The Gnostic Scriptures

by Bentley Layton

Book Overview

A collection of extra-biblical scriptures written by the gnostics, updated with three ancient texts including the recently discovered Gospel of Judas

"The one indispensable book for the understanding of Gnosis and Gnosticism."--Harold Bloom

This definitive introduction to the gnostic scriptures provides a crucial look at the theology, religious atmosphere, and literary traditions of ancient Christianity and Hellenistic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300208545
• ISBN13: 9780300208542
• Release Date: July 2021
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 760 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The collection of Gnostic texts that I use the most

This has the key texts of the ancient Gnostics, as well as key reports by heresy-hunters who opposed them, with excellent commentary and outlines of the key figures mentioned in the texts. If someone wants to understand the Gnostics, I think this is the best place to start, beginning with the excellent historical introduction and a perusal of key texts (Apocryphon of John, Trimorphic Protennoia, Thunder Perfect Mind, The Gospel of Truth, th Letter of Ptolemy to Flora, and The Hymn of the Pearl).

Very Useful For Tackling a Tough Area

Bentley's "Gnostic Scriptures", while it may not be as complete as the Nag Hammadi Library, is for me the more useful volume. The introductions are very detailed, and many conventions of this arcane type of literature are clarified. I don't really understand some of the complaints in the other reviews. Books are grouped by school of thought, and the order seems very logical to me. Many writings are fragmented, and those who wish to read this kind of thing need to learn to deal with brackets. The translation job is generally quite a bit more illuminating than other translations of the same material I have read. This is an excellent resource.

Excellent Resource!

I found this book to be extremely insightful. It contains a lot of classic Gnostic text, along with plenty of commentary and additional historical facts by the editor. If you're looking for a concise and clear book on Gnostic Scripture and some of it's history, this is a good place to start.

An Investigation of the Highest Quality

The book provides an in depth look at a specific class of ancient Christian literature, the so-called "Gnostic" materials (primarily found in the Nag Hammadi corpus). The book also covers some of the more interesting accounts by the so-called Church Fathers with regards to the various "gnostic" sects. Several important "Gnostics" texts are presented in new translations, all of which are superb owing to Layton's first-rate command of Coptic. The above review by enemy@enemies.com does not do justice to the content of the work. The sexual acts referred to above are not the assertion of the author (B. Layton), but rather the assertions of a Christian heresiologist covered in the work: Epiphanius. The work itself takes into account the myriad reports given to us via the Fathers and the archaeological record in order to interpret these reports and to reconstruct a plausible socio-historical setting for the various "Gnostic" sects, if indeed there ever were such sects (a topic the book confronts). It is an academic work of the highest quality.