The Gnostic Gospels

I finished this book weeks ago, but just realized I never posted about it.

This is an interesting look at the discovery of the Gnostic Gospels and a discussion of why they may not have been included in the New Testament canon. One of Pagels's main arguments is that gnosticism did not demand an organized church and so its gospels were excluded from the New Testament in favor of gospels that supported a church structure. I found her argument convincing.

In general, I like to see diversity of religious thought, and I am wary of creedal faiths. But after reading this book, I wonder if Christianity would have survived in the early centuries if it hadn't stamped out the diversity by persecuting the "heretics." Was a strong central church necessary to the continuation of the faith? And would a strong church have been possible if the heretics had been left alone to promote their version of the faith? I don't know.

The one thing I found disconcerting about the book were the actual excerpts from the various Gnostic Gospels. I found many of them difficult. As I told my mom, they made me feel stupid. I don't know if it is just because the canonical gospels are so much more familiar to me, or because I was reading excerpts instead of the full text, or because my mind just doesn't think like a gnostic, but whatever it was, it was very frustrating. I alternate between wanting to read more (Pagels has a book about the Gospel of Thomas that I've been eying) and wanting to never read them again.