Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices

Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices PDF Author: Christian H. Bull
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004212078
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
Drawing on a wide array of sources, this anthology sets out to analyze the concepts of mystery and secrecy that occur in the ritual and rhetoric of antique Mediterranean religion, with an emphasis on Gnosticism, Christianity, and Paganism.

Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices

Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices PDF Author: Christian H. Bull
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004212078
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
Drawing on a wide array of sources, this anthology sets out to analyze the concepts of mystery and secrecy that occur in the ritual and rhetoric of antique Mediterranean religion, with an emphasis on Gnosticism, Christianity, and Paganism.

Nag Hammadi Bibliography

Nag Hammadi Bibliography PDF Author: David M. Scholer
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004172408
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
This is the third volume of the immensely useful "Nag Hammadi Bibliography," the first volume of which covered 1948a "1969 and was the first publication in the Nag Hammadi Studies series. The second volume covered 1970a "1994. This third volume provides a complete integration of Supplements II/1a "II/8 to the Bibliography as published in "Novum Testamentum" 1998a "2008, with additions and corrections. This latest update contains 3,063 entries, with the set of three volumes containing 11,580 entries. Nag Hammadi and Gnostic studies continue to be of critical importance for the study of ancient religions in the Graeco-Roman world and for the study of the world of early Christianity, and the present bibliography provides an indispensable reference tool for work in these fields.

The Nag Hammadi Story (2 vols.)

The Nag Hammadi Story (2 vols.) PDF Author: James M. Robinson
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900426423X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1262

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Book Description
The Nag Hammadi Story is not a history of research in the usual sense of a Forschungsbericht, which would report on the massive amount of scholarship that has been devoted to the content of the Nag Hammadi Codices for more than a half-century. Rather it is a socio-historical narration of just what went on during the thirty-two years from their discovery late in 1945, via their initial trafficking, and then the attempts to monopolize them, until finally, through the intervention of UNESCO, the whole collection of thirteen Codices was published in facsimiles and in English translation, both completed late in 1977.

Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts

Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts PDF Author: Paul A. Hartog
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1610975049
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Eighty years ago, Walter Bauer promulgated a bold and provocative thesis about early Christianity. He argued that many forms of Christianity started the race, but one competitor pushed aside the others, until this powerful "orthodox" version won the day. The victors re-wrote history, marginalizing all other perspectives and silencing their voices, even though the alternatives possessed equal right to the title of normative Christianity. Bauer's influence still casts a long shadow on early Christian scholarship. Were heretical movements the original forms of Christianity? Did the heretics outnumber the orthodox? Did orthodox heresiologists accurately portray their opponents? And more fundamentally, how can one make any objective distinction between "heresy" and "orthodoxy"? Is such labeling merely the product of socially situated power? Did numerous, valid forms of Christianity exist without any validating norms of Christianity? This collection of essays, each written by a relevant authority, tackles such questions with scholarly acumen and careful attention to historical, cultural-geographical, and socio-rhetorical detail. Although recognizing the importance of Bauer's critical insights, innovative methodologies, and fruitful suggestions, the contributors expose numerous claims of the Bauer thesis (in both original and recent manifestations) that fall short of the historical evidence. With contributions from: Rodney Decker Carl Smith William Varner Rex Butler Bryan Litfin Brian Shelton David Alexander Edward Smither Glen Thompson

Studies on Greek and Coptic Majuscule Scripts and Books

Studies on Greek and Coptic Majuscule Scripts and Books PDF Author: Pasquale Orsini
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110575590
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
The volume contains a critical review of data, results and open problems concerning the principal Greek and Coptic majuscule bookhands, based on previous research of the author, revised and updated to offer an overview of the different graphic phenomena. Although the various chapters address the history of different types of scripts (i.e. biblical majuscule, sloping poitend majuscule, liturgical majuscule, epigraphic and monumental scripts), their juxtaposition allows us to identify common issues of the comparative method of palaeography. From an overall critical assessment of these aspects the impossibility of applying a unique historical paradigm to interpret the formal expressions and the history of the different bookhands comes up, due to the fact that each script follows different paths. Particular attention is also devoted to the use of Greek majuscules in the writing of ancient Christian books. A modern and critical awareness of palaeographic method may help to place the individual witnesses in the context of the main graphic trends, in the social and cultural environments in which they developed, and in a more accurate chronological framework.

The Gnostic Scriptures, Second Edition

The Gnostic Scriptures, Second Edition PDF Author: Bentley Layton
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300208545
Category : Gnosticism
Languages : en
Pages : 761

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Book Description
A collection of extra-biblical scriptures written by the gnostics, updated with three ancient texts including the recently discovered Gospel of Judas This definitive introduction to the gnostic scriptures provides a crucial look at the theology, religious atmosphere, and literary traditions of ancient Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism. It provides authoritative translations of ancient texts from Greek, Latin, and Coptic, with introductions, bibliographies, and annotations. The texts are organized to reflect the history of gnosticism in the second through fourth centuries CE. This second edition provides updates throughout and adds three new ancient texts, including the recently discovered Gospel of Judas.

Gnostic Religion in Antiquity

Gnostic Religion in Antiquity PDF Author: R. van den Broek
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107031370
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
An examination of Gnostic religion in Late Antiquity within its historical and religious context, using Greek, Latin and Coptic sources.

The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas

The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas PDF Author: David W. Kim
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000377628
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
This book offers a detailed analysis of the Gospel of Thomas in its historic and literary context, providing a new understanding of the genesis of the Jesus tradition. Discovered in the twentieth century, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an important early text whose origins and place in the history of Christianity continue to be subjects of debate. Aiming to relocate the Thomasine community in the wider context of early Christianity, this study considers the Gospel of Thomas as a bridge between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement. It will therefore, be useful for Religion scholars working on Biblical studies, Coptic codices, gnosticism and early Christianity.

The Use of Scripture in the Apocryphon of John

The Use of Scripture in the Apocryphon of John PDF Author: David Creech
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 9783161529832
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
David Creech explores at length the Apocryphon of John's ambivalent treatment of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Although Moses is explicitly corrected at five points in the text, Genesis' account of creation is nonetheless the basis for the Apocryphon's cosmogony and anthropogony. Its uneven treatment of the biblical text is the result of a dispute between the authors of the Apocryphon and other early Catholics. At the earliest stage of the text the Christians who wrote and read the Apocryphon worshiped alongside other early catholic Christians without any sense of contradiction or inconsistency. The key shift in the Apocryphon occurred after Irenaeus of Lyons' assault on "Knowledge Falsely So-Called." In response to his concerted effort to bring the church under the authority of early catholic bishops, the framers inserted corrections to Moses. The corrections are primarily rhetorical and used to refute early catholic identity markers.

New Light on Manichaeism

New Light on Manichaeism PDF Author: Jason BeDuhn
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004172858
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
New Light on Manichaeism provides the latest discoveries and insights into the Manichaean religion throughout its more than one thousand year history, ranging from glimpses into the life and thought of Mani himself, to developments in doctrine and practice in the religion's North African, Iranian, Central Asian, and Chinese settings. The volume includes contributions from the leading scholars in the field, offering new reconstructions of Manichaean literary and artistic productions, and innovative analyses of the religious, social, and political dynamics that shaped the rise and fall of this world religion.