From a Gnostic perspective, the material world is not just fallen but an utterly flawed creation, beyond redemption. God—or at least, the good, true God—certainly does not work in history.

In What Is Gnosticism?, Ms. King argued that the promise of “a new chapter in the history of Christianity” offered by the Nag Hammadi discoveries had not materialized.

Let's look at a few representative Gnostic movements in history. With the rise of Christianity, ancient esoteric ideas developed into Gnostic syncretism.

The ascent of the Gnostic writings to movie-star status arguably started with the 1945 discovery of Coptic translations of ancient texts at Nag Hammadi in Egypt.

Your essay, "Gnosticism Today," says that the attitude commonly described as neo-Gnosticism has "little to do with its ancient antecedent." What is Gnosticism? What is the origin of the Gnostic ...

Lash seeks to rescue Gnosticism from the dustbin of Christian history and restore it to its rightful place amid the splendors of pagan antiquity.

Her earlier books, The Gnostic Gospels (1979) and The Origin of Satan (1995), are standard stock items in the big chain bookstores. This new book has been targeted at the same broad readership.