Friday, January 11, 2013

Book Note: Introduction to "Gnosticism" (Denzey Lewis)

I was delighted yesterday when Nicola Denzey's new textbook on Gnosticism arrived in my office mailbox.  I had the pleasure of reading the book while it was in preparation, and I am excited to see it finally in print.  The book covers all the main issues of the Nag Hammadi literature and will be a perfect compliment to the Nag Hammadi Library if you are considering teaching a course on this literature, or if you are studying the Nag Hammadi texts independently.  The textbook clearly is designed from Denzey's experience teaching a course on Nag Hammadi literature over many years, so it focuses around the main schools of Gnostics that are represented in the Nag Hammadi library, plus a discussion of the other Nag Hammadi texts like the Gospel of Thomas and the Hermetic literature.  The book contains maps, diagrams, timelines, and photos to illustrate the text.  At the end of each chapter are "Questions to Consider", "Key Terms" and "For Further Reading."

1 comment:

Unknown said...


Fundamental historical givens for meaningful historical Jesus studies:
1. Our sole sufficient knowledge of Jesus derives from the original and originating faith and witness of the apostles.
2. None of the writings of the NT contain this apostolic witness.
3. We have an alternative NT source containing this apostolic witness to the one real Jesus of history, imaging who he was and what he was about. This is the our earliest “Forbidden Gospel”.
Comments welcome.