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Encyclopedia > Gnostic Gospels

The Gnostic Gospels are a class of writings about the life of Jesus which are associated with the early mystical trend of Gnostic Christianity. They are not accepted by mainstream Christianity as authentic, therefore declared heresy and not included in the standard Biblical canon. Rather, they are part of the so-called New Testament apocrypha. Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE — 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... The Flammarion Woodcut can be taken to illustrate the Gnostics mystical search for spiritual worlds by circumventing the constraints of materialism. ... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge) that only a few possess. ... The Biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may... The category of New Testament apocrypha reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in the interpreting of the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. ...


The Gnostics were named from the term "Gnosis", a Greek word for knowledge. Gnostic philosophy and religious movements began in pre-Christian times. After the Crucifixion, the name "Christian Gnostics" came to represent a specific section of the Christian community who believed the path to spirituality was not simply worshipping Christ, but in each person gaining knowledge and insight of the spiritual nature within themselves, thus gaining a spiritual enlightenment. This community blends the teachings of Jesus Christ with a varity of other beliefs. Artistic depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. ...


The documents known as the Gnostic Gospels were not discovered as a complete book, rather through a number of various finds. The Nag Hammdi was discovered accidentally by two farmers in December 1945 and was named for the area in Egypt where it was discovered. Other documents are also included in what we now know as the "Gnostic Gospels", but were found at different times or in different locations, such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, which was recovered in 1896 as part of the Akhmim Codex, and published in 1955. Some documents were duplicated in different finds, and for others (such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene), only one copy as yet is known to exist. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was found in the Akhmim Codex, a gnostic text of the New Testament apocrypha acquired by Dr. Rheinhardt in Cairo in 1896. ... In 1896, the Coptic Berlin Codex (aka. ...


Though there are many documents which could probably be referred to as Gnostic Gospels, the term most commonly means one or more of the following:

The Gospel of Thomas is the modern name given to a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ... Oxyrhynchus (Greek: Οξύρυγχος; sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian Per-Medjed; modern Egyptian Arabic el-Bahnasa) is an archaeological site in Egypt, considered one of the most important ever discovered. ... The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. ... The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was found in the Akhmim Codex, a gnostic text of the New Testament apocrypha acquired by Dr. Rheinhardt in Cairo in 1896. ... The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel, the text of which was partially reconstructed in 2006. ... The Book of Thomas the Contender, also known more simply as the Book of Thomas (though this must not be confused with the quite different Gospel of Thomas), is one of the books of the New Testament apocrypha. ... The Gospel of Philip is one of the texts of the New Testament apocrypha. ... The Sophia of Jesus Christ is one of many Gnostic tractates from the Nag Hammadi codices, discovered in Egypt in 1945. ...

References in popular culture

The Gnostic Gospels received widespread attention after they were referred to in the 2003 bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, which mentioned them as part of its backstory. The novel used a great deal of artistic license in describing the gospels, which generated considerable confusion considering that the book also claimed to be presenting "factual" history. As a result, many debunking books and video documentaries resulted, which made the term "Gnostic Gospels" quite well-known in popular culture. This article is about the novel. ... The Artistic License is a software license used for certain free software packages, most notably the standard Perl implementation, most of CPAN modules and Parrot, which are dual-licensed under the Artistic License and the GNU General Public License (GPL). ...


See also

The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. ... The category of New Testament apocrypha reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in the interpreting of the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. ...

References

  • The Gnostic Society
  • Richard Abanes, The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code, 2004. ISBN 0736914390
  • Gnostic Judas Gnostic Gospel Resources
  • [1]

  Results from FactBites:
 
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Gnosticism (10671 words)
Gnostics were "people who knew", and their knowledge at once constituted them a superior class of beings, whose present and future status was essentially different from that of those who, for whatever reason, did not know.
The Gnostics, it is true, borrowed their terminology almost entirely from existing religions, but they only used it to illustrate their great idea of the essential evil of this present existence and the duty to escape it by the help of magic spells and a superhuman Saviour.
The Gnostics seem also to have used oil sacramentally for the healing of the sick, and even the dead were anointed by them to be rendered safe and invisible in their transit through the realms of the archons.
What are the Gnostic gospels? (290 words)
The Gnostics fraudulently attached the names of famous Christians to their writings, such as the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Philip, the gospel of Mary, etc. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in northern Egypt in 1945 represented a major discovery of Gnostic gospels.
The Gnostic gospels were fraudulently written in the names of the apostles in order to give them a legitimacy in the early church.
The Gnostic gospels can be a good source to study early Christian heresies, but they should be rejected outright as not belonging in the Bible and not representing the genuine Christian faith.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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