The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts of Mystical Wisdom from the Ancient and Medieval Worlds

by Marvin W. Meyer and Willis Barnstone

Book Overview

A collection of Gnostic texts spanning centuries, geographical locations, and cultural traditions--"a wonderful achievement" (Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels) Gnosticism was a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570622426
• ISBN13: 9781570622427
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 880 Pages
• Weight: 3.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Not Well Made And Small Print

The First Time I Opened This Book I Saw The Book Binding Was Falling Apart. Not Very Well Made And What Is Worse The Print Must Be About A 9 And Totally Unreadable For A 72 Year Old Man! Don't Waste Your Time Or Money Folks!

Of COURSE it's not biblical. That's the whole point. It's apocryphal.

This book is not intended to supplant the various "canonical" Christian bibles. This is a collection of scriptures from heterodox sources, sects that were repressed by orthodox authorities and branded as heretics- exactly as certain reviewers seem intent on doing. But this collection is not presented as an inspirational or spiritual text; rather, it is meant to be a tool for students of world religions. It provides a window into an ancient and beautiful tradition that is very nearly extinct. Don't give so beautiful and thorough a scholarly work a bad review just because it isn't in line with your personal beliefs.

Good Anthology of Gnostic Texts

The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts of Mystical Wisdom form the Ancient and Medieval Worlds edited by Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer (Shambhala) (Paperback) this anthology is by far the most poetic and generally accessible anthology of gnostic texts to be assembled. It utilizes the strengths of both editors. Barnstone has dealt with some of this material before in his 20 year-old The Other Bible. This new selection concentrates more on gnosticism and less on other biblical psudepigrapha, early Kabbalah, haggadah, midrash, christian apocrypha. Comparing where there is overlap Barnstone has offers some crisp poetic renderings in this new volume rather than the more technically dry academic copy present in some selection in the The Other Bible. Touches of barnes fine literary sense shine forth here and there in The Gnostic Bible. Marvin Meyer is best known for his generally accessible accounts of classic religions and popular magic during the rise of Christianity. His Ancient Christian Magic and The Ancient Mysteries provide useful entrée into current debates by religious scholars and historians. Both editors well serve their popular audience in this anthology and though the texts themselves may baffle and frustrate, they also can inspire to see how creative and varied salvific knowledge was conceived.

Offering a veritable wealth of diverse sources

Collaboratively compiled and expertly co-edited by Willis Barnstone (Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature, Indiana University) and Marvin Meyer (Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies, Chapman University, Orange, California), The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts Of Mystical Wisdom From The Ancient And Medieval Worlds is an 880-page collection of Jewish, Christian, Hermetic, Mandaean, Manichaean, Islamic, and Cathar writings concerning gnostic spirituality. Offering a veritable wealth of diverse sources, all of which are in full keeping with the Gnostic movement (and its promotion of salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience), The Gnostic Bible is a comprehensive, profoundly spiritual, and exceptionally accessible literary text, which is specifically translated in a manner that is designed to be clear and accessible to scholars, students, and non-specialist general readers of all backgrounds. No personal or academic Gnostic Studies collection can be considered truly comprehensive without the inclusion of this Shambhala edition of The Gnostic Bible.

Gnostic Bible

Fitting title for this book - Gnostic Bible. It brings together all the Gnostic Scriptures along with introductary commentary for each book. I spend a couple hours reading this book at the local book store and soon will order a copy. If you are interested in Gnostic literature, this book seems to be source for all within one hardcover book.My favorite Gnostic books were the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Gospel of Phillip, Gospel of Thomas, and Letter to Flora. Even though technology has advanced immeasurably since these Gospels were written, at least 1,800 years ago, one area that these ancients seems to have possessed that is timeless is their Philosophy, thoughts, and ideas which seem to be quite advanced in many ways even compared to us today 1,800 years later.

Ancient Hidden Texts Come Into Contemporary Light

This is a fascinating volume. I have heard of the gnostic teachings over the years, but never realized that they were so widespread nor so diverse. These teachings extended in space from western China all the way to the Languedoc in southwestern France, and in time from before Christ until the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in the thirteenth century. It is interesting to note that, as Willis Barnstone states in his Epilogue, "(in) its territorial range, in its cultural multiplicity, no religion has been so internationally receptive as has gnosticism." In comparison, orthodox Christianity and Islam, while they now have a greater reach geographically, attained much of their extension through conquest.From Marvin Meyer's Introduction and Willis Barnstone's Epilogue, both models of clear, accessible sholarship, one learns the reason why the gnostic teachings were so hated by the orthodoxies, especially in Christianity. The gnostic views ran so counter to the orthodox view that they represented a real theological threat to orthodox believers. It is no surprise that the early church set out to systematically destroy its major theological rival once Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire with Constantine's conversion in 1306. Despite the apparent logic of such a protective action, it is reprehensible nonetheless, equal in proportion to the later destruction of Mayan codices and other Pre-Columbian sacred texts by the Spanish in the Americas.I am not Christian, Jewish or Muslim, but I am intensely interested in mystical literature and in the mystical experience. After having initially read the beginning introductions, the epilogue and a bare smattering of the different entries, I can see how these teachings have exerted their influence through the writings of the major Christian, Jewish and Islamic mystics. Though these mystics often cloaked their teachings in the language of orthodoxy, and were persecuted nonetheless, their message has always come through to those dissatisfied with the strictures imposed by orthodox teachings. The gnostic principle of the individual's ability to achieve direct union with God without the intermediaries of church hierarchy has run like an underground aquifer through the centuries. With this volume, and the many others written in the last half-century at least, this underground source is once again coming to light. Its refreshing and revivifying message offers hope to those of us tired of the reigning orthodoxies with their increasing rigidity, exclusionary tactics and propensity toward fundamentalist, sectarian violence.There is also the artistic beauty of these texts to consider, along with their historical, cultural, spiritual and theological implications . We are lucky to have Willis Barnstone, one of our master translators and poets, rendering many of these writings into lucid, rapturous verse and prose. His essay, "Letting in the Light: Translating Holy Texts," argues conv