Marvin Meyer, PhD, (1948-2012)was Griset Professor of Bible and
Christian Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Chapman
University in Orange, California. His books includeThe Gospel of
Thomasand, with James Robinson,The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.
Born in Lewiston, Maine,Willis Barnstonewas educated at Bowdoin,
Columbia, the Sorbonne, and Yale. He taught in Greece at the end of
the civil war (1949-51), and in Buenos Aires during the Dirty War.
During the Cultural Revolution he went to China where he was later
a Fulbright Professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University
(1984-85). Former O'Connor Professor of Greek at Colgate
University, he is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature
and Spanish at Indiana University.
"This book may well be the most comprehensive collection of gnostic
materials ever gathered in one volume. What is clear from the
sourcebook is the tremendous diversity of thought that exists under
the 'gnostic' umbrella including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan,
Zoroastrian, and Greco-Roman themes. A valuable resource for
students and scholars."—Publishers Weekly
“The selection of texts ranges across two millennia and various
cultures. Each work, some translated into English for the
first time, is accompanied by a clear introduction and
synopsis. This is an important sampler of relatively unknown
spiritual literature.”—Library Journal
“To read The Gnostic Bible is to witness something astonishing. . .
. I read it with dizzy excitement.”—Ian Cant, Ascent Magazine
“A Godsend for anyone interested in alternative Christianity, the
history of Christianity, or spirituality in general.”—Turk’s Head
Review
"An enormously rich collection of sources—a wonderful
achievement!"—Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels and
Beyond Belief
"Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer's Gnostic Bible joins Bentley
Layton's Gnostic Scriptures as one of the true critical sourcebooks
for gnostic texts. Here, from China to Catalonia, from the first to
the fourteenth centuries, gnosticism is seen as a global
meditation."—Harold Bloom, author of Genius: A Mosaic, Hamlet: Poem
Unlimited, and The Western Canon
“I feel as if I had been waiting for this book all my
life.”—Carolyn Kizer, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
“Everyone interested in the tumultuous origins of Christianity and
in a mysticism of direct, unmediated communion with God should fall
on this brilliant and ground-breaking book. In it, for the
first time, are assembled all the major texts of gnosticism, with
illuminating notes and introductions, and in translations that
radiate clarity.”—Andrew Harvey, author of Sun at Midnight, Son of
Man, and The Direct Path
“These ancient texts have not lost any of their power to awaken
higher consciousness. Seekers of knowledge owe an enormous
debt to Barnstone and Meyer for presenting these works to us in a
fresh, clear, and accessible form.”—Richard Smoley, author of Inner
Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition
“In this wonderfully readable anthology the authors have brought
together a large number of interesting selections from a wide
chronological, geographical, and cultural range of traditions that
nevertheless illustrate fascinating overlapping patterns in
religious symbolism and worldviews.”—Michael Williams, author of
Rethinking Gnosticism
“These two wise men have written an amazing book—the best of its
kind, ever. They bear lit matches in our dark
tunnel—sometimes they are the matches themselves.”—Gerald Stern,
author of American Sonnets and What I Can’t Bear Losing
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