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Proto-Gnosticism
Proto-Gnosticism or pre-Gnosticism refers to movements similar to Gnosticism during the first century of Christianity. Proto-Gnostics did not have the same full-fledged theology of the later Gnostics, but did prefigure some of their views. There is, however, some debate regarding the existence of proto-Gnosticism in the first century. New Testament Some believe that the opponents mentioned in 1 John, Jude and 1-2 Corinthians are proto-Gnostics or partly proto-Gnostic. According to some the Corinthian church that was criticized by Paul the Apostle and which existed in the time of Paul included proto-Gnostic beliefs. Possible identifications with proto-Gnosticism * Maghāriya were a minor Jewish sect that appeared in the first century BCE, their special practice was the keeping of all their literature in caves in the surrounding hills of Israel. They made their own commentaries on the Bible and the law. The Maghāriya believed that God is too sublime to mingle with matter, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomasines
Thomasine is a name given to a Syrian Christian group that originated in the first or the second century, who especially revered the apostle Thomas and some scholars speculate to have written the gospel of Thomas. The group was said to have held esoteric, mystical, and ascetic ideas. Some have associated them with the proto-Gnostics. However modern critics have disputed their affiliation with Gnosticism, especially because they lack many uniquely Gnostic beliefs. History According to one view the Thomasines were an early group that questioned the authority of the Jerusalem church and the apostle James, with the Thomasine church beginning around the middle of the first century in Syria. Elaine Pagels dates the Thomasine community to around the time of the Gospel of John’s compilation (AD 70–110), as the Gospel of John appears to contain "anti-Thomasine" elements and the Johannine community may have splintered off from the same group as the Thomasine. Though minority views ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, [ɣnostiˈkos], 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Early Christianity, early Christian sects. These diverse groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') above the Proto-orthodox Christianity, proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Generally, in Gnosticism, the Monad (Gnosticism), Monad is the supreme God who emanates divine beings; one, Sophia (Gnosticism), Sophia, creates the flawed demiurge who makes the material world, trapping souls until they regain divine knowledge. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philo
Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian Jews in a delegation to the Roman emperor Caligula in 40 CE following civil strife between the Jewish and Greek communities of Alexandria. Philo was a leading writer of the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt. He wrote expansively in Koine Greek on philosophy, politics, and religion in his time; specifically, he explored the connections between Greek Platonic philosophy and late Second Temple Judaism. For example, he maintained that the Greek-language Septuagint and the Jewish law still being developed by the rabbis of the period together serve as a blueprint for the pursuit of individual enlightenment. Philo's deployment of allegory to harmonize Jewish scripture, mainly the Torah, with Greek philosophy was the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st-century Establishments
File:1st century collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Jesus is crucified by Roman authorities in Judaea (17th century painting). Four different men (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) claim the title of Emperor within the span of a year; The Great Fire of Rome (18th-century painting) sees the destruction of two-thirds of the city, precipitating the empire's first persecution against Christians, who are blamed for the disaster; The Roman Colosseum is built and holds its inaugural games; Roman forces besiege Jerusalem during the First Jewish–Roman War (19th-century painting); The Trưng sisters lead a rebellion against the Chinese Han dynasty (anachronistic depiction); Boudica, queen of the British Iceni leads a rebellion against Rome (19th-century statue); Knife-shaped coin of the Xin dynasty., 335px rect 30 30 737 1077 Crucifixion of Jesus rect 767 30 1815 1077 Year of the Four Emperors rect 1846 30 3223 1077 Great Fire of Rome rect 30 1108 1106 2155 Boudican revolt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of Mary
The Gospel of Mary is an early Christian text discovered in 1896 in a fifth-century papyrus codex written in Sahidic Coptic. This Berlin Codex was purchased in Cairo by German diplomat Carl Reinhardt. Although the work is popularly known as the Gospel of Mary, it is not classified as a gospel by most scholars, who restrict the term 'gospel' to texts "primarily focused on recounting the teachings and/or activities of Jesus during his adult life". History The Berlin Codex, also known as the Akhmim Codex, also contains the '' Apocryphon of John'', the '' Sophia of Jesus Christ'', and a summary of the ''Act of Peter''. All four works contained in the manuscript are written in the Sahidic dialect of Coptic. Two other fragments of the Gospel of Mary have been discovered since, both written in Greek ( Papyrus Oxyrhynchus L 3525 and Papyrus Rylands 463). P.Oxy. L 3525 "... was in fact found by Grenfell and Hunt some time between 1897 and 1906, but only published in 1983," by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2 Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch, or the Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten heavens of an Earth-centered cosmos. The Slavonic edition and translation of 2 Enoch is of Christian origin in the 8th century but is based on an earlier work. 2 Enoch is distinct from the Book of Enoch, known as 1 Enoch, and there is also an unrelated 3 Enoch, although none of the three books are considered canonical scripture by the majority of Jewish or Christian bodies. The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish each from the others. The cosmology of 2 Enoch corresponds closely with beliefs of the Early Middle Ages about the metaphysical structure of the universe. It may have been influential in shaping them. The text was lost for several centuries, then recovered and published at the end of the nin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ascension Of Isaiah
The ''Ascension of Isaiah'' is a pseudepigraphical Judeo-Christian text. Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. Scholarly estimates regarding the date of the Ascension of Isaiah range from 70 AD to 175 AD.Hurtado, Larry. ''Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity.'' Eerdmans, 2005, 595-602, p.588 "the Ascension of Isaiah (variously dated from 70 to ca. 175, and hereafter Asc. Isa.)" Many scholars believe it to be a compilation of several texts completed by an unknown Christian scribe who claimed to be the Prophet Isaiah, while an increasing number of scholars in recent years have argued that the work is a unity by a single author that may have utilized multiple sources. Many scholars have seen some similarities between Gnosticism and the Ascension of Isaiah. Dating of the text It is generally believed that the text is composed of three different sections written at different times, by different authors. The earliest secti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James White (theologian)
James Robert White is a Reformed Baptist theologian. He is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a Christian scholar and has authored several books. Early life and education White graduated with a BA from Grand Canyon University (formerly known as Grand Canyon College) and an MA from Fuller Theological Seminary. His ThM, Th.D. and D.Min. degrees are from Columbia Evangelical Seminary (formerly Faraston Theological Seminary), an unaccredited online school. The legitimacy of White's academic credentials has been questioned. Career White served as an elder of Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, from 1998 until 2018. He became Scholar-in-Residence at Apologia Church in Tempe, Arizona in 2018, and was installed as one of the pastor/elders in 2019. White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. As director of Alpha a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odes Of Solomon
The Odes of Solomon are a collection of 42 odes attributed to Solomon. There used to be confusion among scholars on the dating of the Odes of Solomon; however, most scholars date it to somewhere between AD 70 and 125. The original language of the Odes is thought to have been either Greek or Syriac, and the majority of scholars believe it to have been written by a Jewish Christian, very likely a convert from the Essene community to Christianity, because it contains multiple similarities to writings found in Qumran and to the Gospel of John. Charlesworth, James H (1977). ''The Odes of Solomon''. Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press. . Some have argued that the writer had even personally seen John the Baptist. Some scholars have suggested a Gnostic origin, but this theory is not universally accepted. Manuscript history The earliest extant manuscripts of the Odes of Solomon date from around the end of the 3rd century AD and the beginning of the 4th century AD: the Coptic '' Pistis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Therapeutae
The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – 50 CE). The author appears to have been personally acquainted with them. The author describes the Therapeutae as "philosophers" (cf. I.2) and mentions a group that lived on a low hill by the Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria in circumstances resembling lavrite life (cf. III.22). They were "the best" of a kind given to "perfect goodness" that "exists in many places in the inhabited world" (cf. III.21). The author was unsure of the origin of the name and derives the name Therapeutae/Therapeutides from Greek θεραπεύω in the sense of "cure" or "worship" (cf. I.2). Name The term ''Therapeutae'' (plural) is Latin, from Philo's Greek plural ''Therapeutai'' (Θεραπευταί). T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Epistle Of John
The First Epistle of John is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the Johannine works. The author of the First Epistle is sometimes termed John the Evangelist, who most modern scholars believe is not the same as John the Apostle. Most scholars believe the three Johannine epistles have the same author, but there is no consensus if this was also the author of the Gospel of John. This epistle was probably written in Ephesus between 95 and 110 AD. The author advises Christians on how to discern true teachers: by their ethics, their proclamation of Jesus in the flesh, and by their love. The original text was written in Koine Greek. The epistle is divided into five chapters. Content The main themes of the epistle are love and fellowship with God.Wilder, p. 214Barbour, p. 346 The author describes various tests by which readers may ascertain whether or not their co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Essenes
The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. The Essene movement likely originated as a distinct group among Jews during Jonathan Apphus's time, driven by disputes over Jewish law and the belief that Jonathan's high priesthood was illegitimate. Most scholars think the Essenes seceded from the Zadokite priests. They attributed their interpretation of the Torah to their early leader, the Teacher of Righteousness, possibly a legitimate high priest. Embracing a conservative approach to Jewish law, they observed a strict hierarchy favoring priests (the Sons of Zadok) over laypeople, emphasized ritual purity, and held a dualistic worldview. According to Jewish writers Josephus and Philo, the Essenes numbered around four thousand, and resided in various ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
