Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Princeton University, 1998. Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-202) and index.
Contents:
Were the Gnostics cosmic pessimists? -- Nag Hammadi and the providential cosmos -- This body of death : cosmic malevolence and enslavement to sin in Pauline exegesis -- Heimarmene at Nag Hammadi : the Apocryphon of John and On the origin of the world -- Middle Platonism, heimarmene, and the Corpus Hermeticum -- Ways out I : interventions of the savior god -- Ways out II : baptism and cosmic freedom : a new genesis -- Astral determinism in the Gospel of Judas -- Conclusions, and a new way forward.
Summary:
"In this book, Nicola Denzey Lewis dismisses Hans Jonas' mischaracterization of second-century Gnosticism as a philosophically-oriented religious movement built on the perception of the cosmos as negative or enslaving. A focused study on the concept of astrological fate in 'Gnostic' writings including the Apocryphon of John, the recently-discovered Gospel of Judas, Trimorphic Protennoia, and the Pistis Sophia, this book reexamines their language of 'enslavement to fate' from its origins in Greek Stoicism, its deployment by the Apostle Paul, to its later use by a variety of second-century intellectuals (both Christian and non-Christian)."--Publisher description.
Series:
Nag Hammadi and Manichaean studies, 0929-2470 ; v. 81
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.