Author Description

A fascinating read from G. R. S. Mead; this book is one of the best about Gnosticism and the original Nasoraean sect. Fragments of a Faith Forgotten was written before the Nag Hammadi discoveries. Still, it explains a great deal about what we knew about the Gnostics at the turn of the twentieth century. Mead draws on information provided both by the Early Church Fathers hostile to Gnosticism, and the available corpus of actual Gnostic documents at the time. He includes excerpts from previously untranslated manuscripts, and extensive summaries of the Pistis Sophia and the writings of the critics of Gnosticism. This book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand Gnosticism, the Nasoraeans, and the development of early Christianity. This volume has necessary improvements in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It includes some nice illustrations. This newly typeset version from Nasoraean Publishers has 478 uncensored pages; originally published in 1900 but this is from the 1906 improved reprint.