Sanderson holds a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing and is an independent writer. In this essay, Sanderson examines how Pagels, throughout her book, shifts her descriptions of Gnosticism based on images of elitism.

Numerous critics have noted that throughout Pagels's book The Gnostic Gospels her intentions are clear— that the reader should come away with a primarily positive impression of how Gnostic Christianity actively involved women in important religious roles and stood as a bulwark against a rising tide of conventional thought as embodied in orthodox Christianity. Hyman Maccoby, writing in Commentary, argues that Pagels wishes for her readers to appreciate Gnostics for "the spontaneity and inwardness of their religious approach," as well as for their "profeminist" leanings. Writing for The New York Times Book Review, Raymond E. Brown charges Pagels with leading a rooting section for the Gnostics with futile wishes that "the...