The gnostic writings found at Nag Hammadi have stimulated much controversy about the relationship between early Christians and the diverse religious movements of the first three centuries. Perkins fills the New Testament student's need for a guide to recent developments in scholarship with a helpful survey that addresses the origins of Gnosticism, its relationship to Judaism, Redeemer myths and New Testament hymns, and other relevant topics.
In this helpful survey Pheme Perkins addresses:
- The origins of Gnosticism
- The search for pre-Christian Gnosticism
- Gnosticism and Judaism
- Gnostic materials and the sayings of Jesus
- Gnosis and the Pauline tradition
- Redeemer myths and New Testament hymns
- Gnostic understandings of Jesus as heavenly revealer
- The place of women in gnostic sects
