The Gnostic Discoveries: The Impact of the Nag Hammadi Library
Marvin Meyer, . . Harper San Francisco, $21.95 (239pp) ISBN 978-0-06-082108-1
Before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi documents in the 1940s, Gnosticism was considered to be a form of anti-Christian heresy taught by some early church fathers and condemned by others. Modern readers depended on secondary works condemning Gnosticism in order to understand its proponents' point of view. But with the unearthing of the Gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi, scholars have a better idea of the scope and direction of Gnostic teaching in the early years of Christianity as told by its adherents. Meyer, professor of Bible and Christian studies at Chapman University in California, boasts nine previous publications on the subject and demonstrates a deep understanding of both the history and content of the documents. After briefly recounting their discovery, he analyzes their content, sorting through the teachings and relating them, not just to the biblical text, but even to the bestselling novel
Reviewed on: 09/26/2005
Genre: Nonfiction
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