Warning: Do not feed the hamster.

A review of Frank Rich's new book is available at Editor and Publisher.

A new book by New York Times columnist Frank Rich, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina" will be published by Penguin on Sept. 26. In the book, Rich delivers a savaging sermon on the US government's "rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of 'compassionate conservativism,' the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts"—and so much more.

Pre-order available at Amazon.

I've finished Ms. Thomas' book, Watchdogs of Democracy: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public - long title, excellent book. Go forth and buy and read!

Other reading matter has included Elaine Pagels' books on the Gnostic Gospels ~ The Gnostic Gospels, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, which is a good book, but not really about the Gospel of Thomas. I'll be looking elsewhere for more information on that. Don't misunderstand, I liked Beyond Belief very much, it's just not what I was expecting. I think I'll order The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained for more information. I'll also order Pagels' The Gnostic Paul.

"What? You? The Angry Agnostic??"

Yeah, me.

No, I'm not wandering off to join some church or cult or anything; I still think religion (God) is an invention of humanity in an attempt to try to comprehend itself.

I've spent quite some time pondering several of the Gnostic writings over the past few years, so I'm finally digging into them some more. Things like:

"When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]."

attributed to Jesus, recorded in the Gospel of Thomas, fascinates me. As does:

70 Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."

See also: The Gospel of Thomas at Sacred Texts.

I suppose these Gnostic Gospels appeal to me because they stress reliance on the self instead authority imposed from the outside. The idea that we already know all we need to know, we just haven't figured it out yet. It's all there, locked within, just waiting for us to release it.

Fascinating stuff that just sets the hamster in my head to spinning ever faster on the wheel.

Reading Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels I was struck the parallels to today. The holy martyrs of early Christianity are the same people who are now strapping explosives on themselves and walking into theatres and hotels and airports. It's not a new revelation to me, it's just that... I don't know how to explain this except to say that it's so painfully sad to be constantly reminded that the human race never learns. 1,900, 1,800 years ago those now known as the holy martyrs in Christianity died for proclaiming, confessing, themselves as Christians. Now Islam is doing this. Are we embarking on a new religious cycle, replacing Christianity with Islam, I wonder? Or will we see a renewal of Christians turning themselves into martyrs, getting themselves killed for Christ?

I'm not saying we are, though it wouldn't shock me, it's just some of the many things the hamster makes me ponder.

Damn hamster.