
What Is Gnosticism?
Karen L. King(Author)
The Belknap Press
Published on 30. April 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-0-674-01762-7 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
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] is the pithiest and fairest overview to date of the subject. -- Robert A. Segal * Times Literary Supplement * Essential reading for serious students of Christian origins. -- Deirdre Good * Anglican Theological Review * 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. -- Mark J. Edwards * Journal of Theological Studies * [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 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass.
United States
Publishing group
Harvard University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
None
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-01762-7 (9780674017627)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Karen L. King
What is Gnosticism?
Book
06/2003
Harvard University Press
€48.46
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Karen L. King is Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School.
Content
Preface Abbreviations Introduction 1. Why Is Gnosticism So Hard to Define? 2. Gnosticism as Heresy 3. Adolf von Harnack and the Essence of Christianity 4. The History of Religions School 5. Gnosticism Reconsidered 6. After Nag Hammadi I: Categories and Origins 7. After Nag Hammadi II: Typology 8. The End of Gnosticism? Note on Methodology Bibliography Notes Index