Nag Hammadi Scriptures, The

Thisisthemostcomplete,up–to–date,one–volume,English–languageeditionoftherenownedlibraryoffourth–centuryGnosticmanuscriptsdiscoveredinEgyptin1945,whichrivaledtheDeadSeaScrollsfindinsignificance.ItincludestheGospelofThomas,theGospelofMary,andotherGnosticgospelsandsacredtexts.Thisvolumealsoincludesintroductoryessays,notes,tables,glossary,index,etc.tohelpthereaderunderstandthecontextandcontemporarysignificanceofthesetextswhichhaveshednewlightonearlyChristianityandancientthought.ThisteamofcollaboratorslaunchedmodernGnosticstudiesandexposedamovementwithinChristianitywhoseteachingsareinmanywaysasrelevanttodayastheywerecenturiesago.TheimportanceoftheirworkhasbeenunderscoredwiththesuccessofbooksbybestsellingauthorssuchasElainePagels,HaroldBloom,andevenDanBrown.OpeningthesecretsofareligionwhichtheGnosticsthemselveshadhopedwouldbekeptsealeduntiltheLastDay,thiseditiontakesintoaccountrecentdevelopmentsincludingthesignificanceoftheGospelofThomasandotherlostgospelsasasourceoftheauthenticsayingsofJesus.ThisfascinatingcollectionwillbecomeawelcomeadditiontotheunderstandingoftheformativeyearsoftheearlyChristianChurch.