The Elements of Gnosticism (The "Elements Of..." Series): Holroyd, Stuart: 9781862041462: Amazon.com: Books
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5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Genius
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2014
This author is a hidden genius. I am ordering more of his books because of how concise and informative this one is.
2 people found this helpful
Report5.0 out of 5 stars I Love Gnosticism
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 1999
I will love this book and its content for so long as I am on earth: of course until something dramatic to the contrary emerges. The book is a good intorduction into Gnosticism. It gives you the various interpretations of Genesis within the Gnosticism approach: there are two different and opposing Gods in the universe. Gnosticism gives me answers to questions that I have always pondered on: why does "God" (the God of wind/storm) behave so cruelly sometimes (especially in the Old Testament), may be even today. It provides various Gnostic schools of thought . Very simple and illuminating. Although it does not dwell deeply into the subjects, it does provide you with a good basic understanding of Gnosticism. Read together with "The Nag Hammadi Library in English" (the bible for the Gnostics), it will really blow your mind. Of course, it is not for orthodox conventional Christians, yet they may benefit from it, if they are willing of course!
18 people found this helpful
Report3.0 out of 5 stars ok, but the writing is atrocious
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2007
This book is ok, and it does exactly what it claims: provides an introduction to Gnostic thought, briefly contextualizing major figures and movements.
Criticisms: Holroyd's sweeping generalizations of Blake and Jung shouldn't be taken seriously, and the citations are a disaster, both in style and content (even an introductory book could have tried to cite primary texts instead of other secondary works). Nevertheless, I'd have given the book a somewhat higher mark if the writing weren't simply atrocious - never before have I stumbled through horrible style to the extent that my understanding of some passages suffered! It makes me intensely disinterested in the poetry the author has purportedly written as per the author notes. There must be better - certainly better written - introductions out there.
5 people found this helpful
Report3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining but flawed account
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 1998
Holroyd seems too keen on discrediting Christianity with this book; thus he loses his way somewhat when attempting a balanced account of Gnosticism. It is worth reading as it is quite good fun (though his efforts to associate Jung et al with classical Gnosticism can be safely ignored), but only in conjunction with a more reasoned and academically sound account.
10 people found this helpful
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4.0 out of 5 stars Essential introduction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2015
A great little introduction to Gnosticism. This little book packs a great deal of information into its pages. It is an easy read and ideal for those who would like a general overview of Gnosticism, including it's development, historical context and important historical Gnostic figures. However, since its publication, Gnosticism seems to have continued to Grow as an alternative path of Christian spirituality and therefore it would be wise to supplement this with other more recent Gnostic literature that has taken this growth into account and it meaning and impact in our times. If you are looking for Gnostic practices to utilise, then this book does not really provide much in that respect but is nonetheless a very worthy relatively quick read.