This volume contains 22 papers from the Society of Biblical Literature's 1995 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library, with special focus on the Apocryphon of John, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Philip.
This volume contains 22 papers originally delivered at the Society of Biblical Literature's 1995 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library. Of these papers, five focus on the theme "Past, Present, and Future Research on the Nag Hammadi Codices" (J.M. Robinson, S. Emmel, B.A. Pearson, H.-M. Schenke, E.M. Yamauchi); thirteen stem from three seminars respectively devoted to the Apocryphon of John (M. Waldstein, F. Wisse, K.L. King, and S. LaPorta), the Gospel of Thomas and the Thomasine tradition (P.-H. Poirier, P.H. Sellew, J.-M. Sevrin, I. Dunderberg, S.R. Johnson, A. DeConick), and the Gospel of Philip ( E. Pagels, E. Thomassen, M. Turner); and two deal with the Valentinian school (C. Markschies, L. Painchaud & T. Janz).
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Gnostic Gospels is a landmark study of the long-buried roots of Christianity, a work of luminous scholarship and wide popular appeal. First published in 1979 to critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Gnostic Gospels has continued to grow in reputation and influence over the past two decades. It is now widely recognized as one of the most brilliant and accessible histories of early Christian spirituality published in our time. In 1945 an Egyptian peasant unearthed what proved to be the Gnostic Gospels, thirteen papyrus volumes that expounded a radically different view of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ from that of the New Testament. In this spellbinding book, renowned religious scholar Elaine Pagels elucidates the mysteries and meanings of these sacred texts both in the world of the first Christians and in the context of Christianity today. With insight and passion, Pagels explores a remarkable range of recently discovered gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, to show how a variety of “Christianities” emerged at a time of extraordinary spiritual upheaval. Some Christians questioned the need for clergy and church doctrine, and taught that the divine could be discovered through spiritual search. Many others, like Buddhists and Hindus, sought enlightenment—and access to God—within. Such explorations raised questions: Was the resurrection to be understood symbolically and not literally? Was God to be envisioned only in masculine form, or feminine as well? Was martyrdom a necessary—or worthy—expression of faith? These early Christians dared to ask questions that orthodox Christians later suppressed—and their explorations led to profoundly different visions of Jesus and his message. Brilliant, provocative, and stunning in its implications, The Gnostic Gospels is a radical, eloquent reconsideration of the origins of the Christian faith.
The figure of Mary Magdalen has fascinated and perplexed people for centuries. She is portrayed in the Gospels as a neurotic woman, possibly with a past, yet she is the first to encounter the risen Christ and he charges her with the responsibility of proclaiming the resurrection. She is therefore Christianity's first evangelist - a difficult concept for churches with exclusively male hierarchies who prefer to think of her as just a reformed prostitute. The belief that Mary Magdalen was married to Jesus and that the Church has tried to suppress this truth was not invented in recent years but is almost as old as Christianity itself. This gives a grand tour through 2000 years history, art and tradition with surprises and discoveries all the way.
Scholars of early Christian and Jewish literature have for many years focused on interpreting texts in their hypothetical original forms and contexts, while largely overlooking important aspects of the surviving manuscript evidence and the culture that produced it. This volume of essays seeks to remedy this situation by focusing on the material aspects of the manuscripts themselves and the fluidity of textual transmission in a manuscript culture. With an emphasis on method and looking at texts as they have been used and transmitted in manuscripts, this book discusses how we may deal with textual evidence that can often be described as mere snapshots of fluid textual traditions that have been intentionally adapted to fit ever-shifting contexts. The emphasis of the book is on the contexts and interests of users and producers of texts as they appear in our surviving manuscripts, rather than on original authors and their intentions, and the essays provide both important correctives to former textual interpretations, as well as new insights into the societies and individuals that copied and read the texts in the manuscripts that have actually been preserved to us.
In December 1945, at the base of cliffs that run along the Nile River near the modern-day town of Nag Hammadi, an Egyptian farmer discovered, in a sealed jar, thirteen ancient Coptic codices containing more than fifty separate tracts. This discovery represented arguably the most significant manuscript discovery of the twentieth century for the study of the New Testament and Christian origins. Of all the texts in this Nag Hammadi Library, none has been more celebrated than the Gospel of Thomas--a Gospel that has played a crucial role in the newly emerging view of early Christianity as a very diverse phenomenon and in the recent revival of historical Jesus studies. Now, after more than fifty years of study, the best text and the best translation of Thomas are presented here in user-friendly form by the Berlin Working Group for Coptic Gnostic Writings, with Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson. In addition, two essays have been included for persons who may be unfamiliar with this new Gospel or with events that led to its discovery and publication. The first, by Patterson, is a general introduction to the Gospel of Thomas as it appears fifty years after its discovery. The second, by Robinson, tells the fascinating story of that discovery itself by one who was directly involved in bringing this new Gospel to light. An annotated list "for further reading" completes the volume. Stephen J. Patterson is Associate Professor of New Testament at Eden Theological Seminary and author of The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Search for Meaning (Trinity Press). James M. Robinson is the former director of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Professor Emeritus at The Claremont Graduate School, and editor of The Nag Hammadi Library.
Gnostic religion is the expression of a religious worldview which is dominated by the concept of Gnosis, an esoteric knowledge of God and the human being which grants salvation to those who possess it. Roelof van den Broek presents here a fresh approach to the gnostic current of Late Antiquity within its historical and religious context, based on sources in Greek, Latin and Coptic, including discussions of the individual works of preserved gnostic literature. Van den Broek explores the various gnostic interpretations of the Christian faith that were current in the second and third centuries, whilst showing that despite its influence on early Christianity, gnostic religion was not a typically Christian phenomenon. This book will be of interest to theologians, historians of religion, students and scholars of the history of Late Antiquity and early Christianity, as well as specialists in ancient gnostic and hermetic traditions.
This book brings together a collection of chapter length treatments on the most significant of the non-canonical gospels. A particular strength of the volume is that it draws upon the research of leading experts in the field and clearly and concisely communicates the most hotly contested issues surrounding each text. While a key function of each chapter is to make the current academic debates accessible to a wider audience, these treatments are not simply overviews or survey articles. They also present fresh perspectives on a number of points, and critically assess the most recent trends in scholarship. As such, they will provide an ideal entry point for advanced undergraduate courses and taught Masters programmes. The structure of the book is divided up in an easily useable format. There is an introduction which underscores the significance of the non-canonical texts both for the original readers and for contemporary audiences. This chapter by Keith Elliott also traces important moments in the reception of a number of these texts both in art and literature. Next follows the main sequence of chapters dealing with individual texts. Texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, and the Gospel of Mary are treated first due to the impact they have had to varying degrees on Historical Jesus research. Other texts are grouped in various subgroups: the two infancy gospels follow each other, and the more fragmentary texts are also closely linked in the arrangement. The book presents one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date discussions of a range of texts that continue to be of interest to scholars and wider readers. The discussions should clarify a number of popular misconceptions and allow for a more informed debate. The scholars who contribute to this collection represent an eclectic range of views and theological outlooks. No attempt has been made to impose a prescribed perspective. Rather, the leading experts have been consulted to produce fresh and stimulating treatments. The book will include contributions from Andrew Gregory (Oxford), Christopher Tuckett (Cambridge), April DeConick (Rice), and Simon Gathercole (Aberdeen), among others.
The most comprehensive collection of gnostic literature ever published, this volume is the result of a unique collaboration between a renowned poet-translator and a leading scholar of early Christian texts.