Category Archives: Gnosticism

The demise of the Natsarenes: From Christians to heretics

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The First Christians / pt. 14 I bring this series of posts to a close with the migration out of the land of Palestine of the Natsarenes/Naṣarenes—the word derives from Semitic naṣar, with tsade, and is critically not to be confused with the later Greek (Catholic) Nazarene (Ναζωραῖος / Ναζαρηνός) as found in the New Testament. This was the watershed event that began the gradual decline of the first Christians, for after the so-called “flight to Pella” the early community no longer had a central authority—cf. the early reputation of James the Just in Jerusalem, referenced in GTh 12, Gal 1-2 and also by the Church Fathers. The flight to Pella It is unfortunate that we do not have precise details as … Continue reading →

An early Christian poem

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The First Christians / pt. 11 A remarkable poem from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P) invites commentary. I give the passage in full below, which comes from the Testament of Levi. We have seen that the author of T12P singled out Levi and Judah for special recognition. Among the Jews, these two tribes held religious power and royal power respectively. Yeshu haNotsri was a Levite (as were all males in the Hasmonean line) and thus was a priest by birth. Historically, the poem below has been routinely interpreted through Catholic lenses. Today, conservative scholarship assumes it (and much of T12P) refers to Jesus of Nazareth and accordingly dates the entire work to late I CE+. However, the consensus of scholarship … Continue reading →

The road to two Gods

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The First Christians / pt. 9 Prior posts have noted that (a) the Naṣarenes disparaged the material realm and termed God “the Lord of Spirits” (Parables of Enoch); (b) they were radically ebionite, despising the rich and identifying with the poor of the world; and (c) “Rather than being immersed in the affairs of the world, raising a family, and accruing riches, the first Christians were symbolically immersed in gnosis as in flowing water.” At Qumran we similarly witness a general flight from the world, together with asceticism. But Qumran, as we have seen, attempted a fusion (or compromise) between the radically uncompromising message of Yeshu on the one hand, and Judaism on the other. Thus, the Qumranites present a mixture of … Continue reading →

Jewish-Christian literature: the Parables of Enoch

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The First Christians / pt. 5 The period between the death of Yeshu haNotsri ca. 65 BCE and the acceptance of the canonical gospels ca. 150 CE (215 years in all!) represents a lengthy period in which the theology of Jesus took forms that today we would scarcely recognize as “Christian.” A vast literature survives from this era, some of it denominated Christian, some denominated Jewish, some considered an amalgam of the two religions, and some whose theology remains frankly “uncertain.” This literature, because it did not enter either body of religious scripture, is termed “Jewish pseudepigrapha” and “Christian apocrypha.”  Both terms are treated pejoratively by the guild. Pseudepigrapha literally means “false writings,” and the term “apocryphal” immediately raises suspicion in biblical … Continue reading →

“New eyes” on the first century BCE

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The First Christians / pt. 3 The tradition dates Jesus of Nazareth’s birth to about 4 BCE. That was a full sixty years after the death of Yeshu haNotsri, whose given name was apparently Yochanan ben Abshalom in Hebrew, that is, John the son of Absalom. As we have seen, this prophet was a member of the Hasmonean royal family. Two of his uncles were kings (Aristobulus I and Janneus), his grandfather was John Hyrcanus I (r. 134–104), his own sister was married to Judas Aristobulus II—the king during whose reign John was executed—and his maternal uncle was none other than Joshua ben Perachiah, the head of the Sanhedrin (nasi) and the most powerful religious figure in the land. Despite all these … Continue reading →

Gnostic elements in Judaism

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The First Christians / pt. 2 Very occasionally in Jewish scripture, man crosses the chasm separating him from God. Doing so is fraught with danger, for we recall that Moses could not even look upon the face of God (Ex 3:6), and when the prophet Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting on a throne” he exclaimed: “Woe is me! I am lost, for… my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!” (Isa 6:1 & 5.) If merely seeing the Lord is anathema, then for man to ascend to heaven is far beyond the pale of Judaism. And, indeed, the later rabbis severely proscribed any consideration or study of such “ascents,” whether visionary or not. However, at least two anomalous figures in … Continue reading →

Infancy narratives IV: The Armenian Gospel of the Infancy

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A New Account of Christian Origins / pt. 27 In the last several posts I have been building the case that the concept of the Incarnation was a seminal turning point—not only in the ‘birth’ of Jesus of Nazareth, but also in the birth of the Christian religion. In my view, the revolutionary conception of the Incarnation first occurred towards the middle of the second century CE. Before that, a diffuse range of non-incarnational Christianities existed. This pre-Catholic stage, before the invention of Jesus of Nazareth, was characterized by belief in a spiritual Jesus (‘Stage II’ christology). These early Christianities focussed on the aspirant, not on God or on a Son of God. These first century CE religious movements were gnostic, encratite, … Continue reading →

Christians before the turn of the era

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A New Account of Christian Origins / pt. 7 Birger Pearson I mentioned in a prior post that the thief always leaves clues. Detectives count on that. It might be a fingerprint, a stray hair that can be genetically analyzed, a tip from a casual passerby… Every crime is different, and every crime leaves clues—if one simply looks long enough. The thief himself often provides the case-busting clue. It is said that one lie requires another lie to cover up the first. The second lie requires yet another, and eventually the lier is caught up in a web of contradictions. With a really big crime—something involving many people, several generations (as with Early Christianity), and a lot of coordination—there will be many … Continue reading →

The ancient battle over ‘fake news’: the heroes Judas and Thomas become villains

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In this post I present some very brief reflections on the Gospel of Thomas. Thomas the Twin. Thomas was the quintessential messenger of truth in early Christian gnosticism. The name appears twice in the Gospel of Thomas, once in the title at the end of the work, and once in Saying 13, where Thomas outshines both Peter and Matthew: Jesus says to his disciples: “Compare me, and tell me whom I am like.” Simon Peter says to him, “You are like a just angel!” Matthew says to him, “You are like a wise man and a philosopher!” Thomas says to him, “Master, my tongue cannot find words to say whom you are like.” Jesus says, “I am no longer your … Continue reading →

The Hermann Detering Legacy—1

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As of this writing, Dr. Detering’s German website is online here. It includes a page that Detering thoughtfully provided for English readers. We shall begin there. Detering’s ‘English page’ contains twenty-two entries. However, only seven were authored by Detering himself. Those are the ones that I will include in this and subsequent posts, to be followed by other writings by Detering available in English. Detering’s inclusion on his website of writings by other authors reveals their importance in his eyes. Those ancillary writings include books by Edwin Johnson (Antiqua Mater), P.-L. Couchoud, and G. Bolland, as well as much material supplied by Klaus Schilling. Perhaps some of this interesting ancillary material will also be uploaded to this website in due … Continue reading →