What Is Gnosticism? - Softcover

King, Karen L

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674017625 ISBN 13: 9780674017627

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2005

Synopsis

A distinctive Christian heresy? A competitor of burgeoning Christianity? A pre-Christian folk religion traceable to "Oriental syncretism"? How do we account for the disparate ideas, writings, and practices that have been placed under the Gnostic rubric? To do so, Karen King says, we must first disentangle modern historiography from the Christian discourse of orthodoxy and heresy that has pervaded--and distorted--the story. Exciting discoveries of previously unknown ancient writings--especially the forty-six texts found at Nag Hammadi in 1945--are challenging historians of religion to rethink not only what we mean by Gnosticism but also the standard account of Christian origins. The Gospel of Mary and The Secret Book of John, for example, illustrate the variety of early Christianities and are witness to the struggle of Christians to craft an identity in the midst of the culturally pluralistic Roman Empire. King shows how historians have been misled by ancient Christian polemicists who attacked Gnostic beliefs as a "dark double" against which the new faith could define itself. Having identified past distortions, she is able to offer a new and clarifying definition of Gnosticism. Her book is thus both a thorough and innovative introduction to the twentieth-century study of Gnosticism and a revealing exploration of the concept of heresy as a tool in forming religious identity.

About this title

Review:

[King's] is the pithiest and fairest overview to date of the subject.--Robert A. Segal"Times Literary Supplement" (11/21/2003)

[King's] volume offers a carefully considered, well-researched reflection on the state of Gnostic scholarship and a clear call for new approaches.--Edward Moore"Classical Bulletin" (01/01/2006)

Essential reading for serious students of Christian origins.--Deirdre Good "Anglican Theological Review "

What is Gnosticism? offers an original and persuasive account of how we have come to speak of "gnosticism," and what various people have meant by that. Karen King's important new book transforms our understanding of the origins of Christianity.--Elaine Pagels, Princeton University

King's exposure of the confessional prejudices which have shaped the accounts of Gnosticism in Harnack and his successors is a valuable supplement to previous studies which have shown how our modern nomenclature fails to match the ancient sources. Where others have shown how scholarship has gone astray, she sets out to tell us why.-- (04/01/2005)

About the Author:

Karen L. King is Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0674017625
• ISBN 13: 9780674017627
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 366