In Nag Hammadi, Egypt, Elaine Pagels worked on translating the Egyptian Gnostic Gospel texts to English. These texts were likely written in the second century A.D., and are as an important of a discovery as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Gnostics peoples were early Christians that went against the traditional Orthodox beliefs. They were likely heavily persecuted, and it is known for a fact that their writings were intentionally destroyed.
In a very new type of theory, Pagels argues that the goal of the Gnostics was not simply to form a new type of Christianity. Instead, they simply disregarded the church as an important hierarchical institution. This, of course, threatened the income and profit of the church and its clergy.
The Gnostics also believed that followers of Christianity needed to be of profound faith. Their initiation rituals often lasted years as followers dedicated their life to the Lord. They did not believe in the literal birth and death of Jesus, and felt that simply professing your faith to him was not enough.
According to the book, the hierarchical structure of the church that the Gnostics were particularly against is what allowed it to surpass Gnosticism in terms of popularity. If it had not been for the elite supporting the Orthodox faith, Gnosticism may have been as popular as Catholicism today.
