A document of paramount historical importance, not only in terms of Christianity but also with respect to the development of Western religion. It chronicles the teachings of Jesus, who explains life's mysteries to his disciples and Mary Magdalene. Their discussions take place after Christ's resurrection and include accounts of his ascension into heaven.

This hymn or poem is an important Gnostic text and should be essential reading for anyone interested in early mystical literature. Also known as "The Hymn of the Pearl," it is an allegorical tale. Instead of an outer journey, as it first seems, it is interpreted here as a deeper, inner one. It contains a message that can be quite profound, depending on the reader's level of spiritual understanding. This book works on the inner psyche, creating an interactive balance, in some cases, between the upper (hidden) and lower (physical) worlds. That was the aim of many Gnostic stories, poems and...

The Corpus Hermeticum are at the core of the Hermetic tradition. Early Church officials believed this was an early precursor to Christianity. Today we know it emerged from Hellenic Egypt. In the text, the Thrice Great Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, engages in an educational and easy to follow discussion with the great healer of ancient Greece; Asclepius, answering the eternal questions as to the nature of the Logos.

George Robert Stow Mead (1863 1933) was for twenty-five years a prominent member of the Theosophical Society and worked closely with its founder, Helena Blavatsky. He was fascinated both by eastern religions and by western esotericism, including gnosticism, and published widely in these areas. Pistis Sophia, an important, probably second-century, text preserved in a Coptic manuscript, presents complex gnostic teachings in 'gospel' format, as having been addressed by Jesus Christ to his disciples after the resurrection. This translation, based on a Latin version published in 1851, appeared in...