The Definitive Collection of Gnostic WritingsThe year is 1945. At the foot of a cliff along the Nile River; near the city of Nag Hammadi; an Egyptian peasant unearths a large storage jar containing ancient manuscripts. The discovery turns out to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the past century. A treasure of fourth-century texts; the manuscripts are the scriptures of the ancient mystical tradition commonly called Gnosticism; from the Greek gnosis; that is; secret knowledge. It is a discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about the early Christian church; ancient Judaism; and Greco-Roman religions.The Nag Hammadi Scriptures is the most complete and up-to-date English-language edition of these sacred texts from Egypt. It is full of treatises; testimonies; and secret books that had been lost for centuries. In addition to gospels purportedly by the apostles Thomas and Philip; and the revelations of James; Peter; and Paul; this collection also includes the Gospel of Mary and the controversial Gospel of Judas. The documents have been newly translated by a team of prominent international scholars. This volume also features introductory essays and extensive notes to help readers understand the context and significance of these texts that have revolutionized the study of early Christianity and ancient religious thought.
#85706 in Books Davis; James C. 2005-07-26 2005-07-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x 1.08 x 5.31l; .79 #File Name: 0060516208480 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. best of its kindBy sheepmanI am a high school history teacher who has taught World History for over twenty years. Every few years I conduct a search for a narrative history that I could use to replace my $100 plus college level text with. Last year I found the Human Story. After reading the book I asked myself these questions: does it cover everything in the regular textbook (yes and more); does it cost less (yes; 1/10th as much); does it read more like the text book or a novel ( while it is non-fiction; it does read more like a novel. The author is an awesome story teller); does it have a kindle edition (yes; many textbooks don't and all of my students have I-Pads and prefer reading on them); and finally is the author a reasonable historian or does he express a bias? Beyond telling a story that is somewhat influenced by who he is the author is fair and balanced. I would recommend this book to someone looking to read history for pleasure or to someone looking for a better option for a textbook.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Pretty Decent ReadBy Murali ChariEven without the author warning us that he would not be able to / and is not going to cover every important event in the World history; we are already psychologically prepared for that.The author rushes through the earlier periods; but his account of the world in the 20th century is very nicely done.I would recommend it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Well written.By Eliza CampbellAs an anthropology student I found this book to be quite accurate with regards to the major theories of human movement. I found Davis's writing to be captivating and funny while conveying a great overview of world history. He makes the trends that impacted our world obvious and easy to understand. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
