Exploring Early Christian and Gnostic Texts

Recently I published the fourth volume in the History Enlightened book series, Exploring Early Christian and Gnostic Texts.

In this book the reader will find an exploration of the surviving texts written and used by the early Christians and Gnostics that were discarded by later generations as heretical and thus excluded from the Christian Bible. In so doing I have made use of the latest academic research to present these texts with commentary that enables an understanding of the societal context, thus equiping the reader who wishes to reflect on the deeper meaning of the texts.

In addition to the main corpus of texts from the early Christian and Gnostic writers, I have included also a sampling of extracts from later writers in the Syriac tradition, and also from Mani and his tradition, together with a few extracts from Muslim writers showing how their traditions have understood the teachings of Issa (Jesus).

Then follows a section entitled ‘Comparative Contemplations’ in which some spiritual themes are followed through to the present day. I contrast early Christian and Gnostic handlings of each theme with extracts from later writers, including the contemporary Indian spiritual teacher, Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

This is of course a secondary study in English of texts originating mostly in Aramic and Greek. I have thus been dependent on successive generations of scholars who rescued, conserved and assembled the physical fragments, and then translated these texts into English. I have consulted the various English translations available for each text – both those composed in the tradition of the King James Bible, and those of more recent date. I take responsibility for the resulting renderings. In so doing I have made use of the meditative techniques practised by those of the Sahaja Yoga meditation tradition, particularly the technique known as Vibrational Awareness.

I do hope the resulting book is of use to readers. I certainly enjoyed the challenges of the research.

All the History Enlightened volumes are now available as print-on-demand books through lulu.com

Gospel of the Hebrews

A lost gospel from the late first century CE known only from fragments that have survived in later writings, including those of Origen (185-254), Jerome (347-420), and Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386).
The title may suggest usage by a group of Egyptian Jewish-Christians who wished to differentiate themselves from a nearby group of Egyptian Gentile (ie. non-Jewish) Christians and their Gospel of the Egyptians.
This text is influenced by the mythological and Gnostic-type ideas prevalent in Egypt in the first and second centuries CE.
Originally written in Hebrew (possibly Aramaic), it was later translated into Greek and Latin by Jerome.

Odes of Solomon

The Odes in their present form clearly have their origins in Jewish hymnal tradition, with Christian overlays, and Gnostic references. Like other texts of this tradition, the Odes are not of course by the much earlier King Solomon (tenth century BCE), merely invoking his memory as a purveyor of wisdom.
It has been suggested that the original language of the Odes was Syriac, a Semitic language spoken in Syria, and therefore the work provides an insight into early Syrian Christianity.
A number of the concepts and expressions found in the Odes have their parallels in the letters of the Syrian writer, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (d.110CE), suggesting that the Odes may have been produced as early as c.100CE. Familiarity with the Gospel of John is also a common characteristic of Ignatius' letters and of the Odes.
The earliest surviving parts of the text are in Greek from the third century, and in Syriac from the fourth century CE.

Gospel of the Ebionites

A lost text that belonged to the Ebionites, a group of Greek-speaking Jewish-Christians in Palestine, possibly east of the river Jordan.
The only surviving fragments of text are preserved in the form of citations given by Epiphanius of Salamis (315-403) in his Panarion. Unfortunately his statements are hostile, contradictory and confusing.
This gospel is mentioned in the writings of Irenaeus (135-200), so it is likely to date from the first half of the second century.

Gospel of Thomas

This record of the sayings of Jesus has excited scholars and ordinary readers alike since the discovery of the Coptic text (c.350CE) at Nag Hammadi in the mid-twentieth century.
The Coptic text is the only complete copy to have survived. It is a translation into Coptic from the earlier Greek text (pre 200CE) which has only survived in fragments from three separate copies, two dated to 200CE, and one to 250CE. All four copies have been found in Egypt.
Some scholars have hypothesised that the core of the text may have originated in Aramaic but we have at present no way of evaluating this. It is however probable that Aramaic was the language in which these sayings would have been delivered to their original audience.
If we take the view that this text was assembled by Thomas himself, then we can assume a date in the 40-65CE range.