Formerly titled Christianity and the Hellenistic World. A critical examination of the claim that Christianity borrowed some of its essential beliefs and practices from Hellenistic philosophy, Greco-Roman mystery religions, and Gnosticism. "Professor Nash has written a lucid and superb book." (Professor Edwin Yamauchi, Miami University - Ohio)
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By K.H.
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Ron Nash's book is more than an introduction into the topic of Christainity and the Mystery Religions of the Greco-Roman world, but not so detialed as to loose the laymen. Although most scholars, including liberals, have now discounted a complete comparision between Christianity and Mystery Religions, a small, but vocal neo-pagan and feminists goddess practiciners have re-ignited the debate, partly I think due to the openness of comminication provided bt the internet.
This book introduces the major issues invol and places emphasis in three areas: (1) Hellenistic Philosophy, (2) The Mystery Religions, (3) Christianity and Gnosticism.
All sections involve clear, concise, yet thorough refutation of many Christian/mystery religions as proposed by some individuals, some of whom are academics largely behind the most current standings in the debate. Further, Nash, in order to provide a road map, uses the introducing paragraphs for each chapter brillantly. He gives a clear objective statement and explains where he'll be heading with the material. This I think helps in a text likes this and demonstrates that Nash is knowldgeable on how to present possible new material to people (for many, this is probable the first they have read about the subject).
He also provides a great selection of resource material on the subject. His endnotes provides nice explanations when neccessary and he also has additional non-cited footnotes to give a little additional, though non-esential information.
There is one small crticisms of the book and it is significant enough to deduct a star. Nash barely deals with the idea of defication among many mystery cults and the Christian tradition. He largely glosses over this section almost forgetting that much of Christainity does practice a deifciation commonly called "theosis." He settles to quickly with the Western idea of salvation in refuting salvific issues. While I think it is propoer of him to use this approach, he relies to heavily upon it. The Eastern Tradition is different than the mysetry cults teachings in this area, and a solid refutation here would have been helpful I think for Eastern Christians, regardless if Nash agrees with the Eastern tradition of theosis or not (since Nash is a Reformed Protetstant, I think he probably would not agree with the theosis doctrine, but nonetheless, it was a teaching of the early Church and is distinct from the mystery cults idea of union with God.
A must have book for any Christian who wants to learn more about this subject!
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On the surface, many folks might think that the topic is very obscure or not all that important. And while it's true that the subject matter is somewhat complicated and can initially appear pretty irrelevant to present day Christianity, it is nonetheless a topic with enormous present day relevance and deserves to be explored. In a nutshell, this book attempts to analyze whether early Christianity was influenced by pagan philosophical systems or by ideas that existed in the pagan mystery religions. There are a number of reasons why such an examination is so important. First, as this book mentions, a link of influence of paganism on early Christianity has been a common tactic among various folks in academia who are looking to discredit the Christian faith in front of an impressionable audience, and while not mentioning it, the Jesus Seminar has also been diligent in advancing such arguments in an effort to dedeify Jesus. And the reason is clear. One can make major inroads in discrediting the authenticity of Christianity if they can demonstrate, for example, that the resurrection of Jesus as described in the Gospels was really a mythical story copied from allegedly similar recountings in the pagan mystery religions. If this could be demonstrated, any number of additional negative ideas could be argued with greater force, such as that Jesus wasn't really God because the resurrection recountings of the Gospels are not historical but mythical and parallel other myths of the time, or that Jesus is no more special or unique than other supposed gods or deities in other religions. It is clear that the ramifications of these kind of theories, if proven, would be devastating to Christianity. Thus, the importance of this book.
Nash carefully divides the book into 3 sections; analyzing the possibility that early Christianity was influenced by pagan philosophy such as Platonism or Stoicism, analyzing the possibility that early Christianity borrowed some of its stories from the pagan mystery religions such as Isis/Osiris or Mithra, and analyzing whether Christianity was influenced by Gnosticism. In each case, Nash does a good job of beginning his analysis by clearly defining the terms of the debate, and fairly representing the claims made by those who positively assert pagan influence on Christianity. These introductions give the reader a very good starting point for seeing how these arguments, when left unscrutinized, can on the surface appear to be compelling. By presenting the arguments fairly and completely, Nash does a good job of peaking the interest of the reader to read on in order to find out whether these arguments really hold water once we get below the surface. And particularly in the analyses of pagan philosophy and the mystery religions, Nash's analyses are very detailed and meticulous. Nash's analyses are very effective in meticulously discrediting these arguments and in most cases, showing very clearly the lazy scholarship that often fuels such arguments. By doing this, Nash not only puts these arguments in their place, he affirms the historical reliability, uniqueness, and truth of the Christian faith as described in the New Testament and clearly demonstrates that there is absolutely no evidence of a pagan influence on Christianity, and in fact, there is sufficient evidence to suggest a Christian influence on paganism.
In summary, after one reads this book, it is likely that they may scratch their heads in wonder when one thinks about why this book had to be written, given the lazy and even contrived scholarship that is the basis for so many of the arguments affirming a pagan influence on early Christianity. One might reasonably wonder how such ideas ever had any credibility to start with when Nash so completely destroys the arguments with very simple facts and analysis. I applaud Nash for being so thorough in the topics covered and in the analysis. There are over 30 pages of footnotes at the end of the book for the reader who is interested in conducting additional research and examining other pertinent resources. I completely concur with what Nash says in this book when commenting on the alleged influence of the mystery religions on early Christianity, "These..arguments against Christian syncretism help us understand why biblical scholars today seldom claim any early Christian dependence on the mysteries. They constitute an impressive collection of reasons why scholars in such other fields as history and philosophy should rethink their methods and conclusions and finally put such views to rest." This is an excellent book, and one that can greatly help any Christian easily and effectively counter the claims of pagan influence on the early faith. A 'must have' for any apologetics collection.
Nash carefully divides the book into 3 sections; analyzing the possibility that early Christianity was influenced by pagan philosophy such as Platonism or Stoicism, analyzing the possibility that early Christianity borrowed some of its stories from the pagan mystery religions such as Isis/Osiris or Mithra, and analyzing whether Christianity was influenced by Gnosticism. In each case, Nash does a good job of beginning his analysis by clearly defining the terms of the debate, and fairly representing the claims made by those who positively assert pagan influence on Christianity. These introductions give the reader a very good starting point for seeing how these arguments, when left unscrutinized, can on the surface appear to be compelling. By presenting the arguments fairly and completely, Nash does a good job of peaking the interest of the reader to read on in order to find out whether these arguments really hold water once we get below the surface. And particularly in the analyses of pagan philosophy and the mystery religions, Nash's analyses are very detailed and meticulous. Nash's analyses are very effective in meticulously discrediting these arguments and in most cases, showing very clearly the lazy scholarship that often fuels such arguments. By doing this, Nash not only puts these arguments in their place, he affirms the historical reliability, uniqueness, and truth of the Christian faith as described in the New Testament and clearly demonstrates that there is absolutely no evidence of a pagan influence on Christianity, and in fact, there is sufficient evidence to suggest a Christian influence on paganism.
In summary, after one reads this book, it is likely that they may scratch their heads in wonder when one thinks about why this book had to be written, given the lazy and even contrived scholarship that is the basis for so many of the arguments affirming a pagan influence on early Christianity. One might reasonably wonder how such ideas ever had any credibility to start with when Nash so completely destroys the arguments with very simple facts and analysis. I applaud Nash for being so thorough in the topics covered and in the analysis. There are over 30 pages of footnotes at the end of the book for the reader who is interested in conducting additional research and examining other pertinent resources. I completely concur with what Nash says in this book when commenting on the alleged influence of the mystery religions on early Christianity, "These..arguments against Christian syncretism help us understand why biblical scholars today seldom claim any early Christian dependence on the mysteries. They constitute an impressive collection of reasons why scholars in such other fields as history and philosophy should rethink their methods and conclusions and finally put such views to rest." This is an excellent book, and one that can greatly help any Christian easily and effectively counter the claims of pagan influence on the early faith. A 'must have' for any apologetics collection.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Russ White
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The gnostic question has plagued Christianity since the beginning of the enlightenment -- given Christ never did claim to be God, given that this man Jesus either never existed, or was simply a "Palestinian wise man who fighting for social justice," as the modern myth has it, where did Christianity come from? If Jesus didn't start Christianity, then who did? This problem is made more urgent in modern times, when Christianity is the "alien," or the "other," which must be brought low if the world is to be "saved." What better way to erode the roots of Christianity than to claim it began with something close to what modern spiritualists believe, simply being corrupted by men like Paul into the form we see today?
This entire line of thinking falls apart in the face of actual study, as Rondald Nash shows in The Gospel and the Greeks. There is not only evidence that the foundational ideas and rites of Christianity were stolen from Gnosticism, an ancient form of the panentheism that envelopes our modern world in political correctness, but that many of the arguments made in the Gospels and Epistles were actually aimed squarely at differentiating Christianity from Gnosticism.
Dr. Nash begins his examination of the evidence by explaining the various forms of Greek religion dominant at the time of the Apostle's writings. This is a necessary piece of the puzzle; how can we determine whether or not Christianity stole ideas from the Greek religions if we don't understand the Greek religions themselves? In short order, the author lays out a high level overview providing a good understanding of the religious environment into which Christ appeared.
From this point, he explains the origins and nature of the various "mystery religions," the Gnostic warpage of the Greek religions from which Christianity supposedly sprang. he then dives into comparing Gnosticism and Chrsitianity directly, specifically showing how Christianity is not related to Gnosticism in any way. Based on the timeing alone, Dr. Nash shows that many of the elements critics claim were stolen into Christian belief systems were, in fact, not even current at the time they were supposedly stolen.
One interesting point the author develops throughout this book is that the book of Hebrews was specifically written to Christians who had been raised in the world of Philo, who merged the mystery religion idea with Torah observance to create a Jewish mystery religion that stood apart from the Greek mystery religions. These Christians were considering moving back into this syncretic world, and the book of Hebrews was written to convince them that Christianity has more to offer than these mystery religions --that Jesus is superior to the angels and the logos as conceived in these mystery systems.
Overall, a well argued expose of faulty beliefs about the origin and development of Christianity, and it's relationship to Greek mystery religions in general, and Gnosticism specifically. Well worth reading in a world captured in the thrall of silly modern myths about lost gospels, the "wife of Jesus," and Gnostic thought in general.
This entire line of thinking falls apart in the face of actual study, as Rondald Nash shows in The Gospel and the Greeks. There is not only evidence that the foundational ideas and rites of Christianity were stolen from Gnosticism, an ancient form of the panentheism that envelopes our modern world in political correctness, but that many of the arguments made in the Gospels and Epistles were actually aimed squarely at differentiating Christianity from Gnosticism.
Dr. Nash begins his examination of the evidence by explaining the various forms of Greek religion dominant at the time of the Apostle's writings. This is a necessary piece of the puzzle; how can we determine whether or not Christianity stole ideas from the Greek religions if we don't understand the Greek religions themselves? In short order, the author lays out a high level overview providing a good understanding of the religious environment into which Christ appeared.
From this point, he explains the origins and nature of the various "mystery religions," the Gnostic warpage of the Greek religions from which Christianity supposedly sprang. he then dives into comparing Gnosticism and Chrsitianity directly, specifically showing how Christianity is not related to Gnosticism in any way. Based on the timeing alone, Dr. Nash shows that many of the elements critics claim were stolen into Christian belief systems were, in fact, not even current at the time they were supposedly stolen.
One interesting point the author develops throughout this book is that the book of Hebrews was specifically written to Christians who had been raised in the world of Philo, who merged the mystery religion idea with Torah observance to create a Jewish mystery religion that stood apart from the Greek mystery religions. These Christians were considering moving back into this syncretic world, and the book of Hebrews was written to convince them that Christianity has more to offer than these mystery religions --that Jesus is superior to the angels and the logos as conceived in these mystery systems.
Overall, a well argued expose of faulty beliefs about the origin and development of Christianity, and it's relationship to Greek mystery religions in general, and Gnosticism specifically. Well worth reading in a world captured in the thrall of silly modern myths about lost gospels, the "wife of Jesus," and Gnostic thought in general.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's a required textbook
What can I say? It's a required textbook that arrived to my son's college mailbox in good order and in time for his classes. I'm satisfied, he's satisfied. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Billybobjimmypat
4.0 out of 5 stars
a
Did the New Testament borrow from Pagan thought? Nash approaches the topic of outside influence in three parts, approaching the question of dependence from a traditional Christian... Read more
Published on May 13, 2011 by Dubious Disciple
3.0 out of 5 stars
padding the reviews?
Odd that J.F. Foster ("Real Name") and Jason Santiago ("Real Name") seem to have cut and pasted each other. Makes it look like someone is trying to boost the positive rating.
Published on July 16, 2010 by Alan Woolsey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vital Information
There is a lot of silly misinformation floating around these days, especially on the net, about ideas that suggest that Christianity was simply made up by slapping together a bunch... Read more
Published on July 13, 2010 by chuck3011
2.0 out of 5 stars
What is the purpose of this book?
This is an acceptably-written book that aims to counter the view that (in a nutshell) Christianity is just a Greek religion superimposed onto Jesus. Read more
Published on December 9, 2007 by John Roberson
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Final Chapter on Jesus and the "Mystery" religions of the...
Nash's book is a solid and very helpful work on the subject of Christ and Christianity in light of the Greco-Roman culture in which it flourished. Read more
Published on November 30, 2007 by Joshua S. Campbell
1.0 out of 5 stars
don't confuse "faith", "truth", "mystery", and "influence"
it seems reviewers want either better refutation or better balanced scholarship from this author. the cover is misleading as a balanced analysis of culture and traditional... Read more
Published on August 20, 2007 by Dean Morris
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a very scholarly work
The author provides a good, basic introduction to some of the refutations regarding the crux of this book: whether Christianity copied or is an offshoot from Platonic/Neoplatonic... Read more
Published on April 4, 2006 by otro lector mas
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
