Presents the original teachings of Jesus written by his contemporaries and early followers

From pre-New Testament texts comes a true picture of Jesus as savior, sage, and common man--allowing readers to see an image of Jesus unadulterated by 2,000 years of myth and interpretation. Photos & maps.

"I suspect you will find this book quite exciting, comforting, and also challenging! The Gospel of Thomas, so new on the scene yet perhaps the oldest of all, is waiting for just such insight and commentary as this. This is a new opening for all believers to unitive and non-dual consciousness." Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M. Center for Action and Contemplation Albuquerque, New Mexico. Previously published as "Yeshua's Yoga", the Hidden Message of the Lost Gospel of Thomas unearths the central teaching of this ancient text. The Gospel of Thomas, re-discovered in Nag Hammadi Egypt in 1945, remains one of the most exciting archaeological finds of recent centuries. But how prepared are we to approach this text on its own terms? How accurately are we able to discover what it is saying, immersed as we are in 2000 years of Platonic and dualistic Christian orthodoxy? Thanks to the influx of Eastern knowledge and the new crop of Western teachers willing to re-approach their Christian tradition as the Eastern wisdom teacher that Jesus was, we may finally be able to see the meaning and philosophical structure of this once-beloved and truly remarkable Christian text. The Gospel of Thomas delineates the Way of Yeshua, a spiritual path that guides us through six clear movements of searching, finding, trouble, wonder, reigning, and rest. The resonance with classic Yogic paths makes this document the bridge many searchers need to reconcile and fully embrace the wisdom of both the East and the West. "Kim is a consummate teacher, so who better to advance the Gospel of Thomas as the stunning teaching tool it is? Using poetry, reason, sacred insight, and spiritual practice, Kim provides a pragmatic and engaging pathway into this Gospel. Every passage is infused with her passion for direct knowing. Don't miss it!" Rev. Dr. Thomas Thresher, Commonhouse Founder, WA

In Beyond Belief, renowned religion scholar Elaine Pagels continues her groundbreaking examination of the earliest Christian texts, arguing for an ongoing assessment of faith and a questioning of religious orthodoxy. Spurred on by personal tragedy and new scholarship from an international group of researchers, Pagels returns to her investigation of the “secret” Gospel of Thomas, and breathes new life into writings once thought heretical. As she arrives at an ever-deeper conviction in her own faith, Pagels reveals how faith allows for a diversity of interpretations, and that the “rogue” voices of Christianity encourage and sustain “the recognition of the light within us all.”

A new translation and analysis of the gospel that records the actual words of Jesus • Explores the gnostic significance of Jesus's teachings recorded in this gospel • Explains the true nature of the new man whose coming Jesus envisioned • Translated and interpreted by the author of the bestselling The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and The Gospel of Philip One of the cache of codices and manuscripts discovered in Nag Hammadi, the Gospel of Thomas, unlike the canonical gospels, does not contain a narrative recording Christ's life and prophecies. Instead it is a collection of his teachings--what he actually said. These 114 logia, or sayings, were collected by Judas Didymus Thomas, whom some claim to be Jesus's closest disciple. No sooner was this gospel uncovered from the sands of Upper Egypt than scholars and theologians began to bury it anew in a host of conflicting interpretations and polemics. While some say it is a hodgepodge from the canonical gospels, for others it is the source text from which all the gospel writers drew their material and inspiration. In this new translation of the Gospel of Thomas, Jean-Yves Leloup shows that the Jesus recorded by the "infinitely skeptical and infinitely believing" Thomas has much in common with gnostics of non-dualistic schools. Like them, Jesus preaches the coming of a new man, the genesis of the man of knowledge. In this gospel, Jesus describes a journey from limited to unlimited consciousness. The Jesus of Thomas invites us to drink deeply from the well of knowledge that lies within, not so that we may become good Christians but so we may attain the self-knowledge that will make each of us, too, a Christ.