Peter Jones holds an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a ThM from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is Director of truthXchange, and Adjunct Professor of New Testament, as well as Scholar in Residence at Westminster Seminary California. 

Dr. Jones grew up in Liverpool, England and was a childhood friend of John Lennon. For seventeen years, he was Professor of New Testament in Aix-en-Provence France at the Faculté de Théologie Réformée. While there, he wrote La deuxième épître de Paul aux Corinthiens (Paris: Edifac, 1992), a commentary on 2 Corinthians. While in France, he was actively involved in church-planting and served as the president of the board of a newly formed Christian school. In 1991, he returned to the United States, where he taught New Testament at Westminster Seminary until December, 2002. He is now Director of truthXchange (www.truthxchange.com), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Christians understand the rise of neo-pagan spirituality. 

 

 

In this book, Jones' parallels ancient Gnosticism with the current "New Age" movement. The book covers the roots of Gnosticism, the current New Age, and how the Church should respond to the current resurgence of what Jones' considers to be Gnosticism reborn.
The mixed review of the book really comes down to purpose: what purpose does the book serve? If one is looking for a pithy, easy to understand overview of the dangers of the New Age for a Christian, I would rate the book 5 out of 5: it is short, easy to read, and relatively light on detail. The language is very simple, and uses a vocabulary which is well within the grasp of the average reader, unlike some theological texts. If one reads the book as an academic treatise on Gnosticism and it's impact on the modern day Church, it's a clear 1 out of 5: that doesn't appear to be what the book sets out to do. Indeed, the preface of the book lays out the author's intention clearly: to clarify the situation, to warn the Church, and to encourage believers to "fight the good fight". In that measure, the book works very well indeed.