It was authored by a prominent gnostic christian and disciple of valentinus, heracleon. Part of the library of books found in nag hammadi, egypt, in 1945, this central myth of gnosticism tells the story of how god fell from perfect oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how b. As some theologians have observed, clear signs of embellishment can be seen in the exaggerated events narrated by the gnostic texts, which is an exaggeration largely absent from the original canonical gospels of mark, matthew, luke, and john. The gnostics before 1945 and 1983 in english, were never able to speak for themselves. The medieval cathar tradition was deeply devoted to the traditions of john, and preserved a very important johannine text. The solution commonly accepted before the advent of criticism was that this. Bultmann, for example, argued that the opening theme of the gospel of john, the preexisting logos, along with john s duality of light versus darkness in his gospel were originally gnostic themes. Jan 02, 2020 there are countless contradictions between the gnostic gospels and the true gospels of matthew, mark, luke, and john. To say john s gospel contained elements of gnosticism is to assume that gnosticism had developed to a level that required the author to respond to it. For example, the gospel of mark was written primarily for the purpose of communicating jesus story to a generation of gentile christians who had not been.
Mar 11, 20 the gnostic heresy of the first century forms the background for both books. Contrary to the church fathers, he used the gospel of cerinthus, and denied. The gnostics believed that jesus was god but not man at all, that the apostles. John s gospel is the work of a trained mind who wrote good greek with some semitizing. The apocryphon of john marvin meyer the nag hammadi library. The gospel of philip is one of the gnostic gospels, a text of new testament apocrypha, dated to around the 3rd century but lost in medieval times until rediscovered by accident, buried with other texts near nag hammadi in egypt, in 1945. A battle of gnosis, that some christians might consider a war of christ vs the antichrist, angel vs demon, or good vs evil. And what do you get if you follow his son, jesus christ. The story of the storytellers the gospel of john from jesus to. John is the last gospel and, in many ways, different from the synoptic gospels. Heracleon was one of the most important biblical exegetes of his day. We will see later how john reaches out to gnostics and at the same time defends the gospel against the gnostic teaching with its certain characteristics. The gnostic gospel annotated and erplained woodstock 2005, 144, rightly obserr,es that the idea of eternal punishrnent contradtcts the earlier assertion in this dialogue that all people will eventually become perfect and be sal ed.
This ancient gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual quest. The birth of the dark god yaldabaoth the secret gospel of. It is generally assumed that the gospel of john is easy to understand. Prior to the discovery at nag hammadi, only the following texts were available to students of gnosticism.
The chenoboskion book of thomas the athlete uses very similar language of the. The gospel of john and christian theologyrichard bauckham 20080225 in recent. The author describes it having occurred after jesus has gone back. Drawing connections to christianity, buddhism, hinduism, kabbalistic judaism, and sufism, davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the gnostic religious quest. Reconstructions were attempted from the records of the heresiologists, but these were necessarily coloured by the motivation behind the source accounts. Cerinthus was an early gnostic, who was prominent as a heresiarch in the view of the early church fathers.
According a 3rd century author and historian, caius, the apocalypse of john was a work of the gnostic kerinthus. Dec 24, 2017 the author of the gospel of john began to grapple with gnostic cosmology to develop his own. Bound together with these gospels is the apocryphon literally, secret book of john, which opens with an offer to reveal the mysteries and the things hidden in silence which jesus taught to his disciple john. The discovery was made near ancient chenobaskion, near. Step by step davies steers the reader through the different layers of the text, outlining the structure of its thought and even providing diagrams. John, gospel according to after a discussion of the unity of the fourth gospel. About a few years ago, long before i heard of this book, i looked at john chapter 6 from a transitional perspective. Recently, the newlydiscovered gospel of judas, an example of what is called a gnostic gospel, has made headlines worldwide. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of jesus, with seven signs culminating in the raising of lazarus foreshadowing the resurrection of jesus and seven.
The beginners guide to the gnostic gospels overviewbible. Dec 11, 20 reconceptualizing johannine theology and the roots of gnosticism published as a chapter in histories of the hidden god that coincidentally ties in remarkably well with the view of roger parvus posted in part here that the gospel of john is an orthodox redaction of the gospel of an apostate from marcionism, apelles. It makes very clear that early christianity had 2 teachings one for common people, another esoteric for the narrow circle of initiated disciples. The nag hammadi library also known as the chenoboskion manuscripts and the gnostic gospels is a collection of early christian and gnostic texts discovered near the upper egyptian town of nag hammadi in 1945 thirteen leatherbound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named muhammed alsamman. From a gnostic point of view, the cosmos was divided into a realm of the material and a heavenly world of light. There is the theory which states that the real deceiver, false teacher or antichrist didnt come yet. Pdf fragments of a gnostic anthropology in the gospel of. John makes little reference to galilee, which is scarcely what we would expect from a native of the province, especially since galilee. The evangelist combined them, christianized the gnosticism, and made the. Hebrew bible, or old testament, and an earthmother figure named eden or israel. The attraction of such myths lay especially in their solutions to problems of. To say john s gospel contained elements of gnosticism is to assume that gnosticism had developed to.
The apocryphon of john collection the gnostic society library. Rather it is james the just, the leader of the jerusalem church in the book of acts. Mar 08, 2012 rudolf bultmann 18841976 was a german lutheran theologian who taught at the university of marburg. The secret book of john claims that adam and eve received their divine spirit. He includes his latest translations of not only the gospel of thomas, the gospel of philip, the gospel of mary, but other texts such as the secret book of john. Several things about this gnostic gospel particularly at. The gospel of john, written before the major gnostic writings recovered so far, clearly refutes the dualistic teachings that were giving strength to the gnostic philosophies of the time by pointing to jesus being human and yet god, thereby arguing against the spiritualism and the perverted symbology promoted by gnostics at that time. The text is not closely related to the canonical gospels and is not accepted as canonical by the christian.
The text of nag hammadi codex iv, 1, which also represents the long version, has been consulted, as have the texts representing the short version, nag hammadi codex iii, 1, and. The gospel of john and gnosticism 1 introduction 2. The apocryphon of john collection the gnostic society. The authors opponents and their teaching in 1 john says the epistle provides good reason for thinking that a split has taken place in the johannine community and the authors opponents now constitute a community of their own. Who are the deceivers 1 john is written against, mentioned. Why the gospel of thomas isnt in the bible cross examined. Meyer notes that this translation of the the secret book of john is based largely on the coptic text of nag hammadi codex ii, 1, coptic manuscript pages 1,1 to 32,9. The soul of man was a splinter of light trapped on earth in the body of the human. The devils father and gnostic hints in the gospel of john. This site includes the entire hammadi library, as well as a large collection of other primary gnostic scriptures and documents. The gospel of thomas and st johns gospel new testament.
Dec 16, 2011 recently i began a series on the prechristian christ gnosticism but have recently read a book that i think may throw more direct light on that question the secret book of john. This ancient gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual questthe secret book of john is the most significant and influential text of the ancient gnostic religion. The gnostic gospels of thomas mary and john blinkprods. John makes little reference to galilee, which is scarcely what we would expect from a native of the province, especially since galilee supposedly was the centre of christs ministry. Apocryphon literally, secret book of john, which opens with an offer to reveal the mysteries. Since it was known to irenaeus, a church father, it must have been written before 180 ce. Annotated and explained both skylight paths and the revolt of the widows. Annotated and explained, gospel of thomas expert stevan davies provides a clear and accessible introduction to this important text.
Bultmann is well know for his demythologizing method that he attempted to purge the new testament of what he perceived to be legendary accretions to the christian tradition. In other places the sayings just seem outright wrong for one reason for another. This text most likely preserves a work from the johannine tradition with origins in a very early period of classical gnosticism, conjecturally dating to a. So impressive was this documentary find that by 1983 nearly 50 volumes of oxyrhynchus papyri had. Tgc course introduction to john the gospel coalition. The nag hammadi library b i b l i o t h e q u e d e n a g h a m m a d i introduction from the gnostic gospels by elaine pagels in december 1945 an arab peasant made an astonishing archeological discovery in upper egypt. Stevan davies is professor of religious studies at misericordia university and has studied the noncanonical gospels and acts for over thirty years.
Jan 03, 2019 the second explanation for john s uniqueness among the gospels has to do with the major purposes for which each gospel was written, and with the major themes explored by each gospel writer. This book is a great introduction to the gnostic gospels, especially if followed up by the nag hammadi scriptures. Also, a 2nd or 3rdcentury heretical christian sect later dubbed the alogi had said that cerinthus was the true author of the gospel of john and book of revelation which is explained in the catholic encyclopedia. In 1 john, the prophet explains how important is to believe in god. The gospel of thomas, it is often claimed, has some gnostic elements but lacks the full gnostic cosmology. An essay on vision and gnostic textual traditions, addressed specifically to the the gospel of thomas but also relevant to the secret book of john.
The first known gospel commentary was a commentary on the gospel of john written around 170 ad. The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john or the secret revelation of john, is a 2ndcentury sethian gnostic christian text of secret teachings. The secret book of john is the most significant and influential text of the ancient gnostic religion. Why the gnostic gospels arent reliable sources reasons. Saint john vs the archheretic gnostics of crete, is a little known biblical battle that is one of the most important stories about gnosticism that has ever been told. We will see later how john reaches out to gnostics and at the same time defends the gospel against the gnostic.
Christian gnosticism did not fully develop until the mid2nd century and 2ndcentury christians concentrated much effort in examining and refuting it. Reconceptualizing johannine theology and the roots of gnosticism published as a chapter in histories of the hidden god that coincidentally ties in remarkably well with the view of roger parvus posted in part here that the gospel of john is an orthodox redaction of the gospel of an apostate from marcionism, apelles. Recently i began a series on the prechristian christ gnosticism but have recently read a book that i think may throw more direct light on that question the secret book of john. Gnosticism in 1 john and 2 john most of the christians already know the famous passage talking about the false teachers and deceivers. The renowned commentator westcott asserted that the gospel affirms the deity of jesus, while 1 john affirms his humanity. The gnostic gospel annotated and explained by stevan davies. The secret book according to john is the most important surviving gnostic text. Drawing connections to christianity, buddhism, hinduism, kabbalistic judaism, and sufism, davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the. Saint john vs the gnostics gnostic warrior by moe bedard. The argument is that the canonical gospels on the surface read much more like one would expect of. The gnostic gospels are traditionally described in the ways mentioned above in modern times by most scholars and theological compare and contrast points of view, but it lacks a certain whole picture approach that can be clarified by a student of gnosticism. The gospel of john and the gnostic myth of redemption. The gnostic gospels dont need my praise, this is a timeless classic, and a very valuable addition to the new testament.
The gnostic claim to knowledge throws light upon many passages in this epistle. Gnosticism in 1 john and 2 john gnosticism in the bible. Heracleon commentary on the gospel of john, along with a vast collection of material about gnosticism and the tradition of john. This peril, against which the apostle writes, and from which he seeks to defend the church, was gnosticism, as is proved by what is said again and again in the epistle of the characteristics of this insidious and deadly teaching. Matters remained thus until the important discovery in 1946 of the gospel of thomas among a large cache of coptic, mainly gnostic, treatises. The discovery was made near ancient chenobaskion, near modern nag hammadi c. There is a greek gospel of thomas, like the above one, but there are only fragments of the full gnostic gospels are gospels that were never approved for inclusion in the official version. The gospel of john adds that jesus is a divine heir of the. However, even the description of these elements as gnostic is based mainly upon the presupposition that the text as a whole is a gnostic gospel, and this idea itself is based upon little other than the fact that it was found along with. The author of the gospel of john began to grapple with gnostic cosmology to develop his own. This central myth of gnosticism tells a story of god falling from perfect oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how by knowing ones divine origins, gods descent can be reversed. The gnostic gospels can be a good source for the study of early christian heresies, but they should be rejected outright as not belonging in the bible and not representing the genuine christian faith. According to early christian sources, the apostle john wrote his gospel specifically to refute the teachings of cerinthus. The solution to the tension between these two was knowledge, or gnosis, through which man rose from the mundane to the spiritual.
Pagels who is an expert in the field has been able to go back and reread the works of paul and the gospel of john in the light of the gnostic writings and see the real gnostic influence and meaning in these early canonical works that have been hidden until now. Who are the deceivers 1 john is written against, mentioned in. The apocryphon of john marvin meyer the nag hammadi. It describes jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge to john the apostle. In its opening words the gospel of thomas offers a stunning hermeneutic challenge. This is just one of the solutions for you to be successful. Part of the library of books found in nag hammadi, egypt, in 1945, this central myth of gnosticism tells the story of how god fell from perfect oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how by knowing our divine. Jun 01, 1986 the gospel of james the righteous is, in places, pretty much like the bible.
Anyone who is reading these books in search of truth is on the path of true discovery. It was not written at the same time as the four canonical gospels matthew, mark, luke, and john but appeared a couple of centuries later. Gnostic text, apocalypse of peter a key passage from gnostic gospel of mary. The writings in these codices comprise 52 mostly gnostic. This introductory course is designed to provide key insights into the book of john by pulling together a number of key resources. Although it seems one of the most extreme theories, numerous christians believe it. The method is historically reminiscent of the penknife redaction of marcion of sinope ca. Reconstructions were attempted from the records of the heresiologists, but these were necessarily. Why the gnostic gospels arent reliable sources reasons for. The birth of the dark god yaldabaoth the secret gospel.
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