I recently had to write a paper on "Crises" in Christianity for a class I had at the university. The "crises" was my choice and I chose Gnosticism in the early Church as the subject.

I found this book The Gnostics by Andrew Phillip Smith at my local library while looking for source material. I grabbed it along with several other books on Gnosticism and headed home to begin skimming the works for quotable material and the general ideas of Christian Gnosticism. It wasn't long before I became engrossed in this particular book and had soon forgotten the remaining works.

I ended up reading all the chapters on early Christian Gnosticism and after my paper and class was over with I read the remainder of the book because it was so good. So, what did it cover that I found so interesting?

Well, I knew a little about Gnostic beliefs, particularly those of the Valentinians, but I really didn't grasp them all; they can be somewhat confusing at times. The author did an excellent job explaining the basis of all gnostic belief (Christian or not) which is secret, esoteric knowledge. From this concept of hidden knowledge the author dives into the Gnostic creation myths.

Probably one of the more confusing aspects of Gnostic thought is their understanding of the nature of God, the emanations of God called the Aeons (or Eons), the creation of the Demiurge, and the creation of the material universe through the Demiurge and his Archons. Smith does an outstanding job describing the gist of Gnostic creation myths without getting too academic or confusing. I left the chapter on Gnostic creation myths with a solid understanding of the material without feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the system.

From the chapter on the creation of the material universe Smith then expounds through several chapters on the different Gnostic groups in early Christianity (mostly the Sethians and the Valentinians) including what they believed about Jesus, the nature of Jesus and the resurrection, the nature of the sacraments, and the additional sacraments that Christian Gnostics practiced. Again, I left these chapters with a thorough understanding the topics Smith discusses without feeling overwhelmed by the sometimes complex streams of thought underlying Gnostic belief.

I was also impressed that there was a minimal amount of "jabs" taken at the orthodox Church. Smith is the editor of Gnostic magazine and I assume not a big fan of orthodoxy. But, Smith separates what I assume is probably his distaste for orthodoxy in a professional manner when discussing Irenaeus and the fight against heresy in the early Church. I have found that many people assume what is now considered orthodox or tradition in the Church was always that way when in truth orthodoxy was formed in part as a response to the wide variety of Christianities that existed in the first several hundred years of Christianity. Smith discusses this formation of orthodoxy as response very well.

For my paper I ended up using this book heavily, almost shunning the other books I had picked up. They were mostly rehashed information that I had already read in Smith's book. Compared to Smith's book I found them less organized, less clear on the subject matter, and just inferior in general.

Having completed the paper and class I was curious to read the remaining chapters. I knew nothing of Manichaeism or Mandaeism and found the discussion of both just as informative as the chapters on Christian Gnosticism. There is also a kind of transitional chapter between Manichaeism and the several chapters on the Cathars that discusses briefly several other Christian Gnostic groups like the Bogomils. There is also a pretty good chapter toward the end of the book on modern Gnostic-influenced groups like Theosophy and several of the modern "Gnostic Churches".

Overall, the book is thorough but without being too complex, too academic, or just too much. This book is excellent for source material for writing or research but it is also a great read for a layperson just wanting to learn more about early Christian history without the fear of being overwhelmed with too much information. It will also suit well anyone just interested in the topic of Gnosticism who may be looking for an overview of its history without special regard to Christianity. The book is through and recommended highly to all interested in the topic of Gnosticism at all.

I give it 5 out 5 stars!