The Gnostic Gospels

Choose one story or concept from Christianity (i.e., the creation myth from the Book of Genesis, the idea of the Devil, the crucifixion of Jesus, etc.). Drawing from both The Gnostic Gospels and original research, how do orthodox and gnostic understandings of this story or concept differ? How are they the same? What do such similarities and differences reveal about gnosticism and early Christianity in general?

Analyze one of the texts from the Nag Hammadi manuscripts, such as The Gospel of Thomas, The Apocalypse of Adam, or The Teachings of Silvanus. What does the text reveal about gnostic ideas? Does your understanding of the text lead you to agree or disagree with the presentation of gnosticism in The Gnostic Gospels?

Outside the idea of the divine itself as feminine that Pagels discusses, how are women themselves presented in gnostic writings? Does the presentation of women in gnostic writings suggest that gnostic Christians had more egalitarian attitudes toward women than their orthodox counterparts?

Do you believe that The Gnostic Gospels presents an overly sympathetic view of gnosticism? Why or why not?

Compare The Gnostic Gospels to a more recent work of scholarship on gnosticism, such as Michael Allen Williams’ Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category (1996), Karen King’s What Is Gnosticism? (2003), or Birger Pearson’s Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature (2007). How has the understanding of the history of gnostic Christianity changed? Does the comparison make Pagels’s presentation of gnosticism more or less persuasive?

How was the concept of gnosis derived from the New Testament and other early Christian sources? Did the concept of gnosis or similar understandings also exist in orthodox Christianity? If so, how was it different from the gnostic understanding of gnosis?

How did gnostic writings present the physical world? What were the implications of these ideas for gnostic practices? What were the differences between orthodox and gnostic understandings of the material world?

How does Pagels trace the relationship between theology and political power? How did orthodox views of the divine lend themselves to the accrual of political power, while gnostic views did not? How does Pagels make a case for the value of less “successful” ideas?