The Gnostic Discoveries: The Impact of the Nag Hammadi Library | Marvin Meyer

The Gnostic Discoveries: The Impact of the Nag Hammadi Library | Marvin Meyer | Comprehensive

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The Gnostic Discov...

	The Gnostic Discoveries: The Impact of the Nag Hammadi Library Marvin Meyer HarperOne, 2006 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Meaning of the Nag Hammadi, now in paperback opens the with the thrilling adventure story of the discovery of the ancient Papyrii at Nag Hammadi. Muhammad Ali, the fellahin, discovered the sealed jar, he feared that it might contain a jinni, or spirit, but also had heard of hidden treasures in such jars. Greed overcame his fears and when he smashed open the jar, gold seemed to float into the air. To his disappointment, it was papyrus fragmenst, not gold, but for scholars around the world, it was invaluable.

Meyer then discusses the pre?Christian forms of wisdom that went onto influence what Christians believe today. In addition, some Nag Hammadi texts are attributed to Valentinus, a man who almost became Pope, and whose rejection changed the church in significant ways. Text by text, Meyer traces the history and impact of this great find on the Church, right up to our current beliefs and popular cultural fascination with this officially suppressed secret knowledge about Jesus and his followers.

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Fine overview on the contents of the Nag Hammadi codexes and of gnostic schools of thought

The Nag Hammadi codexes are a series of papyrus books originating from around 300 AD, discovered buried near the town of Nag Hammadi by Egyptian farmers just after World War II. Long an outpost of Coptic and gnostic thought in early christianity, Egypt has proven to be an archeological bounty when it comes to early religious works. Upon examination of the codexes by scientists and scholards it was discovered they contained early christian writings including many of what are considered gnostic texts and gospels. Meyer's book dissects and discusses the various schools of gnosticism, their relation to greek and egyptian religious beliefs, and the value offered by certain texts like the Gospel of Mary which lie outside the official Christian canon.

Meyer also does an excellent job summarizing each codex with the works contained within. He explains the differences between the Valentinian Gnostics and the Sethian gnostics, which are baffling to say the least, and shows that early christianity was even more diverse then we ever believed. So how did the Codexes become buried in the sands? Meyer makes a strong case for Coptic monks from monastery close to Nag Hammadi being the source of the compilation of the Codexes, as monks in those days were often scribes. Meyer believes that after Christian leaders like Irinaeus declared the acceptable, approved list of what would become the New Testament from the hundreds of various gospels, letters, and essays in the early church, the monks took everything that might be heretical and had them buried.

Meyer succeeds in making clear what is considered fact, what is scientific theory, and what is his personal opinion. The reader is allowed to make up their own mind without undue influence, which in works on religion or archeology is so often not the case. Meyer's writing is concise and easy to digest, and the pages move quickly without bogging down into jargon. Fair warning though, only minor passages from the codexes are contained in this book. There are many other works available that contained detailed translations. Good overview on the subject, recommended for those interested in the topic.

A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

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Comprehensive

While this book does not contain any new information about the Nag Hammadi texts not covered in other books, it does contain the whole story of their discovery in Egypt along with some of the more important gnostic myths. If you aren't familiar with Christian gnosticism, it is a great place to start your study. If you are, having both the discovery of the texts and a brief description of the gnostic belief system in one volume can be very useful.

A Fine Introduction

This is a slim little book easily read by almost anyone. Further, it is a fine introduction to the Gnostic texts of the early Common Era both on a substantive basis as well as their place in a broader evaluation of the religions of Antiquity and Late Antiquity. However, as with the Dead Sea Scrolls, expect to find nothing that shockingly changes anything in the present. The thought patterns of Gnosis are alien to modern rational thinking. Therefore, they seem exotic to some. But, reified dualistic gnosticism was always heretical to Christianity. Neither Primitive Christianity or Second Temple and early Rabbinic Judaism were dualistic. The soul and the body are tied together in both religions.

Meyer is a master of this subject. In this book he supplies enough information for almost anyone. Both the texts and their importance are covered incisively and with an economy of words. Beyond the Thomas corpus and the Valentinian writings and activities in Rome, Christian Gnostic texts have had little influence in the West. While gnosticism reflected the marginalization of women by the Catholic Church, it was not alone in this indictment. If you wish to go on, Valentinus's writings are gorgeous literature that constitute some of the most moving Christian mysticism known. The Gospel of Thomas always makes one think about who Jesus of Nazareth was. I found this book to be very enjoyable and informative.

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A book about Gnostic discoveries

In the year 1945 some Egyptian peasants looking for natural fertilizer stumbled on a large storage jar which contained several ancient codices. Even today the codices of Nag Hammadi library represent some of the oldest books known. The writings stand at point of written works' transition from papyrus scrolls to bound books.

The duplicate copies of the same texts in the library and also the codices' different kind of covers and handwriting styles suggest that the Nag Hammadi library was merged together of several smaller collections of texts. In this book the discoveries of the Gnostic texts are described in detail and a quick overview is provided of the texts themselves.

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Good overview on everything written re: gnostic discoveries

This is a good, solid overview of everything written about the gnostic discoveries. I think the book could be stronger with a bit more detail enhancement on the discoveries in addition to a review of other authors' books on the subject.

reviews: page 1, 2

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