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The Definitive Collection of Gnostic Writings
The year is 1945. At the foot of a cliff along the Nile River, near the city of Nag Hammadi, an Egyptian peasant unearths a large storage jar containing ancient manuscripts. The discovery turns out to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the past century. A treasure of fourth-century texts, the manuscripts are the scriptures of the ancient mystical tradition commonly called Gnosticism, from the Greek gnosis, that is, secret knowledge. It is a discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about the early Christian church, ancient Judaism, and Greco-Roman religions.
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures is the most complete and up-to-date English-language edition of these sacred texts from Egypt. It is full of treatises, testimonies, and secret books that had been lost for centuries. In addition to gospels purportedly by the apostles Thomas and Philip, and the revelations of James, Peter, and Paul, this collection also includes the Gospel of Mary and the controversial Gospel of Judas. The documents have been newly translated by a team of prominent international scholars. This volume also features introductory essays and extensive notes to help readers understand the context and significance of these texts that have revolutionized the study of early Christianity and ancient religious thought.
Newly translated and annotated by an international team of leading scholars, this is the definitive edition of the renowned library of fourth-century Gnostic manuscripts. This work includes the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the recently discovered Gospel of Judas, as well as other Gnostic gospels and sacred texts.
First discovered in Egypt in 1945 and rivaling the Dead Sea Scrolls in significance, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures have shed new light on the study of early Christianity. Here they are conveniently published in one volume and include introductory essays, notes, tables, and a glossary to help readers understand their context and contemporary significance. Marvin Meyer is one of the foremost scholars on Gnosticism, the Nag Hammadi library, and texts about Jesus outside the New Testament. He is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies and director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Chapman University, Orange, California. Among his recent books are The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus, The Gospels of Mary, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gnostic Bible and The Gnostic Discoveries. James M. Robinson was Permanent Secretary of UNESCO’s International Committee for the Nag Hammadi Codices, Founding Director Emeritus of the Nag Hammadi Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, and professor emeritus at Claremont Graduate University. He is the author of Trajectories through Early Christianity and A New Quest of the Historical Jesus. He was the general editor of The Nag Hammadi Library in English. He lives in Claremont, California.You may also like
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