Beyond Belief

by Elaine Pagels

In Beyond Belief, renowned religion scholar Elaine Pagels continues her groundbreaking examination of the earliest Christian texts, arguing for an ongoing assessment of faith and a questioning of religious orthodoxy.

Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the “secret” Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations, and that the “rogue” voices of Christianity encourage and sustain “the recognition of the light within us all.”

• ISBN10: 0375501568
• ISBN13: 9780375501562
• Publish Date: 6 May 2003
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 18 August 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House USA Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 241
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

Still on the gnostics binge. This feels a bit misleading: there’s more about the Gospel of John than Thomas. At the moment, Ehrman has more of the info I’m looking for, but will try another Pagels.

A fascinating exegesis on the early church, which not only serves to give some background to the so called ‘apocryphal gospels,’ but also highlights the path some of the early church fathers took to control doctrine. I approached this book simply wanting to know more about these lost teachings, but left with a broader understanding of how our current teachings of Christianity were formed. I have more questions than answers, and I’m ok with that.