Gnostic Religion

The Gnostic Gospels provides engaging listening for those seeking a broader perspective on the early development of Christianity. Author and noted scholar Elaine Pagels suggests that Christianity could have developed quite differently if Gnostic texts had become part of the Christian canon.

Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium CE—with earlier antecedents and later flourishings—whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience.

Contained here is a compilation of the most powerful and sought after Gnostic texts available. Gnostic writings discovered in the areas of Nag Hammadi, Cairo, Oxyrynchus, and around the world have been placed in a single volume to allow the listener an appreciation of the theology and deep wisdom held in the Gnostic sect of the Christian faith. Included in this audiobook is information on various Gnostic thoughts and beliefs, which will help the listener better navigate a Christian theology vastly different from modern Christianity.

Gnosticism was a contemporary of early Christianity, and its demise can be traced to Christianity's efforts to silence its teachings. The Gnostic message, however, was not destroyed but simply went underground. Starting with the first emergence of Gnosticism, the author shows how its influence extended from the teachings of neo-Platonists and the magical traditions of the Middle Ages to the beliefs and ideas of the Sufis, Jacob Böhme, Carl Jung, Rudolf Steiner, and the Rosicrucians and Freemasons.

And the companion (Consort) was Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene). The Lord loved Mary more than all the other disciples and he kissed her often on her mouth (the text is missing here and the word "mouth" is assumed). The others saw his love for Mary and asked him: "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Savior replied, "Why do I not love you in the same way I love her?" (The Gospel of Philip)

The selections made in this volume shed light on these esoteric doctrines, revealing intimate conversations between Jesus and his disciples. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene throws new light on his relationship with this favorite disciple. The Gospel of Thomas contains concentrated mini-parables, containing deep inward and symbolic meaning, many of which are not found in the New Testament. The texts chosen are relevant to many of the perplexities of contemporary life and deal with the questions of good and evil, sin and suffering, and the path to salvation.

From the uniquely preserved writings of the Ethiopian Church to the mystical revelations of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures, this volume opens a portal into forgotten realms of divine wisdom, spiritual power, and early Christian thought—now beautifully translated for the modern listener.

What if the wisdom of ancient prophets, mystics, and early Christian thinkers could guide your spiritual journey today? This remarkable collection, The Complete 70-Book Apocrypha with Writings of the Apostolic Fathers, brings together sacred scriptures once lost, debated, or hidden—now presented in a modern translation for today's seeker.

With insights gained from the Individuation process of Carl Jung, The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas bursts into flames of gnosis, allowing us to see the truth about the deeper mysteries of life. If you have ever felt as if there was more to existence than you could see, that there was another world just behind the curtain of your mind, just out of reach, which contains the full truth, the words of Jesus according to The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas will echo within you and lead you into light.

In this new translation of the Gospel of Thomas, Leloup shows that the Jesus recorded by the "infinitely skeptical and infinitely believing" Thomas has much in common with gnostics of non-dualistic schools. Like them, Jesus preaches the coming of a new man, the genesis of the man of knowledge. In this gospel, Jesus describes a journey from limited to unlimited consciousness. The Jesus of Thomas invites us to drink deeply from the well of knowledge within, not so that we may become good Christians but so we may attain the self-knowledge that will make each of us, too, a Christ.

Follow author Joseph Lumpkin in his dive into Gnosticism. As a follow-up to his book "Tour of Gnosticism," where gnostic cosmology is explored in conjunction with mainstream Christendom, Lumpkin has released this jaw-dropping volume of influential Gnostic texts. Lumpkin takes it a step further by coupling the text with lessons on common themes in Gnosticism, historical context for the texts, and expert commentary exploring the differences in the largest gnostic sects.

The evolution of the Sacred Worship of Sophia, Mary Magdalene, and Mother Mary are traced through the Gnostic Scriptures. Sophia would come to be considered a force or conduit of the Holy Spirit, in part due to the fact that the Holy Spirit was also considered a feminine and creative force from the Supreme God. As the emerging orthodox church became more and more oppressive to women, later even labeling them "occasions of sin", the Gnostics countered by raising women to equal status.

From the dawn of history, a universal wisdom tradition has existed that explains humanity’s purpose in the cosmos and our relationship to the Master Source Consciousness. This mystical philosophy was harnessed by the ancient seers known as Gnostics, who were in direct contact with Source Consciousness. As Peter Canova reveals, not only do the ancient teachings of Gnosticism contain important spiritual truths, but they profoundly align with the modern sciences of quantum physics and psychology.

Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic text discovered in 1773, possibly written between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The existing manuscript, which some scholars place in the late 4th century, relates one Gnostic group's teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples (including his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Martha). In this text, the risen Jesus had spent eleven years speaking with his disciples, teaching them only the lower mysteries. After eleven years, he receives his true garment and is able to reveal the higher mysteries revered by this group.

Lost for nearly 1,700 years, newly restored and authenticated, the Gospel of Judas presents a very different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Rather than paint Judas as a traitor, it portrays him as acting at Jesus' request.

Although all the titles of the Nag Hammadi library are not known, many people have heard about its most famous components: The Gospel of Thomas - at one time it was discussed whether it should be included in the New Testament - and The Gospel of Philip, which tried to revive the debate around the identity of Mary Magdalene: "Why do you love her more than all of us?" asks a disconcerted Peter to Jesus. Finally, the Nag Hammadi texts have led many scholars to reconsider the rigid canons imposed by the early Church, and the readers to find a more intimate religion that turned upside down many postulates of Christian orthodoxy.

The success of books such as Elaine Pagels's Gnostic Gospels and Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code proves beyond a doubt that there is a tremendous thirst today for finding the hidden truths of Christianity - truths that may have been lost or buried by institutional religion over the last two millennia. In Forbidden Faith, Richard Smoley narrates a popular history of one such truth, the ancient esoteric religion of gnosticism, which flourished between the first and fourth centuries AD, but whose legacy remains even today, having survived secretly throughout the ages.

This is G.R.S. Mead's translation of the Pistis Sophia, the most extensive Gnostic scripture available until the discovery of Nag Hammadi texts in 1945. The Pistis Sophia is a startling blend of primitive Christianity and Hellenic Paganism, with other elements such as reincarnation, astrology, mystery religion and Hermetic magic.

Hidden for nearly two millennia, the Gnostic Gospels offer a radically different vision of Christ’s message—one centered not on blind faith, but on awakening, inner knowledge, and divine self-realization. This expanded edition brings together five of the most powerful non-canonical scriptures ever uncovered, offering sacred insight for seekers, scholars, and anyone drawn to the forgotten paths of early Christianity.

In this book, we will explore Gnosticism and the Divine Feminine through the lens of two great Gnostic texts. We will see the influence of Gnosticism and how their idea of the Divine Feminine effected orthodox or mainstream Christianity. The treatise of Eugnostos the Blessed (50-150 AD) and the gospel called The Sophia of Jesus Christ (50-200 AD) are presented together in a single volume, due to their close and undeniable connection.