Fragments of a Faith Forgotten

by G.R.S. Mead

Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (Some Short Sketches Among the Gnostics, Mainly of the First Two A Contribution to the Study of Christian Origins Based on the Most Recently Recovered Materials), was written by English historian, writer, editor, translator and Theosophist G.R.S. Mead, and originally published in 1906.The work is a classic in its field, and unmatched prior to works written after the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, presenting sketches of the gnostic religion mostly from the first two centuries of the Christian era. Mead's work on the fragments, show considerable erudition, and mastery of the materials of what might be called early gnosticism. Mead's writing is fluid and clear, and quite accessible to those with a basic understanding of the bible and early church history. Mead also shows unparallelled enthusiasm for his subject matter, and treats gnosticising tendencies and traditions not as a subsection of heresiology, but as a genuine effort to discern and describe religio-philosophical truths.

Genres: Religion, Gnosticism, Philosophy, Christianity, History, Spirituality, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

George Robert Stowe Mead, who always published under the initialism G.R.S. Mead, was a historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society, as well as founder of the Quest Society. His scholarly works dealt mainly with the Hermetic and Gnostic religions of Late Antiquity, and were exhaustive for the time period.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

G.R.S. Mead was an officer in the early Theosophist Society, a member of its inner circle. This dubious association notwithstanding, he actually produced a number of significant books related to the early Christian Church and its religious environment.

Given the date of composition, Fragments displays considerable erudition, mastery of the materials available at the time and a broad canvas representing what might loosely be termed "early gnosticism." Mead writes fluidly and clearly. His text is readily accessible to anyone generally familiar with the bible and early church history. I often recommend it, along with Hans Jonas' The Gnostic Religion, as a good introduction.

The enthusiasm Mead displays towards his subject matter accounts, in part, for its excellence and my approbation. Rather than treating gnoticizing tendencies and traditions as a subsection of heresiology, Mead treats them as genuine efforts to discern and describe religio-philosophical truths. He believes a lot of it, but he does not let his personal prejudices distort the factual bases of his reportage. Personally, I think the "gnostics" were, on whole, effete and pretentious, hothouse intellectuals of the time. Despite my prejudices, I strongly recommend looking into Mr. Mead's work.

[A.M.]

Finally back to reading this one. Mead is discussing the various early Christian Gnostic cults as filtered through the orthodox theologians of the era (Irenaenus, Justin Martyr, etc.). A lot is reiteration of what I already know, although I did learn the term "Ophite," which means serpent-worshiper. I'm going to have to reread the sections on pre-Christian Gnosticism since I seem to have forgotten most of it already.

Note:
You can read this book online at http://www.gnosis.org/library/grs-mea...

[Alexandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good and interesting study. It is useful not just for the scholars, but also for those seeking the truth :)

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good resource, but very dry

Good from a historical background, to round out my knowledge a bit, and more importantly extract a clearer Gnostic flavour, but it was dry and academic and reasonably heavy going. I found myself reading only a little each night, and skimming some of it.

[Bob Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Verbose

The feeling while reading this book was of verbosity. So much could have been written with far fewer words and losing the appearance of intellectual pride.

[Walter Five · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Mr. Mead was Mdm. Blavatsky's Personal Secretary, and Editor of the London Theosophical Society's ''Lucifer'' magazine in the 1880's, from which much of the material in this work originated. An expert of his day in Gnosticism, this book is a marvelous overview of the breadth and depth of Gnostic materials and historic understanding of the subject prior to the discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codex.

[Rick Wilmot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for anybody interested in the symbolism of religion and what was left out of the KJV of the Bible. It's as well to bear in mind that this was published in 1904 and since then many discoveries have been made including the Dead Sea Scrolls.

[Virginia Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st pub 1906. On my to buy list. Full of valuable facts.