WHY WERE THESE SACRED TEXTS HIDDEN FROM THE WORLD FOR CENTURIES? This newly updated volume is as fascinating as "The Da Vinci Code" and "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," and yet the knowledge contained within has been hidden for centuries. The Gnostic Gospels were written from the second to the fourth century CE, but were denounced as heresy by orthodox Christians in the middle of the second century. Most of the Gnostic writings use Christian terminology and offer traditions about Jesus that were considered secret, hidden from "the many" who constitute what came to be called the Catholic Church. However, the Catholic Church declared possession of books denounced as heretical to be a criminal offense. But in Upper Egypt, someone - possibly a monk from a nearby monastery - took the banned books and hid them from destruction in a jar where they remained buried for almost 1,600 years. The discovery of the fifty-two Gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi demonstrated that early Christianity was far more diverse than nearly anyone expected. This has changed forever the way we perceive the life of Jesus Christ and his secret teachings. WHY DOES THE CHURCH WANT TO KEEP THIS INFORMATION FROM THE FAITHFUL? * Did Judas consciously do the will of God when he betrayed Jesus to the Romans, and thus has history judged Christ's betrayer too harshly? * Did Jesus love Mary Magdalene in a decidedly physical and even sexual way? Was she his favorite disciple much preferred over an envious group of male followers? * Did Jesus have foreknowledge of a future generation, one that would be beset by wars and political turmoil? * Are we to await the coming of a new breed of children prophesied in both the Gnostic scriptures and by the prophet Nostradamus? Author Sean Casteel reveals the shocking truth about the early days of Christianity, and how the Church decided that the secret teachings of Jesus undermined the hierarchy of the Church.