Gnosis An Introduction

This succinct new introduction to Gnosis contains everything a reader needs to know, as well as where to look for further information. Markschies defines the nature of Gnosis and the significance of beliefs which led to such a prominent movement in the Christian church. He discusses the sources, all the relevant writings that contribute to our knowledge about Gnosis (including the church fathers), heresiologists and the Nag Hammadi finds. He examines early forms of Gnosis in antiquity, in Jewish and Christian contexts, in the New Testament and in the first Gnostics. He then treats the main representatives of Gnosis, especially Valentinus and Marcion, Manichaeism as the culmination of Gnosis, communities of Gnostics and the influence of Gnosis today. There is a useful bibliography and chronology. Markschies combines great clarity with immense learning. This is an ideal introduction to Gnosis for the student and general reader. Book jacket.

Christoph Markschies is Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Heidelberg

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The term 'gnosis'	p. 1
'Gnosis' or 'gnosticism'?	p. 13
'Gnosis'--a typological model	p. 16
The main problems in recent discussion	p. 17
The Sources	p. 29
Ancient authors critical of 'gnosis', who hand on original texts	p. 30
Irenaeus of Lyons	p. 30
Clement of Alexandria	p. 31
Hippolytus of Rome	p. 32
Origen	p. 33
Epiphanius of Salamis	p. 34
Authors critical of 'gnosis', who offer 'reports on heretics' (heresiologists)	p. 36
Justin, the philosopher and martyr	p. 36
Tertullian	p. 37
Further authors	p. 38
Original 'gnostic' texts, above all in Coptic	p. 39
Codices Askewianus and Brucianus	p. 40
The Berlin Codex	p. 42
The Nag Hammadi Library	p. 48
The Manichaean discoveries from Turfan	p. 59
The Library of Medinet Madi	p. 60
The Cologne Mani Codex	p. 62
The discoveries from the oasis of Dakhleh	p. 62
Non-'gnostic' texts	p. 63
Hermetic writings	p. 63
Hekhalot literature	p. 64
Early Forms of 'Gnosis' in Antiquity	p. 67
Jewish 'gnosis'?	p. 69
'Gnosis' in the New Testament?	p. 71
The Gospel of John	p. 71
Ephesians and Colossians	p. 72
Early representatives of 'gnosis'	p. 73
Simon Magus	p. 73
Menander	p. 77
Saturninus	p. 77
Basilides	p. 79
The beginnings of 'gnosis'--a summary	p. 81
The Great Systems of Ancient 'Gnosis'	p. 85
Marcion and the Marcionites	p. 86
Valentinus and the Valentinians	p. 89
The so-called 'Barbelo-gnostics'	p. 94
Sethian gnosis?	p. 97
Manichaeism as the Culmination and Conclusion of 'Gnosis'	p. 101
The life of Mani	p. 103
The teachings of Mani	p. 104
Ancient Communities of 'Gnostics'?	p. 109
'Gnosis' in Antiquity and the Present	p. 119
The Nag Hammadi Codices	p. 123
The Berlin Coptic Papyrus	p. 127
Abbreviations	p. 129
Bibliography	p. 133
Chronological Table	p. 141
Index of Names	p. 143
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Gnosis An Introduction

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