GNOSTICISM and the NEW TESTAMENT [Paperback]

Pheme Perkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1993

The gnostic writings found at Nag Hammadi have stimulated much controversy about the relationship between early Christians and the diverse religious movement 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800628012
• ISBN-13: 978-0800628017
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm Glad this Book was Written, December 29, 2011

By 

nova-power "nova-power" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: GNOSTICISM and the NEW TESTAMENT (Paperback)

Gnosticism and the New Testament are two of my favorite subjects, and I'm glad this book was written. The writer does a good job of providing an overview of what is surely a broad subject. My favorite scholar of early Christian Gnosticism is Margaret Barker, and Pheme Perkins is not as exhaustive in the presentation of the ancient sacred writings as she, but still I found quite a few insights to be gleaned here. The author's viewpoint comes across as somewhere between orthodox and heterodox, but I did not find it to pollute the conclusions in the book in the manner of the so-called pious scholars. Occasionally I found claims made I did not agree as proven, but this seems to be the case with almost all scholarship on Gnosticism. My personal bias of the materials examined would conclude the writer has avoided a deeper examination of the angelomorphic context of the New Testament writings, or perhaps doesn't agree with that viewpoint.

I became interested in reading this book after I found sections of it available for reading through a popular search engine's "books" function; that is to say, large portions of this text can be found for free on the internet. My favorite aspect of the book was the overview of other scholar's viewpoints on the points examined. Her strongest writing, in my opinion, was her dissection of The Gospel of Truth and how its ideas relate and differ to the Gospel of John. My least favorite aspect of this book was how the binding literally came apart the first instance I opened it. By the time I reached the final chapter the pages were in dozens of peices. Was cheap binding to blame? Or, was it stored on the shelf too long? Maybe both, I'm not sure, but needless to say it was disappointing, especially for a book in this price range. With that as my main reservation, I would recommend this book as a good starting point for students and curious lay-persons.

12 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the truth hurts, May 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: GNOSTICISM and the NEW TESTAMENT (Paperback)

The truth hurts thats why the greeks are christians not gnostics. If you want history not speculation and heresay buy this book.
It appears that some people don't want people to read both sides and draw their own conclusions. These people are never ever "open minded". They are cultists looking to sell their "knowledge" and slander the truth. Remember St Paul-wolves with perverse teachings. These are "pagels' gnostics". I would also suggest V Lossky for the byzantine angle and clarification from the ancient Greeks themselves. It's kinda like "not out of africa" for the gnostics greek haters.

13 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Makes a good fly-swatter, March 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: GNOSTICISM and the NEW TESTAMENT (Paperback)

A tedious and rather biased rehash of Hans Jonas' "The Gnostic Religion: The Message of an alien God and the beginnings of Christianity." Although Jonas' view of Gnosticism is outdated, it contains much useful background information on the various Gnostic movements. Pheme Perkins has successfully drained away all the gold from Jonas and kept only the dross. Elaine Pagel's book, the Gnostic Gospels, is far more open-minded, far more original,and far better researched. Buy Pagels, not this!