Gnosticism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Sources== ===Heresiologists=== Prior to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 Gnosticism was known primarily through the works of [[heresiologist]]s, [[Church Fathers]] who opposed those movements. These writings had an antagonistic bias towards gnostic teachings, and were incomplete. Several heresiological writers, such as Hippolytus, made little effort to exactly record the nature of the [[sect]]s they reported on, or transcribe their sacred texts. Reconstructions of incomplete Gnostic texts were attempted in modern times, but research on Gnosticism was coloured by the orthodox views of those heresiologists. [[Justin Martyr]] ({{Circa|100/114|162/168}}) wrote the ''[[First Apology]]'', addressed to [[Roman emperor]] [[Antoninus Pius]], which criticised [[Simon Magus]], [[Menander (gnostic)|Menander]] and [[Marcion]]. Since then, both Simon and Menander have been considered as 'proto-Gnostic'.{{sfn|Markschies|2003|p=37}} [[Irenaeus]] (died {{Circa|202}}) wrote ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Against Heresies]]'' ({{Circa|180β185}}), which identifies [[Simon Magus]] from [[Flavia Neapolis]] in [[Samaria]] as the inceptor of Gnosticism. From Samaria he charted an apparent spread of the teachings of Simon through the ancient "knowers" into the teachings of Valentinus and other, contemporary Gnostic sects.{{refn|group=note|This understanding of the transmission of Gnostic ideas, despite Irenaeus' certain antagonistic bias, is often utilized today, though it has been criticized.}} [[Hippolytus (writer)|Hippolytus]] (170β235) wrote the ten-volume ''[[Refutatio Omnium Haeresium|Refutation Against all Heresies]]'', of which eight have been unearthed. It also focuses on the connection between pre-Socratic (and therefore Pre-Incantation of Christ) ideas and the false beliefs of early gnostic leaders. Thirty-three of the groups he reported on are considered Gnostic by modern scholars, including 'the foreigners' and 'the [[Seth]] people'. Hippolytus further presents individual teachers such as Simon, [[Valentinus (Gnostic)|Valentinus]], Secundus, [[Ptolemy (gnostic)|Ptolemy]], [[Heracleon]], [[Marcus (Marcosian)|Marcus]] and [[Ptolemy (gnostic)|Colorbasus]]. [[Tertullian]] ({{Circa|155|230}}) from [[Carthage]] wrote ''Adversus Valentinianos'' ('Against the Valentinians'), c.{{nbsp}}206, as well as five books around 207β208 chronicling and refuting the teachings of [[Marcion]]. ===Gnostic texts=== {{See also|Gnostic texts|Nag Hammadi library}} Prior to the discovery at Nag Hammadi, a limited number of texts were available to students of Gnosticism. Reconstructions were attempted from the records of the heresiologists, but these were necessarily coloured by the motivation behind the source accounts. The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of [[Gnostic texts]] discovered in 1945 near Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt. Twelve leather-bound [[papyrus]] [[codex|codices]] buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named Muhammed al-Samman.<ref>[[Marvin Meyer]] and [[James M. Robinson]], ''The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The International Edition''. HarperOne, 2007. pp. 2β3. {{ISBN|0-06-052378-6}}</ref> The writings in these codices comprised fifty-two mostly Gnostic [[treatise]]s, but they also include three works belonging to the ''[[Hermetica|Corpus Hermeticum]]'' and a partial translation/alteration of Plato's ''Republic''. These codices may have belonged to a nearby [[Saint Pachomius|Pachomian]] monastery, and buried after [[Athanasius|Bishop Athanasius]] condemned the use of [[Biblical canon|non-canonical]] books in his [[Easter letter|Festal Letter of 367]].{{sfn|Robinson|1978|loc=Introduction}} Though the original language of composition was probably [[Greek language|Greek]], the various codices contained in the collection were written in [[Coptic language|Coptic]]. A 1st- or 2nd-century date of composition for the lost Greek originals has been proposed, though this is disputed; the manuscripts themselves date from the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Nag Hammadi texts demonstrated the fluidity of early Christian scripture and early Christianity itself.{{refn|group=note|According to Layton, "the lack of uniformity in ancient Christian scripture in the early period is very striking, and it points to the substantial diversity within the Christian religion."{{sfn|Layton|1987|p=xviii}} }} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page