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The Spiritual Seed: The Church of the Valentinians (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies)

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This book is an attempt to give a coherent account of "Valentinianism" by making full use of all the sources now available for understanding this peculiar form of Christianity. Such an account is in fact long overdue, considering that the Valentinian texts from Nag Hammadi have now been available for over three decades, and no systematic attempt has been made to integrate them into an overall interpretation of the history and doctrines of Valentinianism. Much valuable work has indeed been done on the individual Nag Hammadi tractates during this time, and important Valentinian figures - Valentinus himself, Marcus "the Magician," Heracleon - have recently attracted new interest and been the subjects of detailed monographs. It is also necessary, however, to paint the larger picture. Indeed, such a wider context is needed not least in order that the individual Valentinian documents themselves may be properly understood, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that become fully meaningful only when they are placed in relation to the depicted scene as a whole.