Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

by ElainePagels (Author)

Synopsis

When her infant son was diagnosed with fatal pulmonary hypertension, award-winning author Elaine Pagels was moved to explore her faith. In Beyond Belief, her spiritual journey becomes a springboard for an intellectual and professional re-examination of early Christian faith. Controversial and thought-provoking, this international bestseller investigates the politics of Christianity and how the church crafted a Bible and a faith far more stringent than previously thought. In her search for meaning, Elaine Pagels discovers that the history of the Church and therefore the history of the Western world could have been significantly different. This moving testament to history, faith and humanity, Pagels will challenge and transform everything you know of Christianity. 'Those who are moved by religion but who find that they can no longer accept the official doctrines of their church will find this marvellous book a source of inspiration and hope' Karen Armstrong 'This is writing about religion of the first order: enlightening, intelligent, inclusive and humane' Peter Stanford, Independent

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Pan
Published: 21 Jan 2005

ISBN 10: 0330431978
ISBN 13: 9780330431972

Media Reviews
Pagels has accomplished a very rare thing, an examination of early religious writings that is a good read, accessible, and at times even dramatic and poignant. -- The Columbus Dispatch This remarkable book will stir and provoke thought. It offers rewards to any reader concerned with the promise and power of faith, and the hunger for spiritual discovery. -- The Christian Science Monitor Lucid . . . a spiritual as well as an intellectual exercise. . . . [Pagels] seems to rejoice that in the earliest years of Christianity there existed these strange, dissident doctrines. --Frank Kermode, The New York Times Book Review With the winning combination of sound scholarship, deep insight and a crystal clear prose style . . . [ Beyond Belief ] portrays the rich and beautiful heritage that was lost when champions of religious orthodoxy turned on many of their fellow Christians and declared them 'heretics'. -- Los Angeles Times Brilliantly lucid, elegantly written . . . [Pagels'] book is so readable you can't put it down. -- Providence Journal-Bulletin Just as topical today as it was nearly two thousand years ago. . . . Pagels is great at pulling together the details that allow us to understand not only what people were arguing about but why. -San Jose Mercury News Majestic. . . . Exhilarating reading, Pagel's book offers a model of careful and thoughtful scholarship in the lively and exciting prose of a mystery writer. - Publishers Weekly This luminous and accessible history of early Christian thought offers profound and crucial insights on the nature of God, revelation, and what we mean by religious truth. -Karen Armstong As relevantas today's front page. - The Washington Post Book World
Author Bio
Elaine Pagels is the author of the bestselling The Gnostic Gospels , which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award. She is currently the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University.