Beyond Belief

While DA VINCI CODE enthusiasts may suggest otherwise, the origins of Christianity are laid out rather plainly in the scrolls found at Nag Hammadi and the Dead Sea in the last century. Since publishing THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS in 1979, Elaine Pagels has been written some of the most accessible scholarly work about these texts. In BEYOND BELIEF she examines the Gospel of Thomas, discovered in 1945. This gospel suggests that there's a bit of divinity in all of us, an inclusive idea that appeals to many modern Christians -- and, indeed, to Pagels herself -- but not, alas, to Church fathers. Cassandra Campbell's narration is even and unadorned, making it a complement to Pagel's readable prose. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 14, 2003
In this majestic new book, Pagels (The Gnostic Gospels) ranges panoramically over the history of early Christianity, demonstrating the religion's initial tremendous diversity and its narrowing to include only certain texts supporting certain beliefs. At the center of her book is the conflict between the gospels of John and Thomas. Reading these gospels closely, she shows that Thomas offered readers a message of spiritual enlightenment. Rather than promoting Jesus as the only light of the world, Thomas taught individuals that "there is a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe. If it does not shine, there is darkness." As she eloquently and provocatively argues, the author of John wrote his gospel as a refutation of Thomas, portraying the disciple Thomas as a fool when he doubts Jesus, and Jesus as the only true light of the world. Pagels goes on to demonstrate that the early Christian writer Irenaeus promoted John as the true gospel while he excluded Thomas, and a host of other early gospels, from the list of those texts that he considered authoritative. His list became the basis for the New Testament canon when it was fixed in 357. Pagels suggests that we recover Thomas as a way of embracing the glorious diversity of religious tradition. As she elegantly contends, religion is not merely an assent to a set of beliefs, but a rich, multifaceted fabric of teachings and experiences that connect us with the divine. Exhilarating reading, Pagels's book offers a model of careful and thoughtful scholarship in the lively and exciting prose of a good mystery writer.