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Mystery and secrecy in the Nag Hammadi collection and other ancient literature : ideas and practices : studies for Einar Thomassen at sixty /
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Mystery and secrecy were central concepts in the ritual, rhetoric, and sociological stratification of antique Mediterranean religions. That the ultimate nature and workings of the divine were secret, and either could not or should not be revealed except as a mystery for the initiated, was widely accepted among Pagans, Jews, and then Christians, both Gnostic and otherwise. The similarities and differences in the language of mystery and secrecy across religious and cultural borders are thus crucial for understanding this important period of the history of religions. The present anthology aims to present and analyze a wide selection of sources elucidating this theme, reflecting the correspondingly wide scholarly interests of Professor Einar Thomassen in honor of his 60th birthday.
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1 online resource (xx, 540 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004215122 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Before Valentinus: The Gnostics of Irenaeus /
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This book offers the first detailed commentary on the Gnostic treatises reported by Irenaeus in Adversus Haereses 1.29-30. It is argued that these texts represent the earliest tangible layer of the Gnostic literary tradition and served as sources for the Apocryphon of John and other later works. They also formed the starting point for Valentinus and his followers, who sought to reconcile the ideas of the Gnostics with apostolic Christianity. The book also shows that Irenaeus and later heresiologists referred to "the Gnostics" as a specific group among the great mass of heretics.
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1 online resource (210 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004677890
Studies in Gnosticism and Alexandrian Christianity /
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The discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library (1945) has given an enormous impetus not only to the study of ancient Gnosticism but also to that of early Christianity in general. Most of the studies contained in this volume deal with mythological conceptions and theological ideas found in various Nag Hammadi writings. The gnostic views on the nature of God and on creation and salvation receive particular attention, ranging from Philo to the medieval Cathars. The Nag Hammadi Library also shed new light on the development of early Alexandrian Christianity and its theology. The book contains six studies which explicitly deal with these topics. This volume is of interest to students of Gnosticism, early Christianity and Graeco-Roman religious and philosophical ideas in general.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004439689
9789004106543
The Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia as handbooks to eternity : exploring the gnostic mysteries of the ineffable /
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Despite the surge of interest in Gnostic texts following the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, the Coptic Books of Jeu and Pistis Sophia remain understudied. Often dismissed as convoluted, confused, and repetitious, Erin Evans convincingly shows that these texts represent the writings of a distinct religious group with a consistent system of theology, cosmology, and ritual practice. This book offers an in-depth examination of these texts, their relationship to other contemporary Gnostic ideas, and their use in the context of a practicing religious group. Three thematic sections demonstrate how the collection of texts functions as a whole, covering baptisms and mystical ascent procedures, guides to moral living, and introductory texts and myths.
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1 online resource (vii, 284 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-281) and index. :
9789004301191 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
F.C. Baur's synthesis of Bohme and Hegel : redefining Christian theology as a gnostic philosophy of religion /
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In this book, Professor Simuț shows how Christian theology started to be understood as a Gnostic philosophy of religion in the thought of the 19th-century scholar F. C. Baur. Although Baur was seen traditionally as a theologian and biblical exegete, Simuț argues that he was in fact a philosopher of religion, and it was his philosophical reading of Christian theology that informed his biblical preoccupations. Specifically, Baur's perspective on Christian theology was heavily influenced by Jakob Böhme's esoteric theosophy and Hegel's religious philosophy in some key issues such as creation, Lucifer, dualism and the connection between spirit and matter coupled with that between philosophy and religion.
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1 online resource (viii, 362 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004275218 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Paul and gnosis /
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This collection of essays-the ninth volume in Brill's Pauline Studies series-features Paul and his relationship to knowledge. Gnosis, the Greek word generally translated as \'knowledge,\' is broadly interpreted, and the essays contained in this volume revolve around both a more general notion of knowledge in relation to Paul and more specific references to Gnosticism. Several of these essays discuss Paul's use of \'knowledge\' words, Paul's knowledge and understanding of key themes and ideas in his writings, Paul's interpreters in light of gnostics like Valentinus and Marcion, and Gnosticism in light of Paul's letters. This collection of essays exposes the reader to crucial topics regarding Paul and Gnosis that are not readily addressed elsewhere.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004316690 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The seventh book of the Stromateis : proceedings of the Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria (Olomouc, October 21-23, 2010) /
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The seventh book of the Stromateis is the culmination of Clement of Alexandria's ethic. Introduced as an apology of the piety of the perfect Christian (the 'gnostic'), it broaches such topics as divine pedagogy, angelology, superstition, prayer, assimilation to God, martyrdom, eschatology, and the criteria of orthodoxy. This volume contains sixteen studies dealing with all major themes of the seventh book and the method of their presentation. It includes a Clementine bibliography of the last fifteen years and two appendices concerned with Clement's 'Hymn to Christ the Saviour.' The publication may serve as a companion to the reader of Stromateis VII and as a compendium of contemporary scholarship dealing with major aspects of Clement's thought in general.
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1 online resource (xviii, 386 pages) : music. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004233898 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sapiential, liturgical and poetical texts from qumran : proceedings of the third meeting ...
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At the third meeting of the International Organisation for Qumran Studies, held in Oslo in 1998, a variety of papers were presented concerning the study of the Sapiential, Liturgical and Poetical Texts from Qumran. The fourteen papers selected for this volume are arranged in three sections. 'Sapiential Texts' contains four studies on different wisdom texts from Cave 4; 'Liturgical and Poetical Texts' is formed by seven papers dealing with independent poetic or liturgical compositions; while 'Qumran Wisdom and the New Testament' presents three papers that explore the relationship of wisdom materials found at Qumran and some passages of the New Testament. The volume is published in memory of Maurice Baillet, who passed away shortly before the meeting. It contains a biographical sketch and his complete bibliography provided by Emile Puech.
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1 online resource (xx, 282 pages) : illustrations. :
9789047400424 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Transformations of the Inner Self in Ancient Religions /
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This collection of papers from two workshops - held in Heidelberg, Germany, in July 1996 and Jerusalem, Israel, in October 1997 - is concerned with anthropological rather than theological aspects of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean religions, ranging from the 'primary' religions of the archaic period and their complex developments in Egypt and Mesopotamia to the 'soteriological' movements and 'secondary' religions that emerged in Late Antiquity. The first part of the book focuses on \'Confession and Conversion\', while the second part is devoted to the topic of \'Guilt, Sin and Rituals of Purification\'. The primary purpose of this volume is to convey a sense of the dynamics and dialectical relationships between the various Near Eastern and Mediterranean religions from the archaic period to Late Antiquity.
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Two contributions in German, one in French. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004379084 :
0169-8834 ;
Myths, martyrs, and modernity : studies in the history of religions in honour of Jan N. Bremmer /
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This volume in honour of Jan N. Bremmer contains the contributions of numerous students, colleagues, and friends offered to him on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Throughout his career, Bremmer has distinguished himself as an internationally renowned scholar of religion both past and present, including first and foremost Greek and Roman religion, but also early Christianity and post-classical developments in religion and spirituality. In line with these three main areas of Bremmer's research, the volume is divided into three parts, bringing together contributions from distinguished scholars in many fields. The result is a diverse book which provides a broad spectrum of original ideas and innovative approaches in the history of religions, thus reflecting the nature of the scholarship of Bremmer himself.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004193659 :
0169-8834 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Daimon in Hellenistic astrology : origins and influence /
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In The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology: Origins and Influence , Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum investigates for the first time the concept of the daimon (daemon, demon), normally confined to religion and philosophy, within the theory and practice of ancient western astrology (2nd century BCE - 7th century CE). This multi-disciplinary study covers the daimon within astrology proper as well as the daimon and astrology in wider cultural practices including divination, Gnosticism, Mithraism and Neo-Platonism. It explores relationships between the daimon and fate and Daimon and Tyche (fortune or chance), and the doctrine of lots as exemplified in Plato's Myth of Er. In finding the impact of Egyptian and Mesopotamian ideas of fate on Hellenistic astrology, it critically examines astrology's perception as propounding an unalterable destiny.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004306219 :
1566-7952 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book II and III : Book II and III (Sects 47-80, De Fide) /
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Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis on Cyprus from about 367 until 402, was a witness to and participant in the troubled era after the Council of Nicaea. His Panarion , or "Medicine Chest," is an historical encyclopedia of ideas and movements he considered heretical, and of the replies Christians ought to make to them. Book II and III deal with the Trinity, the Person of Christ, the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit, Manichaeism, penance, matrimony and celibacy, monastic regulations, the Christian Calendar, all hotly contested topics in the fourth century. Book I, issued by Brill in 1987, concerns Gnosticism and Jewish Christianity. Together, the two volumes are the only complete translation of the Panarion in a modern language.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004439665
9789004098985
Evil--freedom--and the road to perfection in Clement of Alexandria /
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This study deals with Clement of Alexandria's interpretation of evil and free will in the context of the rising Christianity, the influence of Near Eastern and Greek thought on him, his differences from St. Augustine, and how his interpretation affected the rise of the Eastern Christian thought. The book also treats briefly the subject of man's personal aim in life perceived by Clement as the supersession of his nature. Failure to realize this personal aim in life leads to alienation from God, and death. The moral dilemma of Clement's interpretation of evil as failure of life's aim is not a conventional explanation of good and evil but something much more: the option between real life and death. Consequently, Clement's idea of evil refers to existential problems and ontological realities.
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1 online resource (xii, 192 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-186) and index. :
9789004313101 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Science in Culture : Translated from the Polish by Hugh McDonald.
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This book tries to uncover science's discoverer and explain why the conception of science has been changing during the centuries, and why science can be beneficial and dangerous for humanity. Far from being hermetic, this research can be interesting for all who want to understand deeper what really conditions the place of science in culture.
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1 online resource (351 pages) :
9789401203852 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Origen : philosophy of history and eschatology /
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A common accusation made against Origen is that he dissolves history into intellectual abstraction and that his eschatology (if this is recognized at all) is notoriously obscure. In this new work, the author draws on an impressive range of bibliography to consider Origen's Philosophy of History and Eschatology in the widest context of facts, documents and streams of thought, including Classical and Late Antiquity Greek Philosophy, Gnosticism, Hebraism and Patristic Thought, both before Origen and well after his death. Against claims that he causes history to evaporate into barren idealism, his thought is shown to be firmly grounded on his particular vision of historical occurences. Confronting assertions that Origen has no eschatological ideas, his eschatology is shown rather to have made a distinctive mark throughout his works, both explicitly and tacitly. In Origen's view, history was the foundation of scriptural interpretation, a teleological process determined by factors and functions such as providence - prophecy - promise - expectation - realization - anticipation - faith - anticipation - hope - awaiting for - fulfilment - end . Since 1986, the author has argued for the unpopular thesis that Origen is, in many respects, an anti-Platonist. Nevertheless, the author casts light upon the Aristotelian rationale of Origen's doctrine of apokatastasis , arguing that its validity is bolstered by ontological rather than historical premises. The extent of Origen's influence upon what is currently regarded as 'orthodoxy' turns out to be far wider and more profound than has hitherto been acknowledged.
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1 online resource (xvii, 498 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 439-460) and indexes. :
9789047428695 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The problem of disenchantment : scientific naturalism and esoteric discourse, 1900-1939 /
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The Problem of Disenchantment offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the intellectual history of science, religion, and "the occult" in the early 20th century. By developing a new approach to Max Weber's famous idea of a "disenchantment of the world", and drawing on an impressively diverse set of sources, Egil Asprem opens up a broad field of inquiry that connects the histories of science, religion, philosophy, and Western esotericism. Parapsychology, occultism, and the modern natural sciences are usually viewed as distinct cultural phenomena with highly variable intellectual credentials. In spite of this view, Asprem demonstrates that all three have met with similar intellectual problems related to the intelligibility of nature, the relation of facts to values, and the dynamic of immanence and transcendence, and solved them in comparable terms.
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1 online resource (pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004254947 :
0169-8834 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Spiritual Seed - The Church of the 'Valentinians' /
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This book is a comprehensive study of "Valentinianism," the most important Gnostic Christian movement in Antiquity. It is the first attempt to make full use of the Valentinian documents from Nag Hammadi as well as the reports of the Church Fathers. The book discusses the difference between the Eastern and the Western branches of Valentinianism, and argues that individual sources must always be understood in the context of the historical development of Valentinian doctrines. It also analyses the ideas about the incarnation, protological theories, and initiation practice, as well as the dynamic relationship between these building-blocks of Valentinian doctrine. A final chapter studies anew the doctrine of Valentinus himself and outlines the history of the movement. The book's usefulness lies in its attempt to bring together for the first time all the sources so as to construct a coherent picture of Valentinian Christianity. This volume is also available as paperback .
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047417163
9789004148024
Die Würde des Menschen : ein Beitrag zur Anthropologie in der alten Kirche /
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There can be no doubt that there is a link between early Christian statements on human dignity and the corresponding modern concept, as it appears ever more frequently in current bioethical debates. This study attempts to throw light on the surprisingly complex process of the emergence of such a Christian concept of human dignity in antiquity and portrays it as a process governed by contradictions and antagonisms: between biblical and platonic anthropology; between a platonic and a stoic perception of humanity; between gnostic and antignostic cosmology; between biblically based criticism of human culture on the one hand and heilsgeschichtlichem cultural optimism on the other hand; between Greek and Roman thinking. This history of the idea of the "dignity of man" is being recounted taking into consideration the complex matrix of Christian theory and practice (including issues such as worship, contraception and abortion), piety and theological reflection, ethics, liturgy and theological as well as cutural anthropology. *** Bei dieser Studie handelt es sich um den Versuch einer zusammenfassenden Darstellung der christlich-antiken Auseinandersetzung mit der Würde des menschlichen Lebens Diese wird nicht nur gegenwärtig etwa in der Bioethik wieder kontrovers diskutiert, sondern ist auch in der Antike ein Feld philosophischer und theologischer Überlegungen gewesen. Volp fragt, inwieweit sich in den Schriften der antiken christlichen Denker die Vorstellung einer mit einer besonderen Würde ausgestatteten gemein-menschlichen Natur findet, die Menschen von Tieren und von belebter und unbelebter Materie unterscheidet, und wie diese Natur gefaßt und begründet wird. Ausgehend von der These, daß diese Überlegungen nicht nur Auswirkungen auf die ethische und religiöse Praxis der Alten Kirche hatten, sondern umgekehrt auch entscheidend von ihr geprägt wurden, konzentriert sich die Arbeit nicht nur auf die theoretischen Äußerungen der Kirchenväter, sondern bezieht ethische Konkretionen (Schwangerschaftsabbruch, Umgang mit Menschen mit Behinderungen, Krieg) und den christlichen Kult mit in die Untersuchung ein. Zum Vorschein kommt ein überraschend komplexes Bild einer alles andere als selbstverständlichen geistesgeschichtlichen Entwicklung, deren Folgen bis in die heutige Zeit nachwirken.
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1 online resource (466 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-427) and indexes. :
9789047411277 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.