Horatio Parker

I just reserved Elaine Pagels book on Gnosticism.

Comments? Other good books on Gnosticism?

sotto voce

Other?

stephan huller

I am note sure I agree with what Pagels wrote in her the Gnostic Paul now. But back in the day, that was the most influential work on my development. I have nothing against Doherty's stuff but Pagels at least attempted to understand Paul's writings according to what is known of the Valentinian exegesis of the same texts. I thought it was amazing at the time. A must read for anyone trying to make sense of this stuff.

http://www.serenitystreetnews.com/HE...tic%20Paul.pdf

Cheerful Charlie

The Nag Hamadi library, a collection of Gnostic works discovered in Egypt in 1945.
Plus various Christion collections of heresiology mentioning Gnostic sects and their beliefs Epiphanius, Irenneus and others. All we really know about much of gnosticism comes from Christian critics.

The Nag Hammadi stuff is really intensely boring actually.

Cheerful Charlie

James The Least

it's only boring if you don't know anything about Gnosticism.

If you do know something about the subject, the Nag Hammadi stuff is intensely fascinating.

As for the OP, I guess the best one-volume book on the subject is Kurt Rudolph's "Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism." (or via: amazon.co.uk) A more general intro to the subject is "The Gnostics: History*Tradition*Scriptures*Influence" (or via: amazon.co.uk) by Andrew Philip Smith.

Robert Tulip

I read The Gnostic Gospels in 1980 and it influenced my thinking strongly.

My review of The Gnostic Paul is here.

I enjoyed reading Heresy by Joan O'Grady (or via: amazon.co.uk) and The Gnostics by Tobias Churton (or via: amazon.co.uk).

See also http://gnosis.org/gnintro.htm

Horatio Parker

Thanks Stephan.

I've been reading more Jung, specifically excerpts dealing with Alchemy. He has some interesting insights into the role of suffering in scripture. That suffering is essential to the emergence of the self and that scriptural suffering followed by transcendence represents that emergence.

Another point is the confusion on the part of the Alchemists on whether they were engaged in an external or internal process, a confusion that resembles the confusion over HJ and MJ.

I'm too lazy to dive into the raw texts, I want the guided tour.

andrewcriddle

If you are interested in the question of links between Alchemy and Gnosticism then you could try getting hold of Gnosis by Dan Merkur.

Andrew Criddle

Toto

Gnosis: An Esoteric Tradition of Mystical Visions and Unions (Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions) (Suny Series, Western Esoteric Traditions) (or via: amazon.co.uk)

also on google books

Horatio Parker

Thanks. That is a consideration, though not primary.

I have seen references to the effect that Alchemy was essentially a way to preserve Gnosticism under the eye of the Inquisition.