Orthodoxy as a tool
By establishing a sense of orthodoxy, the church managed to eliminate various rival Christian narratives from their plain of existence. The Gnostics were a collection of Christians with more mystical ideas about religion that were in many cases derived from their acceptance of other gospels in their canon. By establishing the "proper" canon, the Catholic church eliminated viable versions of Christianity and buried them in shame. After all, who wants to be a heretic?
The esoteric Jesus
One of the most frustrating ideas to the Catholic church was that perhaps Jesus had esoteric gnosis, or knowledge, that he revealed only to a minority who searched for it specifically. This is certainly the case in the Gnostic Gospels, especially the Gospel of Thomas from the Nag Hammadi library. The Jesus who withholds information is bad for business, says Pagels, so the Catholic church removed the idea from their orthodoxy and condemned people who professed a Gnostic Christianity.
Heresy and oppression
By making up the idea of heretics as anti-Christs and false teachers, the church managed to oppress legitimate movements of Christianity. Even today, the Church doesn't tend to recognize "heretical" beliefs, and they still use orthodoxy as a tool for controlling the thoughts of other people. This ideological oppression finds its origin in the ancient world. The thrust of this heresy narrative is to demonize others who threaten one's power.
The church as a business
Pagels shows that the church can be seen as a business which stomps out its competitors, for money. That is literally the idea; because the religious leaders of the past were concerned about getting the tithe, they monopolized the tithe-market by removing their competitors. This is an unsavory thought, but it seems consistent with the historical evidence. The demonization of heresy is shown as a tool in this approach.
Mystic union with God
If the Gnostic approaches to Christianity had been preserved, then Christianity would have this difference. Instead of worshiping Jesus as the only human who is one with God, his followers might seek union with God in a more mystic manner. The union of male and female can be seen as a real depiction of this strange mystery. Pagels argues that this approach to Christianity was considerable in early Christianity, but our sense of it today is typically that these were fringe outsiders.
