The Gnostic Bible 

Description:
This is the complete Gnostic Bible audio book edited by Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer. Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium C.E. whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and mystical experience. Sample the gnostics in their own words with this unique book-and-audio set. The book, The Gnostics and Their scriptures, provides a brief yet thorough introduction to gnostic philosophy, while the audio program allows you to encounter the gnostic scriptures as the living oral tradition they were intended to be. The selections are taken from among the most important—and most poetically beautiful—of all gnostic texts, including the Gospels of Thomas, Judas, and Mary Magdalene. Includes 3 CDs. This book may well be the most comprehensive collection of Gnostic materials ever gathered in one volume. After a dry introduction to current debates about gnosticism (by Meyer) and a luminous, marvelously literary introduction to issues of translation (by Barnstone), the bulk of the text is taken up with primary sources, which are drawn from three continents and span an astonishing 13 centuries. These are helpfully organized into various schools of Gnostic tradition: Sethian, Valentinian, Syrian, Hermetic, Mandaean, Manichaean, and--in an unusual move--relatively late Islamic and Cathar texts. Each grouping of texts is preceded by a brief introduction to that particular section's brand of Gnosticism. What is clear from this sourcebook is the tremendous diversity of thought that exists under the "Gnostic" umbrella, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, pagan, Zoroastrian and Greco-Roman themes. Many of the texts are being published here in English for the first time, making this a valuable resource for students and scholars. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Review “An enormously rich collection of sources—a wonderful achievement!”—Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels and Beyond Belief