This is a book by Elaine Pagels on important Gnostic literature and its context in the ancient world.
I liked the book and found that I have a lot in common with the Valentinians! The book was a little short perhaps given the amount of material covered, but I think Ms. Pagels probably still did her subject justice.
The book tackles the subject via a set of themes, such as the Resurrection, not by individual works or authors. This probably was the way to go to keep things straightforward in a short format.
I think what surprised me the most was how closed minded the "orthodox" church fathers were about gnostic ideas. Some of these were pretty way out, but many really weren't and made quite a bit of sense to me.
Ms. Pagels seems to believe that the structure of the "orthodox" church and its relatively simple, if authoritarian approach, as set up by the "orthodox" fathers, was what helped it win out over the gnostics and survive to this day. Her argument is pretty convincing.
The wholesale rejection of gnostic ideas, even for those "capable" of appreciating them, seems to me to have been a real tragedy, however. Jesus seems to have said things to support both viewpoints and maybe he really meant to do that. Ms. Pagels gives good examples as to how there is support for both in the New Testament; even if you don't buy these (I did), recall for example, that Jesus spoke in parables and only explained them to some people.
It was not until recently that we really had a chance to see what this second path involved. Maybe it is what many who are leaving Christianity today find missing.
If you give the book a try, let me know what you think.
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