When her infant son was diagnosed with fatal pulmonary hypertension, award-winning author Elaine Pagels was moved to explore her faith. In Beyond Belief, her spiritual journey becomes a springboard for an intellectual and professional re-examination of early Christian faith. Controversial and thought-provoking, this international bestseller investigates the politics of Christianity and how the church crafted a Bible and a faith far more stringent than previously thought. In her search for meaning, Elaine Pagels discovers that the history of the Church - and therefore the history of the Western world - could have been significantly different.

This moving testament to history, faith and humanity, Pagels will challenge and transform everything you know of Christianity.

'Those who are moved by religion but who find that they can no longer accept the official doctrines of their church will find this marvellous book a source of inspiration and hope' Karen Armstrong

'This is writing about religion of the first order: enlightening, intelligent, inclusive and humane' Peter Stanford, Independent