TheGnosticGospels

The52textsdiscoveredinNagHammadi,Egyptinclude'secret'gospelspoemsand
mythsattributingtoJesussayingsandbeliefswhichareverydifferentfromtheNew
Testament.ScholarElainePagelsexploresthesedocumentsandtheirimplications.
FromTheGnosticGospels
byElainePagels
VintageBooks,NewYork:1979
pp.xiiixxiii

InDecember1945anArabpeasantmadeanastonishingarcheologicaldiscoveryin
UpperEgypt.Rumorsobscuredthecircumstancesofthisfindperhapsbecausethe
discoverywasaccidental,anditssaleontheblackmarketillegal.Foryearseventhe
identityofthediscovererremainedunknown.Onerumorheldthathewasablood
avengeranother,thathehadmadethefindnearthetownofNaj'Hammdatthe
JabalalTrif,amountainhoneycombedwithmorethan150caves.Originallynatural,
someofthesecaveswerecutandpaintedandusedasgravesitesasearlyasthe
sixthdynasty,some4,300yearsago.
Thirtyyearslaterthediscovererhimself,Muhammad'AlalSammntoldwhat
happened.Shortlybeforeheandhisbrothersavengedtheirfather'smurderinablood
feud,theyhadsaddledtheircamelsandgoneouttotheJabaltodigforsabakh,a
softsoiltheyusedtofertilizetheircrops.Diggingaroundamassiveboulder,theyhita
redearthenwarejar,almostameterhigh.Muhammad'Alhesitatedtobreakthejar,
consideringthatajinn,orspirit,mightliveinside.Butrealizingthatitmightalso
containgold,heraisedhismattock,smashedthejar,anddiscoveredinsidethirteen
papyrusbooks,boundinleather.ReturningtohishomeinalQasr,Muhammad'All
dumpedthebooksandloosepapyrusleavesonthestrawpiledonthegroundnextto
theoven.Muhammad'smother,'UmmAhmad,admitsthatsheburnedmuchofthe
papyrusintheovenalongwiththestrawsheusedtokindlethefire.
Afewweekslater,asMuhammad'Altellsit,heandhisbrothersavengedtheir
father'sdeathbymurderingAhmedIsma'il.Theirmotherhadwarnedhersonsto
keeptheirmattockssharp:whentheylearnedthattheirfather'senemywasnearby,
thebrothersseizedtheopportunity,"hackedoffhislimbs...rippedouthisheart,
anddevoureditamongthem,astheultimateactofbloodrevenge."
Fearingthatthepoliceinvestigatingthemurderwouldsearchhishouseanddiscover
thebooks,Muhammad'Alaskedthepriest,alQummusBasiliyusAbdalMasih,to
keeponeormoreforhim.DuringthetimethatMuhammad'Alandhisbrotherswere
beinginterrogatedformurder,Raghib,alocalhistoryteacher,hadseenoneofthe
books,andsuspectedthatithadvalue.HavingreceivedonefromalQummus
Basiliyus,RaghibsentittoafriendinCairotofindoutitsworth.
SoldontheblackmarketthroughantiquitiesdealersinCairo,themanuscriptssoon
attractedtheattentionofofficialsoftheEgyptiangovernment.Throughcircumstances
ofhighdrama,asweshallsee,theyboughtoneandconfiscatedtenandahalfofthe
thirteenleatherboundbooks,calledcodices,anddepositedthemintheCoptic
MuseuminCairo.Butalargepartofthethirteenthcodex,containingfive
extraordinarytexts,wassmuggledoutofEgyptandofferedforsaleinAmerica.Word
ofthiscodexsoonreachedProfessorGillesQuispel,distinguishedhistorianofreligion
atUtrecht,intheNetherlands.Excitedbythediscovery,QuispelurgedtheJung

FoundationinZurichtobuythecodex.Butdiscovering,whenhesucceeded,that
somepagesweremissing,heflewtoEgyptinthespringof1955totrytofindthemin
theCopticMuseum.ArrivinginCairo,hewentatoncetotheCopticMuseum,
borrowedphotographsofsomeofthetexts,andhurriedbacktohishoteltodecipher
them.Tracingoutthefirstline,Quispelwasstartled,thenincredulous,toread:"These
arethesecretwordswhichthelivingJesusspoke,andwhichthetwin,JudasThomas,
wrotedown."QuispelknewthathiscolleagueH.C.Puech,usingnotesfromanother
Frenchscholar,JeanDoresse,hadidentifiedtheopeninglineswithfragmentsofa
GreekGospelofThomasdiscoveredinthe1890's.Butthediscoveryofthewhole
textraisednewquestions:DidJesushaveatwinbrother,asthistextimplies?Could
thetextbeanauthenticrecordofJesus'sayings?Accordingtoitstitle,itcontained
theGospelAccordingtoThomasyet,unlikethegospelsoftheNewTestament,
thistextidentifieditselfasasecretgospel.Quispelalsodiscoveredthatitcontained
manysayingsknownfromtheNewTestamentbutthesesayings,placedinunfamiliar
contexts,suggestedotherdimensionsofmeaning.Otherpassages,Quispelfound,
differedentirelyfromanyknownChristiantradition:the"livingJesus,"forexample,
speaksinsayingsascrypticandcompellingasZenkoans:
Jesussaid,"Ifyoubringforthwhatiswithinyou,whatyoubringforthwillsaveyou.If
youdonotbringforthwhatiswithinyou,whatyoudonotbringforthwilldestroy
you."
WhatQuispelheldinhishand,theGospelofThomas,wasonlyoneofthefiftytwo
textsdiscoveredatNagHammadi(theusualEnglishtransliterationofthetown's
name).BoundintothesamevolumewithitistheGospelofPhilip,whichattributes
toJesusactsandsayingsquitedifferentfromthoseintheNewTestament:
...thecompanionofthe[Savioris]MaryMagdalene.[ButChristloved]hermore
than[all]thedisciples,andusedtokissher[often]onher[mouth].Therestof[the
discipleswereoffended]...Theysaidtohim,"Whydoyoulovehermorethanallof
us?"TheSavioransweredandsaidtothem,"WhydoInotloveyouas(Ilove)her?"
OthersayingsinthiscollectioncriticizecommonChristianbeliefs,suchasthevirgin
birthorthebodilyresurrection,asnavemisunderstandings.Boundtogetherwith
thesegospelsistheApocryphon(literally,"secretbook")ofJohn,whichopenswith
anoffertoreveal"themysteries[andthe]thingshiddeninsilence"whichJesus
taughttohisdiscipleJohn.
Muhammad'Allateradmittedthatsomeofthetextswerelostburneduporthrown
away.Butwhatremainsisastonishing:somefiftytwotextsfromtheearlycenturies
oftheChristianeraincludingacollectionofearlyChristiangospels,previously
unknown.BesidestheGospelofThomasandtheGospelofPhilip,thefindincluded
theGospelofTruthandtheGospeltotheEgyptians,whichidentifiesitselfas"the
[sacredbook]oftheGreatInvisible[Spirit]."Anothergroupoftextsconsistsof
writingsattributedtoJesus'followers,suchastheSecretBookof
James,theApocalypseofPaul,theLetterofPetertoPhilip,and
theApocalypseofPeter.
WhatMuhammad'AldiscoveredatNagHammadi,itsoonbecameclear,wereCoptic
translations,madeabout1,500yearsago,ofstillmoreancientmanuscripts.The
originalsthemselveshadbeenwritteninGreek,thelanguageoftheNewTestament:
asDoresse,Puech,andQuispelhadrecognized,partofoneofthemhadbeen
discoveredbyarcheologistsaboutfiftyyearsearlier,whentheyfoundafewfragments
oftheoriginalGreekversionoftheGospelofThomas.

Aboutthedatingofthemanuscriptsthemselvesthereislittledebate.Examinationof
thedatablepapyrususedtothickentheleatherbindings,andoftheCopticscript,
placethemc.A.D.350400.Butscholarssharplydisagreeaboutthedatingofthe
originaltexts.Someofthemcanhardlybelaterthanc.A.D.120150,sinceIrenaeus,
theorthodoxBishopofLyons,writingC.180,declaresthatheretics"boastthatthey
possessmoregospelsthantherereallyare,''andcomplainsthatinhistimesuch
writingsalreadyhavewonwidecirculationfromGaulthroughRome,Greece,and
AsiaMinor.
Quispelandhiscollaborators,whofirstpublishedtheGospelofThomas,suggested
thedateofc.A.D.140fortheoriginal.Somereasonedthatsincethesegospelswere
heretical,theymusthavebeenwrittenlaterthanthegospelsoftheNewTestament,
whicharedatedc.60ll0.ButrecentlyProfessorHelmutKoesterofHarvard
UniversityhassuggestedthatthecollectionofsayingsintheGospelof
Thomas,althoughcompiledc.140,mayincludesometraditionsevenolderthanthe
gospelsoftheNewTestament,"possiblyasearlyasthesecondhalfofthefirst
century"(50100)asearlyas,orearlier,thanMark,Matthew,Luke,andJohn.
ScholarsinvestigatingtheNagHammadifinddiscoveredthatsomeofthetextstell
theoriginofthehumanraceintermsverydifferentfromtheusualreadingof
Genesis:theTestimonyofTruth,forexample,tellsthestoryoftheGardenofEden
fromtheviewpointoftheserpent!Heretheserpent,longknowntoappearinGnostic
literatureastheprincipleofdivinewisdom,convincesAdamandEvetopartakeof
knowledgewhile"theLord"threatensthemwithdeath,tryingjealouslytoprevent
themfromattainingknowledge,andexpellingthemfromParadisewhentheyachieve
it.Anothertext,mysteriouslyentitledTheThunder,PerfectMind,offersan
extraordinarypoemspokeninthevoiceofafemininedivinepower:
ForIamthefirstandthelast.Iamthehonoredoneandthescornedone.
Iamthewhoreandtheholyone.
Iamthewifeandthevirgin....
Iamthebarrenone,andmanyarehersons....
Iamthesilencethatisincomprehensible....
Iamtheutteranceofmyname.
Thesediversetextsrange,then,fromsecretgospels,poems,andquasiphilosophic
descriptionsoftheoriginoftheuniverse,tomyths,magic,andinstructionsfor
mysticalpractice.
Whywerethesetextsburiedandwhyhavetheyremainedvirtuallyunknownfor
nearly2,000years?Theirsuppressionasbanneddocuments,andtheirburialonthe
cliffatNagHammadi,itturnsout,werebothpartofastrugglecriticalforthe
formationofearlyChristianity.TheNagHammaditexts,andotherslikethem,which
circulatedatthebeginningoftheChristianera,weredenouncedasheresyby
orthodoxChristiansinthemiddleofthesecondcentury.Wehavelongknownthat
manyearlyfollowersofChristwerecondemnedbyotherChristiansasheretics,but
nearlyallweknewaboutthemcamefromwhattheiropponentswroteattacking
them.BishopIrenaeus,whosupervisedthechurchinLyons,c.180,wrotefive
volumes,entitledTheDestructionandOverthrowofFalselySocalled
Knowledge,whichbeginwithhispromisetosetforththeviewsofthosewhoare
nowteachingheresy...toshowhowabsurdandinconsistentwiththetrutharetheir
statements...Idothissothat...youmayurgeallthosewithwhomyouare
connectedtoavoidsuchanabyssofmadnessandofblasphemyagainstChrist.
Hedenouncesasespecially"fullofblasphemy"afamousgospelcalledtheGospel
ofTruth.IsIrenaeusreferringtothesameGospelofTruthdiscoveredatNag

Hammadi'Quispelandhiscollaborators,whofirstpublishedtheGospelof
Truth,arguedthatheisoneoftheircriticsmaintainsthattheopeningline(which
begins"Thegospeloftruth")isnotatitle.ButIrenaeusdoesusethesamesourceas
atleastoneofthetextsdiscoveredatNagHammaditheApocryphon(Secret
Book)ofJohnasammunitionforhisownattackonsuch"heresy."Fiftyyearslater
Hippolytus,ateacherinRome,wroteanothermassiveRefutationofAllHeresiesto
"exposeandrefutethewickedblasphemyoftheheretics."
Thiscampaignagainstheresyinvolvedaninvoluntaryadmissionofitspersuasive
poweryetthebishopsprevailed.BythetimeoftheEmperorConstantine's
conversion,whenChristianitybecameanofficiallyapprovedreligioninthefourth
century,Christianbishops,previouslyvictimizedbythepolice,nowcommandedthem.
Possessionofbooksdenouncedashereticalwasmadeacriminaloffense.Copiesof
suchbookswereburnedanddestroyed.ButinUpperEgypt,someonepossiblya
monkfromanearbymonasteryofSt.Pachomius,tookthebannedbooksandhid
themfromdestructioninthejarwheretheyremainedburiedforalmost1,600years.
Butthosewhowroteandcirculatedthesetextsdidnotregardthemselvesas
"heretics.MostofthewritingsuseChristianterminology,unmistakablerelatedtoa
Jewishheritage.ManyclaimtooffertraditionsaboutJesusthataresecret,hidden
from"themany"whoconstitutewhat,inthesecondcentury,cametobecalledthe
"catholicchurch."TheseChristiansarenowcalledgnostics,fromtheGreek
wordgnosis,usuallytranslatedas"knowledge."Forasthosewhoclaimtoknow
nothingaboutultimaterealityarecalledagnostic(literally,"notknowing"),theperson
whodoesclaimtoknowsuchthingsiscalledgnostic("knowing").Butgnosisisnot
primarilyrationalknowledge.TheGreeklanguagedistinguishesbetweenscientificor
reflectiveknowledge("Heknowsmathematics")andknowingthroughobservationor
experience("Heknowsme"),whichisgnosis.Asthegnosticsusetheterm,wecould
translateitas"insight,"forgnosisinvolvesanintuitiveprocessofknowingoneself.
Andtoknowoneself,theyclaimed,istoknowhumannatureandhumandestiny.
AccordingtothegnosticteacherTheodotus,writinginAsiaMinor(c.140160),the
gnosticisonehascometounderstandwhowewere,andwhatwehavebecome
wherewewere...whitherwearehasteningfromwhatwearebeingreleasedwhat
birthis,andwhatisrebirth.
Yettoknowoneself,atthedeepestlevel,issimultaneouslytoknowGodthisisthe
secretofgnosis.Anothergnosticteacher,Monoimus,says:
AbandonthesearchforGodandthecreationandothermattersofasimilarsort.Look
forhimbytakingyourselfasthestartingpoint.Learnwhoitiswithinyouwhomakes
everythinghisownandsays,"MyGod,mymind,mythought,mysoul,mybody."
Learnthesourcesofsorrow:,joy,love,hate...Ifyoucarefullyinvestigatethese
mattersyouwillfindhiminyourself.
WhatMuhammad'AlldiscoveredatNagHammadiis,apparently,alibraryofwritings,
almostallofthemgnostic.Althoughtheyclaimtooffersecretteaching,manyofthese
textsrefertotheScripturesoftheOldTestament,andotherstothelettersofPaul
andtheNewTestamentgospels.Manyofthemincludethesamedramatic
personaeastheNewTestamentJesusandhisdisciples.Yetthedifferencesare
striking.
OrthodoxJewsandChristiansinsistthatachasmseparateshumanityfromIts
creator:Godiswhollyother.Butsomeofthegnosticswhowrotethesegospels
contradictthis:selfknowledgeisknowledgeofGodtheselfandthedivineare
identical.

Second,the"livingJesus"ofthesetextsspeaksofillusionandenlightenment,notof
sinandrepentance,liketheJesusoftheNewTestament.Insteadofcomingtosaveus
fromsin,hecomesasaguidewhoopensaccesstospiritualunderstanding.Butwhen
thediscipleattainsenlightenment,Jesusnolongerservesashisspiritualmaster:the
twohavebecomeequalevenidentical.
Third,orthodoxChristiansbelievethatJesusisLordandSonofGodinauniqueway:
heremainsforeverdistinctfromtherestofhumanitywhomhecametosave.Yetthe
gnosticGospelofThomasrelatesthatassoonasThomasrecognizeshim,Jesus
saystoThomasthattheyhavebothreceivedtheirbeingfromthesamesource:
Jesussaid,"Iamnotyourmaster.Becauseyouhavedrunk,youhavebecomedrunk
fromthebubblingstreamwhichIhavemeasuredout....Hewhowilldrinkfrommy
mouthwillbecomeasIam:Imyselfshallbecomehe,andthethingsthatarehidden
willberevealedtohim."
Doesnotsuchteachingtheidentityofthedivineandhuman.theconcernwith
illusionandenlightenment,thefounderwhoispresentednotasLord,butasspiritual
guidesoundmoreEasternthanWestern?Somescholarshavesuggestedthatifthe
nameswerechanged,the"livingBuddha"appropriatelycouldsaywhattheGospelof
ThomasattributestothelivingJesus.CouldHinduorBuddhisttraditionhave
influencedgnosticism?
TheBritishscholarofBuddhism,EdwardConze,suggeststhatithad.Hepointsout
that"BuddhistswereincontactwiththeThomasChristians(thatis,Christianswho
knewandusedsuchwritingsastheGospelofThomas)inSouthIndia."Traderoutes
betweentheGrecoRomanworldandtheFarEastwereopeningupatthetimewhen
gnosticismflourished(A.D.80200)forgenerations,Buddhistmissionarieshadbeen
proselytizinginAlexandria.Wenote,too,thatHippolytus,whowasaGreekspeaking
ChristianinRome(c.225),knowsoftheIndianBrahminsandincludestheirtradition
amongthesourcesofheresy:
Thereis...amongtheIndiansaheresyofthosewhophilosophizeamongthe
Brahmins,wholiveaselfsufficientlife,abstainingfrom(eating)livingcreaturesand
allcookedfood...TheysaythatGodislight,notlikethelightonesees,norlikethe
sunnorfire,buttothemGodisdiscourse,notthatwhichfindsexpressionin
articulatesounds,butthatofknowledge(gnosis)throughwhichthesecretmysteries
ofnatureareperceivedbythewise.
CouldthetitleoftheGospelofThomasnamedforthedisciplewho,traditiontells
us,wenttoIndiasuggesttheinfluenceofIndiantradition?
Thesehintsindicatethepossibility,yetourevidenceisnotconclusive.Sinceparallel
traditionsmayemergeindifferentculturesatdifferenttimes,suchideascouldhave
developedinbothplacesindependently.WhatwecallEasternandWesternreligions,
andtendtoregardasseparatestreams,werenotclearlydifferentiated2,000years
ago.ResearchontheNagHammaditextsisonlybeginning:welookforwardtothe
workofscholarswhocanstudythesetraditionscomparativelytodiscoverwhether
theycan,infact,betracedtoIndiansources.
Evenso,ideasthatweassociatewithEasternreligionsemergedinthefirstcentury
throughthegnosticmovementintheWest,buttheyweresuppressedandcondemned
bypolemicistslikeIrenaeus.Yetthosewhocalledgnosticismheresywereadopting
consciouslyornottheviewpointofthatgroupofChristianswhocalledthemselves
orthodoxChristians.Ahereticmaybeanyonewhoseoutlooksomeoneelsedislikesor

denounces.Accordingtotradition,ahereticisonewhodeviatesfromthetruefaith.
Butwhatdefinesthat"truefaith"?Whocallsitthat,andforwhatreasons?
Wefindthisproblemfamiliarinourownexperience.Theterm"Christianity,"especially
sincetheReformation,hascoveredanastonishingrangeofgroups.Thoseclaimingto
represent"trueChristianity"inthetwentiethcenturycanrangefromaCatholic
cardinalintheVaticantoanAfricanMethodistEpiscopalpreacherinitiatingrevivalin
Detroit,aMormonmissionaryinThailand,orthememberofavillagechurchonthe
coastofGreece.YetCatholics,Protestants,andOrthodoxagreethatsuchdiversityis
arecentanddeplorabledevelopment.AccordingtoChristianlegend,theearly
churchwasdifferent.Christiansofeverypersuasionlookbacktotheprimitivechurch
tofindasimpler,purerformofChristianfaith.Intheapostles'time,allmembersof
theChristiancommunitysharedtheirmoneyandpropertyallbelievedthesame
teaching,andworshippedtogetherallreveredtheauthorityoftheapostles.Itwas
onlyafterthatgoldenagethatconflict,thenheresyemerged:sosaystheauthorof
theActsoftheApostles,whoidentifieshimselfasthefirsthistorianofChristianity.
ButthediscoveriesatNagHammadihaveupsetthispicture.Ifweadmitthatsomeof
thesefiftytwotextsrepresentsearlyformsofChristianteaching,wemayhaveto
recognizethatearlyChristianityisfarmorediversethannearlyanyoneexpected
beforetheNagHammadidiscoveries.
ContemporaryChristianity,diverseandcomplexaswefindit,actuallymayshowmore
unanimitythantheChristianchurchesofthefirstandsecondcenturies.Fornearlyall
Christianssincethattime,Catholics,Protestants,orOrthodox,havesharedthree
basicpremises.First,theyacceptthecanonoftheNewTestamentsecond,they
confesstheapostoliccreedandthird,theyaffirmspecificformsofchurchinstitution.
ButeveryoneofthesethecanonofScripture,thecreed,andtheinstitutional
structureemergedinitspresentformonlytowardtheendofthesecondcentury.
Beforethattime,asIrenaeusandothersattest,numerousgospelscirculatedamong
variousChristiangroups,rangingfromthoseoftheNewTestament,Matthew,Mark,
Luke,andJohn,tosuchwritingsastheGospelofThomas,theGospelof
Philip,andtheGospelofTruth,aswellasmanyothersecretteachings,myths,and
poemsattributedtoJesusorhisdisciples.Someofthese,apparently,werediscovered
atNagHammadimanyothersarelosttous.Thosewhoidentifiedthemselvesas
Christiansentertainedmanyandradicallydifferingreligiousbeliefsandpractices.
Andthecommunitiesscatteredthroughouttheknownworldorganizedthemselvesin
waysthatdifferedwidelyfromonegrouptoanother.
YetbyA.D.200,thesituationhadchanged.Christianityhadbecomeaninstitution
headedbyathreerankhierarchyofbishops,priests,anddeacons,whounderstood
themselvestobetheguardiansoftheonly"truefaith."Themajorityofchurches,
amongwhichthechurchofRometookaleadingrole,rejectedallotherviewpointsas
heresy.Deploringthediversityoftheearliermovement,BishopIrenaeusandhis
followersinsistedthattherecouldbeonlyonechurch,andoutsideofthatchurch,he
declared,"thereisnosalvation."Membersofthischurchaloneareorthodox(literally,
"straightthinking")Christians.And,heclaimed,thischurchmustbecatholicthat
is,universal.Whoeverchallengedthatconsensus,arguinginsteadforotherformsof
Christianteaching,wasdeclaredtobeaheretic,andexpelled.Whentheorthodox
gainedmilitarysupport,sometimeaftertheEmperorConstantinebecameChristianin
thefourthcentury,thepenaltyforheresyescalated.
FromTheGnosticGospelsbyElainePagels.PublishedbyVintageBooks.Reprinted
bypermissionoftheauthor.Allrightsreserved.