood, the renunciation of the world in dramatic ways, coupled with a care for persons in unique and egalitarian ways - these are not always the issues faced today. However, Pagels shows how these issues served to form what we hold today as normative Christianity. She also sets the stage for a look at the diversity of practice and belief - prior to the formation of the canons and creeds, there were more points of difference in the Christian world - texts such as the Secret Gospel of Thomas is one such.

Pagels identifies a conflict between the gospels of John (one of the canonical four, itself a bit on the fringe, given its greater differences with the synoptics than they have with each other) and Thomas. Pagels asserts that both assumed their communities would be familiar with the basic outline of the gospel story a la Mark (most likely the earliest of the canonical gospels), and that both John and Thomas give similar accounts of the private teachings of Jesus. However, the use of these teachings and emphasis differs between Thomas and John - whereas they might have been complementary, they end up being at odds. For example, John argues strongly for the uniqueness of Jesus, as the light of God for all humanity; Thomas, on the other hand, looks at the light in Jesus as being something that all people have and have access to from within themselves. This gives Thomas a gnostic tint.

Pagels likens the message of Thomas to those developed later by mystics, including most recently the writers Tolstoy and another Thomas, Thomas Merton. The kingdom of God is within us, not something that is meant to have a physical definition, either in the past under a messianic warrior-king, nor in the future in some heavenly city descending like a spaceship, but rather, within us.

Pagels develops an interesting speculative biography of the author of the gospel of John, and looks at the images of Thomas presented in John, including the ideas that he was the 'doubting' one, and that he missed the gathering of the disciples upon with Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit (the account of Matthew indicates that all the disciples were present; John has Thomas missing). These kinds of images, Pagels suggests, might indicate a sort of rivalry for position. John's gospel was itself questioned during the early church, and his community of Christians existed on the fringe of the wider community. However, John's gospel is a clear and powerful one, and Pagels demonstrates that at many crucial points in the Thomas narrative, pieces are cryptic at best, and not at all definable and discernable. This would not have appealed to certain communities in Christianity, searching for a certain faith.

Pagels traces the development of the acceptance of John over Thomas in the wider context of canonical development - she introduces other non-canonical writings of the time, such as the Secret Book of John, the Secret Book of James, the Prayer of the Apostle Paul, and others. She also traces the thought of major figures such as Polycarp, Tertullian, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus. Much of what we have known historically about the different groups labeled heretical have come from the writings of the 'orthodox' - Ireneaus, for example, is a primary source of certain heresies through his great, five-volume 'Refutation and Overthrow of Falsely So-Called Knowledge'. However, this is a necessarily biased source of information.

One interesting piece is the exploration of the Gospel of Philip, another of the non-canonical gospels - Philip's gospel divides the church into those who have it right and those who don't, but along different lines than the typical orthodox view. For Philip, the virgin birth and the resurrection are not one-time-only events for Jesus, but rather apply to all of humanity in potential. Anyone 'born again' experiences a virgin birth through the power of the spirit; all believers are transformed, and this constitutes a resurrection. Philip makes a distinction between those who pay lip service to being Christian and those who are truly spiritually transformed - this is an idea that will resurface again and again Christian history, too.

Given imperial backing, Pagels argues that it was largely the party with influence at the court and the centre of empire that won the day. Still, even as these documents were no longer copied and held as valid scripture, the ideas they contained would remain undercurrent in Christian thought. Pagels' skillful writing and interesting narrative choice of using her own life as a backdrop to the larger issues of church history make this an interesting and worthwhile text for all.

I was really impressed with the scholarship and the amount of work that Pagels put into this work. This subject could be very dry, yet Elaine does a great job in making this a history lesson, comparing the earliest church with the final formation of the estblished church after the Nicene Council.

I would rather have rated this at 3.5 for the conclusion and a 5.0 for the history lesson. Pagels links the early church through Polycarp and Iraneaus to the Nicene Council at the time of Constantine.

She leaves out some very important details that would make this a very complete picture of the time. In the book she alludes to the St. Thomas Christians in India but drops the subject when there is a definate connection with their practices, the practices of the early church, Polycarp's beliefs, Iranaeus' beliefs and the impact on those beliefs at the adoption of the Nicene Creed.

Not only were there the Gnostic Christians, but the "Jewish Christians" whom she mentions but could have had that as yet a third broad group. The Christian world at the time was a great Mosaic and Pagels in order to focus attention on the discovered "Gospel of Thomas" versus the "Gospel of John" must have limited herself to the most known themes.

The time was also rife with Arianism and Semi-Arianism among others that she also mentions.

In the Gospel of Thomas itself is a reference to the Sabbath and the keeping of it. The importance here is that the St. Thomas Christians were said to be Sabbath keepers (Saturday) by St. Francis. The link to Nicea is that, as she mentions, it was an attempt to limit Judaistic influences in practice at the time. Why this is so important is the Sabbath quote may provide some additional insight to the origin and focus of the letter.

Having read the Gospels and having read what the Gospel of Thomas states, it seems more like a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus as opposed to an actual synopsis of his life. Unlike the 3 Synoptic Gospels, it talks little of his walk and interaction with his disciples and those in Judea.

Many of those sayings are directly from scripture or from what is accepted as the Canon. Some of the sayings do not seem to square with what was Jesus taught, but you will have to get the book and judge that for yourself.

I hope Elaine Pagels expands on this work to talk about early Christianity as a whole with the tapestry of the whole time period. That would add to this work and with her writing style add to the understanding of that day.

There's always that tug-of-war that exists between faith and scholarly insight into religion. There is that hesitancy to bring up politics or religion into polite conversation. Both are good reasons why I don't read books on religion or politics. I'm too much of an admitted devil's advocate. I enjoyed reading this book because there is no stressfulness voiced in her opinions. In other words this book is neither podantic nor polemic. The respectfulness with which the author handles her insightfulness is refreshing.

I enjoyed this exploration into historical context of Scripture. Recommended read - it is not light reading but it is really good reading.

Written well after the Gnostic Gospels, this books seems to show the result of more reflection over the years. For those brought up in a strict catholic (universal) background, much will seem contrary to the beliefs as reflected in the New Testament. But it shows, along with other documents excluded from the modern bible, that early Christianity had a richness and diversity with what is called the "Gnostic" versions of early Christianity eventually dying out to the version that best lent itself to the organizational church and is the current norm of Christianity. Certainly (in the gospal of Thomas)if Jesus talks of us as equals who can find enlightenment within ourselves, it sounds much more Eastern in philosophy. And it can't possibly lead to the creation of an instutition where the word has gone from the disciples, to the priests through the years and a separate class of leity developed who were to follow the teachings of the priests as the word of God. Thus it can't allow for the institution of the church, which I maintain is much different than the teachings of the church. (The recent pedophelia scandel in the US and the fact that the Church chose protection of the church over protection of the children of the leity, is but one example of the institution and its preaching as being very different. In this case preservation of the image of institution being chosen as more important.) For people willing to look at their religion from the persepective of a historian, this is interesting reading, even if it is not consistent with your personal beliefs. While we get hints of this in the existing bible, many are recluctant to accept the differential thinking in early Christianity. Was Christ when risen actually seen in flash and blood or in visions. Was Christ on the cross a man in his suffering or was there a spritual and a physical Christ both present? As I said there are examples of the biases and beliefs of the individual writers throughout the Bible. As mythologist Joseph Campbell points out, the idea of the immacualte conception appears only in the gospel of Luke, a Greek. And Greece had in its mythology, the concept of the virgin birth as a symbolic idea long before Christ. While I respect my fundamentalist friends, I would ask if things written years after the event, combined with translations that have passed through many languages the direct word of God, or has the time delay and translations in themselves added changes in interpretation. I note when listening to Evangelical prechers, they often interpret parts of scripture the bible adding even another level of what things mean. These things are even more obvious in the Old Testament where the oral history was much longer before things were written down. And often events that took place a century apart are part of the same story. So if you are totally committed to the idea that what is in the teachings of Church are the absolute truth with no possibility of any other possibility, I'd say save your money. But if you have an interest in how early Christianity evolved and the richness of its diversity, I think you will find this a great read. My other favorite writer who is a religious historian, and former nun, is Karen Armstrong. And her book on fundamentalism (in all three of the major western religions) gives a better understanding of the world we find ourselves in today. I don't recommend this to change your beliefs, but it is interesting in terms of the possibility of the diversity in the development of early Christianity. If you enjoy this book, then I'd recommend Armstrong's book on Fundamentalism (which covers the concept historically in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.) It realy offers a great deal of insight into the strange new world we find ourselves in.

Boy, she does go on an on with the trivial. Ok already, we get the point! Thanks to the author for making the point, however belabored, that the gospels did several things: 1) They misinterpreted, on purpose in the case of Matthew, early Hebrew scripture and massaged prophecy to fit their objectives, 2) the synoptic gospels frequently missed the original intent of the early scriptures by misunderstanding the translation vagueries into Greek, and 3) the early church edited and didacted the original gospels to fit their self justified ends. John is a case in point; it does not take a scholar to spot the many places where something was changed or inserted. The point, I think, that the author was trying to make, was that Thomas preached that the spirit of God is within us individually, while John was making a case for our need to go the route that the catholic church took, which was to go thru it for approval. Balderdash then, balderdash now. We would have been much better served as Christians and human beings in general had Thomas and its' philosophy been included in the New Testament rather than that of John, whoever they were. That of course would have given the Bible a whole different tone, and some of the other gospels would have been passed on. But, too late. So, you can either drive yourself crazy learning Hebrew and Greek, not to mention comparing early editions of the Bible to the King James Version, the Revised Standard Version, etc, or you can use some common 2004 sense and live by the word of Jesus, ever in awe of the concept of God. Any God that would make things as complicated as the Christian religion has, is probably the wrong one. It ain't that complicated.

In BEYOND BELIEF Elaine Pagels describes the remarkable generosity and charity which characterized early Christian communities in crowded cities such as Rome, Antioch and Carthage. These groups are shown to be extremely diverse with a variety of ways open to prospective members wishing to be included. This is in sharp contrast to the requirements of Christian churches in the fourth century after the time of Constantine when Christians are required to profess strict creeds formulated by church leaders.

The Gospel of Thomas and more than fifty other ancient Christian texts were discovered at Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt in 1945. As scholars examined these unique writings a new appreciation of the varied nature of early Christianity began to emerge.

The Gospel of Thomas encourages us to find out what is concealed within us instead of telling us exactly what to believe. The Jesus of the Gospel of John claims that He is the light. The Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas directs us to search inside ourselves for the light.

Ireneus, a church leader in Lyons in the late second century, was the champion of the theology expressed in the Gospel of John. It was Ireneus who wielded more influence than any other Christian of his time over the formation of the canon which was finally accepted in the fourth century as representative of the othodox view.

Elaine Pagels writes with an optimistic tone similar to that found in many works by Marcus Borg. Pagels weaves her own personal testimony throughout the text of BEYOND BELIEF. Anyone who is on a journey of spiritual discovery will find much encouragement and inspiration from this book. Still others may find it to be the most interesting publication they have encountered in a long time.

Elaine Pagels is perhaps best known for her text, 'The Gnostic Gospels' first published in 1979, in which she explores the different alternative gospel and scriptural writings used by (or at least known to) the Gnostic sects of Christians and proto-Christians in the early years of the common era. In this book, 'Beyond Belief', she returns to this subject by focusing more intensely upon the Secret Gospel of Thomas, one of the many gospel texts floating around the ancient Christian world, prior to the time the canon of scripture was more-or-less solidified.

She begins with a remarkably personal tale, her idea of faith and the power of God in the face of her own son's problem - he had been diagnosed with a fatal disease, one that is required painful and risky procedures with little hope of success. Where does faith come from in a time like this? Where does faith go?

Her first chapter talks about the power of the community, and she traces a history of early initiation rites and community-forging events (including the martyrdom of many). Pagels then relates these back to her own experiences, tracing a connection between then and now. The controversies the early church faced - the participation in communal feasts that were misunderstood, the renunciation of the world in dramatic ways, coupled with a care for persons in unique and egalitarian ways - these are not always the issues faced today. However, Pagels shows how these issues served to form what we hold today as normative Christianity. She also sets the stage for a look at the diversity of practice and belief - prior to the formation of the canons and creeds, there were more points of difference in the Christian world - texts such as the Secret Gospel of Thomas is one such.

Pagels identifies a conflict between the gospels of John (one of the canonical four, itself a bit on the fringe, given its greater differences with the synoptics than they have with each other) and Thomas. Pagels asserts that both assumed their communities would be familiar with the basic outline of the gospel story a la Mark (most likely the earliest of the canonical gospels), and that both John and Thomas give similar accounts of the private teachings of Jesus. However, the use of these teachings and emphasis differs between Thomas and John - whereas they might have been complementary, they end up being at odds. For example, John argues strongly for the uniqueness of Jesus, as the light of God for all humanity; Thomas, on the other hand, looks at the light in Jesus as being something that all people have and have access to from within themselves. This gives Thomas a gnostic tint.

Pagels likens the message of Thomas to those developed later by mystics, including most recently the writers Tolstoy and another Thomas, Thomas Merton. The kingdom of God is within us, not something that is meant to have a physical definition, either in the past under a messianic warrior-king, nor in the future in some heavenly city descending like a spaceship, but rather, within us.

Pagels develops an interesting speculative biography of the author of the gospel of John, and looks at the images of Thomas presented in John, including the ideas that he was the 'doubting' one, and that he missed the gathering of the disciples upon with Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit (the account of Matthew indicates that all the disciples were present; John has Thomas missing). These kinds of images, Pagels suggests, might indicate a sort of rivalry for position. John's gospel was itself questioned during the early church, and his community of Christians existed on the fringe of the wider community. However, John's gospel is a clear and powerful one, and Pagels demonstrates that at many crucial points in the Thomas narrative, pieces are cryptic at best, and not at all definable and discernable. This would not have appealed to certain communities in Christianity, searching for a certain faith.

Pagels traces the development of the acceptance of John over Thomas in the wider context of canonical development - she introduces other non-canonical writings of the time, such as the Secret Book of John, the Secret Book of James, the Prayer of the Apostle Paul, and others. She also traces the thought of major figures such as Polycarp, Tertullian, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus. Much of what we have known historically about the different groups labeled heretical have come from the writings of the 'orthodox' - Ireneaus, for example, is a primary source of certain heresies through his great, five-volume `Refutation and Overthrow of Falsely So-Called Knowledge'. However, this is a necessarily biased source of information.

One interesting piece is the exploration of the Gospel of Philip, another of the non-canonical gospels - Philip's gospel divides the church into those who have it right and those who don't, but along different lines than the typical orthodox view. For Philip, the virgin birth and the resurrection are not one-time-only events for Jesus, but rather apply to all of humanity in potential. Anyone 'born again' experiences a virgin birth through the power of the spirit; all believers are transformed, and this constitutes a resurrection. Philip makes a distinction between those who pay lip service to being Christian and those who are truly spiritually transformed - this is an idea that will resurface again and again Christian history, too.

Given imperial backing, Pagels argues that it was largely the party with influence at the court and the centre of empire that won the day. Still, even as these documents were no longer copied and held as valid scripture, the ideas they contained would remain undercurrent in Christian thought. Pagels' skillful writing and interesting narrative choice of using her own life as a backdrop to the larger issues of church history make this an interesting and worthwhile text for all.

First of all, this book is not about Thomas. The book is mostly concerned with explaining why early Christians like Irenaeus suppressed gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas. A lot of space is taken up discussing the Gospel of John, supposedly as a comparison, but when the Gnostic Gospels are discussed Pagels discusses just about every Gnostic Gospel except Thomas. There is no detailed discussion of Thomas nor do you get any understanding of what motivated the writer of the Gospel of Thomas, and since that is why I was reading the book, that is very disappointing. Second, the personal anecdotes do nothing for me. I didn't find them illuminating. In fact, they were quite distracting as I had to rack my brains to figure out what the story had to do with anything.

This provocative and informative little book explores the historical beginnings of Christianity. As has been pointed out by other critics, the text is, for the most part, a personal though scholarly exploration into what the Christian religion offers, in terms of its doctrines, orthodox and heretical, and that our faith or belief in what has been handed down to us from the original church fathers, can be questioned, though in the end, what we find to be true is a personal affair between us and the Divine.

Personally, gaining knowledge about the history of Christianity, its early writings, and the profound political influences that shaped 'orthodoxy', in the first centuries of the first millennia, reveals aspects about Christianity that not only informs belief, but also provides deeper meaning and understanding.

Pagels' examines the differences between the Gospel of John in the New Testament and The Secret Gospel of Thomas, found in Nag Hammadi in 1947. Scholars believe these two texts to be written at the same time, around the first century. The central difference between the two Gospels is the interpretation of what actually constitutes Christ's nature, i.e., who he was and what he was, in terms of either being a prophet, a 'man' endowed with the Divine spark, to then begin his ministry, spreading his word of love, or actually the Son of God, come down from heaven in human form to save us from our sins. In the Gospel of John, there is no question that Jesus is represented as the Divine, who has been born by Immaculate Conception, sacrificing himself on the cross to save us from our sins, and who rose from the dead three days later. In the Gospel of Thomas, however, Christ can be interpreted as human, who asks us to look within ourselves in order to understand God. He tells us to seek, and to not stop seeking, until we find the truth. This point of interpretation, as to Christ's true nature, was argued by the church fathers in the third century which set Christian doctrine in stone ever since. Certain gospels were deemed heretical based on certain interpretations, and thrown out of the canon. The Secret Gospel of Thomas was one of them.

The reasons for throwing out some scripture over others is examined in some detail in this book, however, the main reason was to ensure the church had a unifying doctrine that would bring the many Christian sects at the time under one authority, creating the Catholic or Universal church. As history has shown, they were successful. The reasons for their success, though, are not limited to 'correct' interpretation of scripture, but extend to political, historical and cultural influences at the time.

I found this book to be beautifully written and informative, but it mostly inspired me to investigate the history of Christianity and how that history has shaped what it has become today.

I have to agree with haroldmcinnes---blah, blah, blah. I haven't finished the book yet because I keep looking up her errors, and the errors she cites from other writers. I keep saying to myself, "What's your point?" "Quit rambling", "What is it you're trying to say?" She just keeps writing one paragraph after another copied from other authors, saying this could be, and what if, and we don't know, etc., etc., etc. I came back to this site to see if others felt the same way I do, and do they ever? At least I'm not alone in my confusion as to what is supposed to be shown in this book. Amazon really ought to let us give no stars. I went against my better judgement and bouoht a used copy, even though I don't buy books that the publishers no longer let us see inside of. Now I know why they don't let us preview the book. From now on I will follow my knee-jerk reactions to publishers (speaking of 'jerk'. Sorry for the pun--actually, no I'm not)who won't let us see inside the book.