GNOSTICISM, GNOSTICS,
AND THE GNOSTIC BIBLE
MARVIN MEYERKnow what is in front of your face
and what is hidden from you
will be disclosed.
—Gospel of Thomas 5I he gnostics were religious mystics who proclaimed gnosis, knowl-- edge, as the way of salvation. To know oneself truly allowed gnos-
JL. tic men and women to know god^1 directly, without any need for
the mediation of rabbis, priests, bishops, imams, or other religious officials.
- Throughout the present volume we have tried to avoid unnecessary capitalization of the
word god and the names of personified spiritual powers and aeons. We are aware that the word
god may be used as a name for the divine, but it frequently functions as a general term for the
divine, so that even when "god" appears to be a name, it retains its primary nature as a term
signifying the concept of divinity. For the same reason, other names of divine expressions, such
as divine forethought, afterthought, and wisdom, are likewise left uncapitalized. Conversely, for
the sake of clarity, when the Greek word "Sophia" is used for wisdom, that is capitalized, as are
other names that are transliterated directly from other languages. We also want to avoid the
common practice of singling out a particular deity, for example, the Judeo-Christian-Islamic
deity, for the exclusive honor of the capitalized name "God," while other deities are relegated to
the status of mere "gods" and "goddesses." We do not wish to limit the divine by restricting
deity through name or selectivity. Traditionally the name and face of the divine are essentially
unknowable, and so it is in this volume.