Gnosticism and the New Testament

Gnosticism and the New Testament

"The gnostic writings found at Nag Hammadi have stimulated much controversy about the relationship between early Christians and the diverse religious movement of the first three centuries. Perkins fills the New Testament student's need for a guide to recent developments in scholarship with a helpful survey that addresses the origins of Gnosticism, its relationship to Judaism, Redeemer myths and New Testament hymns, and other relevant topics"--Amazon.com.

Pheme Perkins

Pt. 1. Gnostic Origins. 1. The Search for Pre-Christian Gnosticism. Simon Magus. Jewish Syncretism. Gnostic Mythemes and Alienation. A Demonized World. 2. Gnosticism and the Jewish Connection. A Samaritan Origin? Linguistic Evidence for Palestinian Traditions. Enoch Traditions in Gnostic Mythology. Anti-Jewish Midrash. Christianizing Early Gnostic Traditions. 3. Gnostic Influence and the New Testament. Variations on the Redeemer Figure. Gnostic Elements in the New Testament. Cultic Innovation and Mythology. 4. Reconstructing Gnostic History. On the Margins of Judaism. Gnostic Teachers of the Second Century. Valentinians. Sethian Tradition History -- Pt. 2. Gnostic and New Testament Traditions. 5. Jesus as Teacher of Wisdom: Sayings and Revelation. Gospel of Thomas and the Sayings Tradition. Dialogue of the Savior. Sayings in Gospel of Truth. Kingdom Parables and Gnosis. Recovering the Divine Image. Praxis in Gospel of Thomas. 6. Gnosis and the Pauline Tradition. Pauline Opponents (Schmithals). Gnostic Mythemes and Pauline Anthropology. Eschatology and Anthropology. The Divine Image. 7. Redeemer Myths and New Testament Hymns. The Revealer Appears in the World. The Powers React. Christianizing the Gnostic Redeemer. The Revealer in Zostrianos. The Revealer in Gospel of the Egyptians. 8. Jesus as Word. Wisdom and Myth in John's Prologue. A Gnostic Reading of John's Prologue. John's Prologue and Trimorphic Protennoia. The Word as Revealer. 9. Discourses of the Revealer.

Jesus Reveals God. Postresurrection Revelations. The Style of the Revelation Discourse. Johannine Discourse and the Sayings Tradition (Koester). "I Am" Predications as Text and Riddle. Discourse and the Elect Community -- Pt. 3. Gnostic Christianity. 10. Gnostic Identity: Conversion and Asceticism. Interpretation and Antinomianism. The Danger of the Demonic. A Call to Conversion. Salvation and Metaphor in Gospel of Truth. Conflict over Ascetic Practice. The Rhetoric of 1 John and Gospel of Truth. 11. Women Disciples and Worshipers. Women in the Marcosian Sect. Women in Pauline Traditions. The Ambiguity of the Feminine. The Suffering of Wisdom. Repentance Displaces Wisdom. 12. Christians: Gnostic and Orthodox. Gnostic Christian Writings. Irenaeus Against the Gnostics. Jesus' Disciples in Gnostic Sources. Christian Gnostics and Religious Pluralism. Christian Gnostics and the Gospel Canon -- Index of Ancient Sources -- Index of Modern Authors.

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