The Gnostics Myth, Ritual, And Diversity In Early Christianity [Paperback]

Who were the Gnostics? And how did the Gnostic movement influence the development of Christianity in antiquity? Is it true that the Church rejected Gnosticism? This book offers an illuminating discussion of recent scholarly debates over the concept of Gnosticism and the nature of early Christian diversity. Acknowledging that the category Gnosticism is flawed and must be reformed,David Brakkeargues for a more careful approach to gathering evidence for the ancient Christian movement known as the Gnostic school of thought. He shows how Gnostic myth and ritual addressed basic human concerns about alienation and meaning, offered a message of salvation in Jesus, and provided a way for people to regain knowledge of God, the ultimate source of their being.

Rather than depicting the Gnostics as heretics or as the losers in the fight to define Christianity, Brakke argues that the Gnostics participated in an ongoing reinvention of Christianity, in which other Christians not only rejected their ideas but also adapted and transformed them. This book will challenge scholars to think in news ways, but it also provides an accessible introduction to the Gnostics and their fellow early Christians.

Not since Elaine Pagels's ground-breaking and best-sellingThe Gnostic Gospels(1979) has there been a work that communicates so clearly the content and significance of the Gnostics for our understanding of early Christian history. The public and the academy needThe Gnostics.A model for how to engage in careful social historical reconstruction.Brakke has a growing reputation for his studies on the history and literature of ancient Christianity, and he moves easily among the sources, making good sense of the sometimes scanty evidence...The Gnosticsis a book to be warmly commended to those who have an interest in the development of Christianity.Perhaps the finest aspect of this book is the way that Brakke successfully nuances the conflict models of lã'