Against the Protestant Gnostics

Against the Protestant Gnostics PDF Author: Philip J. Lee
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190282096
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
In this penetrating and provocative assessment of the current state of religion and its effects on society at large, Philip J. Lee criticizes conservatives and liberals alike as he traces gnostic motifs to the very roots of American Protestantism. With references to an extraordinary spectrum of writings from sources as diverse as John Calvin, Martin Buber, Tom Wolfe, Margaret Atwood, and Emily Dickinson, he probes the effects of gnostic thinking on a wide range of issues. Calling for the restoration of a dialectical faith and practice, the book points to positive ways of restoring health to endangered Protestant churches.

Against the Protestant Gnostics

Against the Protestant Gnostics PDF Author: Philip J. Lee
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190282096
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this penetrating and provocative assessment of the current state of religion and its effects on society at large, Philip J. Lee criticizes conservatives and liberals alike as he traces gnostic motifs to the very roots of American Protestantism. With references to an extraordinary spectrum of writings from sources as diverse as John Calvin, Martin Buber, Tom Wolfe, Margaret Atwood, and Emily Dickinson, he probes the effects of gnostic thinking on a wide range of issues. Calling for the restoration of a dialectical faith and practice, the book points to positive ways of restoring health to endangered Protestant churches.

Against the Gnostics

Against the Gnostics PDF Author: Plotinus
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781521069752
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
At least two modern conferences within Hellenic philosophy fields of study have been held in order to address what Plotinus stated in his tract Against the Gnostics and whom he was addressing it to, in order to separate and clarify the events and persons involved in the origin of the term "Gnostic". From the dialogue, it appears that the word had an origin in the Platonic and Hellenistic tradition long before the group calling themselves "Gnostics"--or the group covered under the modern term "Gnosticism"--ever appeared. It would seem that this shift from Platonic to Gnostic usage has led many people to confusion. The strategy of sectarians taking Greek terms from philosophical contexts and re-applying them to religious contexts was popular in Christianity, the Cult of Isis and other ancient religious contexts including Hermetic ones (see Alexander of Abonutichus for an example).Plotinus and the Neoplatonists viewed Gnosticism as a form of heresy or sectarianism to the Pythagorean and Platonic philosophy of the Mediterranean and Middle East. He accused them of using senseless jargon and being overly dramatic and insolent in their distortion of Plato's ontology." Plotinus attacks his opponents as untraditional, irrational and immoral and arrogant. He also attacks them as elitist and blasphemous to Plato for the Gnostics despising the material world and its maker.The Neoplatonic movement (though Plotinus would have simply referred to himself as a philosopher of Plato) seems to be motivated by the desire of Plotinus to revive the pagan philosophical tradition. Plotinus was not claiming to innovate with the Enneads, but to clarify aspects of the works of Plato that he considered misrepresented or misunderstood. Plotinus does not claim to be an innovator, but rather a communicator of a tradition. Plotinus referred to tradition as a way to interpret Plato's intentions. Because the teachings of Plato were for members of the academy rather than the general public, it was easy for outsiders to misunderstand Plato's meaning. However, Plotinus attempted to clarify how the philosophers of the academy had not arrived at the same conclusions (such as misotheism or dystheism of the creator God as an answer to the problem of evil) as the targets of his criticism.

Plotinus in Dialogue with the Gnostics

Plotinus in Dialogue with the Gnostics PDF Author: Jean-Marc Narbonne
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004203265
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
The point of view put forth in the following pages differs greatly from the common perspective according to which the treatises 30 to 33 constitute a single work, a Großschrift, and this single work, Plotinus’ essential response to the Gnostics. Our perspective is that of an ongoing discussions with his “Gnostic”—yet Platonizing—friends, which started early in his writings (at least treatise 6), developed into what we could call a Großzyklus (treatises 27 to 39), and went on in later treatises as well (e. g. 47-48, 51).

Against the Gnostics

Against the Gnostics PDF Author: Plotinus
Publisher: Kessinger Publishing
ISBN: 9781425306472
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

PLOTINUS Ennead II.9

PLOTINUS Ennead II.9 PDF Author: Sebastian Gertz
Publisher: Parmenides Publishing
ISBN: 1930972644
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
How was the universe created, and what is our place within it? These are the questions at the heart of Plotinus' Against the Gnostics. For the Gnostics, the universe came into being as a result of the soul's fall from intelligible reality-it is the evil outcome of a botched creation. Plotinus challenges this, and insists that the soul's creation of the world is the necessary consequence of its contemplation of the ideal forms. While the Gnostics claim to despise the visible universe, Plotinus argues that such contempt displays their ignorance of the higher realities of which the cosmos is a beautiful image.

Neoplatonism and Gnosticism

Neoplatonism and Gnosticism PDF Author: Rich T. Wallis
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438423136
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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Book Description
In recent decades our view of Gnosticism has been revolutionized by the discovery of a Coptic Gnostic library at Nag-Hammadi, Egypt. Currently, Gnosticism is seen as a phenomenon extending far beyond Christianity and displaying a strong Platonic influence. The opposition between the two systems was certainly not as sharp as Plotinus claimed. Where, why, and how the ideological lines were drawn is discussed in the light of the new historical evidence.

The Gnostics

The Gnostics PDF Author: Jacques Lacarriere
Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
ISBN: 0720618029
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
Gnostics have always sought to “know” rather than to accept dogma and doctrine, often to their peril. This inquiry into Gnosticism examines the character, history, and beliefs of a brave and vigorous spiritual quest that originated in the ancient Near East and continues into the present day.Lawrence Durrell writes, “This is a strange and original essay, more a work of literature than of scholarship, though its documentation is impeccable. It is as convincing a reconstruction of the way the Gnostics lived and thought as D.H. Lawrence’s intuitive recreation of the vanished Etruscans.”

Against the Protestant Gnostics

Against the Protestant Gnostics PDF Author: Philip J. Lee
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195359194
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
In this penetrating and provocative assessment of the current state of religion and its effects on society at large, Philip J. Lee criticizes conservatives and liberals alike as he traces gnostic motifs to the very roots of American Protestantism. With references to an extraordinary spectrum of writings from sources as diverse as John Calvin, Martin Buber, Tom Wolfe, Margaret Atwood, and Emily Dickinson, he probes the effects of gnostic thinking on a wide range of issues. Calling for the restoration of a dialectical faith and practice, the book points to positive ways of restoring health to endangered Protestant churches.

What is Gnosticism?

What is Gnosticism? PDF Author: Karen L. King
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674017627
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
A study of gnosticism examines the various ways early Christians strove to define themselves in a pluralistic Roman society, while questioning the traditional ideas of heresy and orthodoxy that have previously influenced historians.

The Nag Hammadi Library in English

The Nag Hammadi Library in English PDF Author: James McConkey Robinson
Publisher: Brill Archive
ISBN: 9789004071858
Category : Gnostic literature
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description