The title of this book was somewhat misleading but I can imagine that title would be more enticing than "The Development of Orthodoxy in the Early Christian Church." While there is some discussion of the Gospel of Thomas, one of the works discovered at Nag Hammadi, Pagels devotes most of the book to the exploration of the development of a homogeneous understanding of the person and work of Jesus amongst early Christian communities. The question she seems to be encouraging the reader to explore is “How do we discern spiritual truth?” Using works discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945 such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Phillip Pagels explores the diversity of ideas that existed within the Christian Community in the first three centuries following Jesus’ death and how that diversity was systematically squelched. She spends a lot of time making the argument that Irenaeus, one of the early church fathers in Gaul, promoted the Gospel of John as presenting the ‘true’ representation of Jesus’ teachings in order to unite a community of faith that had suffered persecution and was threatened by what Irenaeus believed to be heretical interpretations of Jesus’ teachings. She traces the influence of Irenaeus through the time of Constantine when the catholic church established orthodox belief through the creation of the Nicene Creed which asserted (not without significant controversy) the equality of Jesus with God.
If you are looking for a reassuring read that will reinforce an orthodox Christian worldview then this is not the book for you. In exploring the diversity of thought that existed amongst early followers of Jesus, Pagels brings to light the parallels that exist between that time early in the church’s history and this postmodern era in which we are living. Perhaps at no time since orthodoxy was established as the norm of Christian faithfulness have there been so many people who love Jesus asking the question ‘how do we discern spiritual truth?’. Pagels asserts that Irenaeus answered that question by insisting upon his belief that Matthew, Mark, Luke and particularly John tell the ‘truth’ about Jesus and that other contemporary gospels such as the those of Thomas and Mary were distortions. The Gospel of John, which Pagels asserts may have been written specifically to counter the Gospel of Thomas, emphasizes the divinity of Jesus while Thomas and other writers of the time emphasized the humanity of Jesus. John presents Jesus as teaching that it is only through Jesus that one can have access to divine truth. Thomas presents Jesus as declaring himself in solidarity with humanity and teaching his disciples that divine truth can be discovered by looking within oneself.
Irenaeus insistence that there is only one way to think rightly, i.e., orthodoxy, lent stability to the early church and laid the groundwork for the tradition later known “sola scriptura” or the reliance upon “only scripture”(as opposed to church tradition or personal revelation) as the test of truth. Many young people raised in this postmodern era see the Bible as a book of truth not the book of truth which raises a challenge to the evangelical church which has tended to use the “Bible tells me so” argument to define truth. In the current postmodern culture, followers of Jesus will be challenged to speak authentically and with authority citing both their personal experience with the living Christ as well as the testimony of the Bible as they seek to bear witness to the transformational power of God.
Pomo’s (postmodern’s) are more comfortable with mystery, diversity, and more interested in genuine faith than ‘right’ belief. I grew up in a homogeneous culture in which we believed there was absolute truth that could be known absolutely. My children are growing up in a culture in which they are being exposed to and taught to respect people of other faiths who may believe genuinely and passionately some very different spiritual truth. They have to learn to reconcile what Jesus says in the Gospel of John about being the ‘only’ way to God with what their Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu friends believe about the path to God. Understanding more about the formation of the Bible and the diversity of thought that existed amongst believers in the early church might help them do that.
As I read this book I found myself thinking that it was too bad that so early in the church’s history there was a division which forced believers, in a sense, to choose to trust either their own experience or the witness of the scripture. In my experience, discerning spiritual truth involves listening to scripture, to tradition, to the community of faith and to the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of me.
I recommend this book to those who want to learn more about early Christian thought, the formation of the Bible and who are prepared to be challenged.
