In the secret teachings of jesus, marvin meyer, a scholar of coptic and gnostic studies, offers a fresh translation of four coptic late egyptian texts from the nag hammadi librarythe secret book of james, the gospel of thomas, the book of thomas, and the secret book of john. Meyers principal goal is to forward a lively translation that is. Drawing connections to christianity, buddhism, hinduism, kabbalistic judaism, and sufism, davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the. The writings in these codices comprise 52 mostly gnostic. A lost, secret vision of jesus earl richard loyola university yamauchi lecture october 17, 1993 the recent discovery and current interest in the gospel of thomas have elicited considerable popular and scholarly attention, a phenomenon which shows no. Jul 20, 2017 30 videos play all gnostic apocrypha texts of the bible giving voice to the wisdom of the ages the gospel according to mark read by david suchet duration. The secret book of john is a complex developmental mythology that has been made more complicated because, over the years, versions of it have been improved by several levels of scribal alteration. The secret book of john, the apocryphon of john, or the secret revelation of john all have accuracy, but knowing the roots of the name leads to a clearer understanding. The book is like a tapestry of truths woven together in repeated patterns cf. She is created when each of yaldaboths archons fornicates. The gospel of john and the gnostic myth of redemption.
The four gospels included in our new testament matthew, mark, luke and john were written prior to a. The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john or the secret revelation of john, is a secondcentury sethian gnostic christian text of secret. She is created when each of yaldaboths archons fornicates with sophia a metaphor for usurping her power. The discovery of the nag hammadi library in southern egypt in 1945 represented a major discovery of gnostic gospels. At that time, the only books in english were made on copy machines, were terribly expensive, and most of the translations were filled with errors, omissions, and confusion. The apocryphon of john is commonly referenced by two other names. Their are four surviving coptic manuscripts of this text. Thanks to samael aun weor and the support of students around the world, our translator and team have spent decades correcting, refining, and publishing all the books by samael aun weor. Along the way, we have sought to raise the quality of the books, increase their availability, and reduce their cost. The gnostics fraudulently attached the names of famous christians to their writings, such as the gospel of thomas, the gospel of philip, the gospel of mary, etc. Translated by frederik wisse the apocryphon of john is commonly referenced by two other names. Bill hendricks, tapestries of truth, the letters of john. The apocryphon of john collection the gnostic society.
Robinsons comprehensive the nag hammadi library, we learn that the gnostic gospels were written by largely unrelated and anonymous authors. Drawing connections to christianity, buddhism, hinduism, kabbalistic judaism, and sufism, davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the gnostic religious quest. John makes little reference to galilee, which is scarcely what we would expect from a native of the province, especially since galilee supposedly was the centre of christs ministry. The gnostic gospelannotated and explained both skylight paths and the revolt of the widows. Gnostic gospels introduction the gnostic gospels are a product of gnosticism. The author describes this having occurred after jesus. Fitzmyer criticized the title of pagelss the gnostic gospels because it insinuates that the heart of the book concerns lost gospels that have come to light when in fact the majority. Lacking any narrative whatsoever, its 114 sayings are difficult to understand by 1977, when the 12 bound volumes comprising the nag hammadi library were first published in english, scholars were referring to their 52 texts as gnostic. She is the youngest but perhaps most powerful archon. This ancient gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual quest. The gnostic gospels are dated about 110 to 300 years after christ, and no credible scholar believes any of them could have been written by their namesakes.
Apocryphon literally, secret book of john, which opens with an offer to reveal the mysteries and the things hidden in silence which jesus taught to his disciple john. This ancient gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual quest the secret book of john is the most significant and influential text of the ancient gnostic religion. It is a curious book unlike any other account in the bible. Muhammad ali later admitted that some of the texts were lostburned up or thrown away. In secondcentury christian communions circulation of the text probably remained restricted. The book of revelation is the last book in the bible. Robinsons comprehensive the nag hammadi library, we learn that the gnostic gospels were written by. Recall straight answers response last week to the question, who wrote the gospels. Most of the gnostic gospels that have survived were found in a collection of books from the third and fourth century ad. The title of this scripture in greek is apocryphon ioannis. Dec 24, 2017 for example, irenaeus 115202, bishop of lyons there are, however, numerous arguments against this, such as the gnostic language of the gospel and some interconnections with the gospel of mark. John is an allegorical name given to cerinthus in the bible and this same man from crete is also the author of the book of revelation. It helps to remember that many things were going on during the rise of christianity in the 2 nd to 4 th centuries. The only way to get the books was from a handful of schools who put up many obstacles and restrictions, requiring students to.
It is written anonymously, although it identifies an unnamed disciple whom jesus loved as the source of its. From a gnostic point of view, the cosmos was divided into a realm of the material and a heavenly world of light. In this document secret book of john too there is reference to the coming into being of three men. The book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. Aug 28, 2017 other gnostic writings have also been discovered in recent times, including the gospel of judas. By its own declaration, the secret book of john is a sacred text intended to be shared only with individuals properly prepared to receive its revelation. The gnostic gospels catholic education resource center. A lost, secret vision of jesus earl richard loyola university yamauchi lecture october 17, 1993 the recent discovery and current interest in the gospel of thomas have elicited considerable popular and scholarly attention, a phenomenon which shows no indication of coming to an end. The gospel of thomas very clearly tries to maintain an air of secrecy in its words. This ancient gnostic text can be a companion for your own sp. The gospel of thomas, it is often claimed, has some gnostic elements but lacks the full gnostic cosmology.
Elaine pagels book on gt is subtitled beyond belief, and she too finds reasons to think that the secret contained within the gospel was capable of conferring onto its discoverers a salvific experience equal to or perhaps greater than the heavenafterdeath experience promoted by the protoorthodox. The gospel of thomas is a gnostic gospel, espousing a gnostic viewpoint of christianity. The five most dangerous archons in the gnostic gospels. This too is the vision of the gnosis, the arabic meaning of algebraic is. Johns gospel is the work of a trained mind who wrote good greek with some semitizing. Part of the library of books found in nag hammadi, egypt, in 1945, this central myth of gnosticism tells the story of how god fell from perfect oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how by knowing our divine. Jul 20, 2017 the secret book of john, gnostic texts. The gnostic handbook page 6 of the real nature of the equation, to find the essential form through the many shards or forms. The secret book of john and the secret revelation of john, depending upon how the word apocryphon is translated. The authorship of 1 john is part of the debate over the authorship of the johannine corpus the gospel, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john and revelation. James, the gospel of thomas, the book of thomas, and the secret book of john. Jan 19, 2010 the secret book of john, the apocryphon of john, or the secret revelation of john all have accuracy, but knowing the roots of the name leads to a clearer understanding. The beginners guide to the gnostic gospels overviewbible. The gospel of thomas is simply a heretical forgery, much the same as the gospel of judas, the gospel of mary, and the gospel of philip.
John makes little reference to galilee, which is scarcely what we would expect from a native of the province, especially since galilee. This is because it is one of the only gnostic gospels that actually made it into the bible. Part of the library of books found in nag hammadi, egypt, in 1945, this central myth of gnosticism tells the story of how god fell from perfect oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how this ancient gnostic text can be a companion. The apocryphon of john collection the gnostic society library. The author of the gospel of john began to grapple with gnostic cosmology to develop his own. However, although these writings bear the name gospel, great care should be taken to distinguish them from the four authentic gospels of the new testament. That is why and how the gnostic gospels were created.
The few sayings and stories about jesusare not set in any kind of narrative framework like one of the new testament gospels. A study of the gospel of john in the light of chapter 17. Included are translations of the short and long version of the text based on the waldsein and wisse edition, an indepth analysis. The secret book of john apocryphon of john the gnosis archive. Gnosticism, broadly construed, recognizes two deities. The nag hammadi library also known as the chenoboskion manuscripts and the gnostic gospels is a collection of early christian and gnostic texts discovered near the upper egyptian town of nag hammadi in 1945 thirteen leatherbound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named muhammed alsamman. According a 3rd century author and historian, caius, the apocalypse of john was a work of the gnostic kerinthus. We will see later how john reaches out to gnostics and at the same time defends the gospel against the gnostic teaching with its certain characteristics. The apocryphon of john the gospel of the egyptians codex v. Jan 02, 2020 the gospel of thomas very clearly tries to maintain an air of secrecy in its words. The book of revelations, a gnostic gospel excommunicate. The gnostic goddess, female power, and the fallen sophia 2010 max dashu 2 the gnostic approach to christianity had a strong pagan tinge. Explain fundamentals of gnosticism, moses talked with lesser god, existence of a higher truth, inherent divine spark, ascend to the pleroma, revelation from. Apocryphon comes from, apokryphos, hidden, obscure, from apo away and kryptein to hide.
In complement to the secret book of john, another remarkable voice of john has survived within a text known as the acts of john. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The five most dangerous archons in the gnostic gospels aeon. Since it was known to the church father irenaeus, it must have been written before around 180 ce.
The second recommended book is karen kings the secret revelation of john. It describes jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge to john the apostle. The gospel of thomas is unlike any other gospel text and has been an enigma ever since its discovery within the nag hammadi library in 1945. Stevan davies is professor of religious studies at misericordia university and has studied the noncanonical gospels and acts for over thirty years. In order to utilize all of the features of this web site, javascript must be enabled in your browser. The definitive collection of gnostic gospels and mystical books about jesus of nazareth by marvin meyer isbn. Hence, he was the chief heretic and adversary of the gospel then living at the time of john the evangelist, and thus a symbolic story of what happened to these same ancient gnostics who practiced their religion of knowledge and nature. However, even the description of these elements as gnostic is based mainly upon the presupposition that the text as a whole is a gnostic gospel, and this idea itself is based upon little other than the fact that it was found along with. The soul of man was a splinter of light trapped on earth in the body of the human. The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john or the secret revelation of john, is a secondcentury sethian gnostic christian text of secret teachings.
The author of the gospel of john remains unknown to us. This is an extensive and scholarly but still very readable study of the text and the cultural milieu that both influenced, and in turn was influenced by, the apocryphon iohannis. In the secret book of john, fate is portrayed as an archon mysteriously called fate. And the gospel of thomas is considered authentic and possibly very old. The secret book of john is the most significant and influential text of the ancient gnostic religion. This practice of gnosis had made them the allegorical symbolic gnostic archheretic tribe, who st. The earliest church we know of has gnostic inscriptions, the writings of paul which are the earliest new testament writings were collected by marcion, a dualist and the gnostic loved paul. Gnostic goddess, female power, and the fallen sophia. This site includes the entire hammadi library, as well as a large collection of other primary gnostic scriptures and documents. The gospel of thomas is simply a heretical forgery, much the same as the.
The gospel of john, written before the major gnostic writings recovered so far, clearly refutes the dualistic teachings that were giving strength to the gnostic philosophies of the time by pointing to jesus being human and yet god, thereby arguing against the spiritualism and the perverted symbology promoted by gnostics at that time. The hymn of jesus and the mystery of the cross from the acts of john. We will see later how john reaches out to gnostics and at the same time defends the gospel against. Jan 02, 2020 that is why and how the gnostic gospels were created. The secret book of john is one evidence of this suppressed gnostic view and veneration of john. Other gnostic writings have also been discovered in recent times, including the gospel of judas. Its symbolic teachings were transmitted in secret and by a method of initiation and allegory which was directly copied from the. One set of levels is the evident addition of rather lengthy texts a list of magical names, a dialogue on the soul.
1478 840 1400 6 1523 50 1458 973 127 1141 734 1262 1528 568 374 1143 1236 322 239 116 208 457 262 242 798 227 561 1380 1206 34