Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
by Elaine Pagels
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Book Reviews of Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
Book Review: Another highly accessible and inspirational outing.
Summary: 4 Stars
Elaine Pagels has done it again, turning out another highly readable and eloquent exposition of religious truth. Although she focuses on the Gospel of Thomas rather less than her title would suggest, she nevertheless gets to the heart of the matter: the rich diversity of Christian origins and modes of belief. I found the description of her attempt to find meaning in religious faith during and after her son's death revealing and compelling. Elaine Pagels remains an inspiration to those of us who reject the dogma and bigotry of "comic-book Christianity" (my phrase), but still seek to rely on our religious tradition for guidance, solace, and strength. She is for me a leading member of a group of writers including John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and Kathleen Norris who make it possible for thinking people to reclaim their religious heritage. Like Borg and Norris in particular, her books are highly accessible and aimed at the general reader.Book Review: Refreshing!
Summary: 4 Stars
A good, if one-sided, overview of Christian Gnosticism. Elaine gives us a "good parts" version of the Gnostic scriptures, focusing on what she has found useful in her own spiritual life. Because of this, the wacky, sci-fi side of Gnostic belief is non-existent in her pages. No Aeons, Powers, or Demiurges, no "elect few" or negative views of physical existence.Because of this, you get Gnosticism minus a lot of the heresy. This leaves us with something much akin to the writings of orthodox Christian mystics. But nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read, and will no doubt be helpful to those (like myself) who grew up in a constrictive version of the Christian faith. Beyond Belief can be a breath of fresh air, and can enhance one's understanding early Christianity's development. Just don't think your getting the "whole story" regarding the Gnostics!
Book Review: Ramble and No Structure at ALL
Summary: 1 Stars
This is the first time I write a review on Amazon, unfortunately not a good one. Someone recommended this book to me because it's more "unbiased and convincing". As a person who is growing in faith, I decided to check this little book out. After 50 pages, I had to put it down because there is no way I can follow the author's arguement. In fact, I only saw a compile of passages in the 4 orthodox gospels and the gospel of Thomas, under a bunch of loosely constructed themes. It's not "convincing" in anyway, because I can't see her points! Might as well read all these gospels and reach your own conclusion.
If you want to read this book, I suggest you sit down for a whole day and finish it in one shot, because that is the only way to understand what the author is trying to get at. I only have a couple of hours for reading every day at the most, so I gave up.
Book Review: Still a secret
Summary: 3 Stars
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.Book Review: Excellent work
Summary: 5 Stars
As with all of Ms. Pagels' books, this is an excellent work. This book reviews the significance of one of the books of early Christianity that was excluded from the Bible, because it did not follow the general theme and orthodoxy that was deemed to be acceptable by the council at Nicene. This is a review of the Gospel of St. Thomas. The Gospel of St. Thomas is an early Christian Gnostic work. According to the work, St. Thomas was a favored disciple of Jesus. After Jesus' death, Thomas went on a mission to India and found a deeper spirituality through meditation and introspection. This book deals with the differences between the Gnostic viewpoints put forward in The Gospel of St. Thomas and the accepted books of the Bible, in particular the Gospel of St. John.