Early Christians were very fragmented. There was no central organizing Orthodoxy. It wasn't until Irenaeus of Lyons organized the Bible with his idea of what books the Bible should contain did organized Christianity really begin. I think everyone interested in Christianity should do a thorough historical investigation. The Gnostic texts were an off shoot of Christ's philosophy and as such hold some interesting insights. Funny, the Gospel of Thomas believed to be the closest spoken words of Christ didn't make it into the Canon.