In each issue, we'll take a look at some of the recent work our guests are doing. In addition to pointing out some great reading (or viewing or listening), we'll take the opportunity to introduce you to some of the participants in the Mythic Journeys conference. In this issue, we're reviewing two books Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels and Tapping the Dream Tree by Charles de Lint.  This month's reviewer is John Adcox.  Reviews presented here are the opinion of the reviewer. 

Dr. Elaine Pagels Dr. Pagels, who became a professor of religion at Princeton University in 1982 shortly after receiving a MacArthur Fellowship, is arguably the best-known Biblical scholar in the world. She is perhaps best known as the author of The Gnostic Gospels (for which she won the National Book Award), The Origin of Satan, and Adam, Eve and the Serpent. She has published widely on Gnosticism and early Christianity, and continues to pursue research interests in late antiquity. A frequent television guest of Bill Moyers, Dr. Pagels is an incredibly charismatic and engaging speaker.

In her new book, Beyond Belief: the Secret Gospel of Thomas, Dr. Pagels presents a convincing argument that the canonical Gospel of John (in which the apostle "Doubting Thomas" comes across as something of a fool) was written as a reaction to the earlier Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, which claims to contain the secret teachings of Jesus. In Thomas, we find many of the familiar sayings from the New Testament, but sometimes in slightly different or unfamiliar contexts. We also find some unfamiliar ideas, such as when Jesus says, "behold, the kingdom of Heaven is within you," or "split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

Dr. Pagels' scholarship is as thorough as ever as she paints a picture of the early Christian church and the surprising struggles that, over the four centuries after the life Christ, went into developing "orthodox" Christian beliefs and a canon of scripture. To stabilize the emerging church in times of political unrest and devastating persecution, the church fathers established the canon, creed and hierarchy. In the process, some spiritual resources were suppressed and lost. The wide spectrum of reasons, church leaders chose not to include some gospels and include others. Dr. Pagels looks at the books that were embraced by the developing church, as well as the books that were left out. Finally, she makes a passionate case that Christianity can benefit by rediscovering the Thomas gospel. As she demonstrates, what matters most in Christianity involves more than any one set of beliefs. As she writes, "the impulse to seek God overflows the banks of a single tradition."

While Beyond Belief: the Secret Gospel of Thomas is an extraordinarily intelligent and well-researched book, it is extremely accessible and engagingly written. The material itself is fascinating, and Dr. Pagels presents it with the flair of a mystery thriller writer. More, Dr. Pagels candidly interweaves her own spiritual quest, which took on new urgency following a devastating series of personal tragedies. The result is more than dry history. An intellectual feast, Dr. Pagels has reopened the question of whether Christianity is better understood as a system of doctrines or a means of seeking a deep and meaningful connection with the Divine.

Part brilliant scholarship, part "page turner" mystery story, and part religious quest, Dr. Pagels has managed to create a moving testament of inspiration and hope that is certain to help seekers reconnect with their faith traditions in powerful new ways.

Charles de Lint with his wife, the artist MaryAnn Harris

Charles de Lint Novelist Charles de Lint is one of the pioneers of a relatively new literary genre, Urban Fantasy or Mythic Fiction. In Urban Fantasy, the city is the new forest, the dark an unknown place where myths and fairy tales are born. There is magic, as there is in the fantasies of, say, J.R.R. Tolkien, but it is not in some lost, far away Middle Earth. It is closer than that; it is subtle, hidden, one step sideways or just around the next corner. In that sense, his novels are in many ways closer to the poetic "magic realism" of Isabel Allende, Alice Hoffman, Mark Helprin, and Ray Bradbury.

Here, the giants, tricksters, faeries, animal powers, and bards of myth wear new guises. Pixel Pixies travel through the Internet, a tree of tales grows in a city, and two dark, laughing, punkish girls are crow spirits older than the world. As with all good fairy tales and myths, Charles' stories are rich with archetype and metaphor. After all, the breadcrumb path through the forest is our own journey through life.

Charles is the author of Moonheart, Spiritwalk, Yarrow, and Jack of Kinrowan (a modern retelling of the fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer), all set in his hometown, Ottawa. His more recent novels, including Some Place To Be Flying, Forests of the Heart, and The Onion Girl, are set in the fictitious city of Newford. Newford was first introduced in a collection of short stories, Dreams Underfoot, and was further explored in the follow-up collections, The Ivory and the Horn and Moonlight and Vines.

His most recent book, Tapping the Dream Tree, is a new collection of contemporary urban myths and fairy tales set in Newford. Charles' voice has matured considerably since the first collection -;his writing has never been stronger. But the stories have lost none of their charm, and more than a few of them will surprise you with their archetypal depth. Along with his wife, artist MaryAnn Harris, Charles is an accomplished folk musician, and that voice rings through in his elegant prose.

If I have one complaint about the book, it is that it is not the best place to start reading Charles' work. True, the stories stand alone. But you'll find a much deeper resonance if you already know the city and its citizens. Many of the characters and situations that appear here have turned up in earlier stories, and seeing them again is like running into old friends. It's great to see what's happened to them since last time. Tapping the Dream Tree is a stronger collection, but the still-excellent Dreams Underfoot makes a far better introduction to Newford. It's also a great idea to read it before any of the Newford Novels, although they, too, stand alone. But that's a minor quibble. Tapping the Dream Tree will delight fantasy fans, as well as those who've never ventured across the isle to see what lurks on "those" shelves If you're a fan of mythic fiction with surprising depth, archetypal significance, and poetic resonance, give Charles a try. I think you'll be glad you did.

Visit Charles on the Web.

You might also enjoy this poem.

Speaking of reviews, one of our speakers, Dr. Greg Schrempp, recently reviewed a book by Andrew Von Hendy called The Modern Construction of Myth (Indiana University Press), and thought it was a remarkable scholarly work. He recommends it highly.