Gnosticism in the book of john

John s readers were confronted with an early form of gnostic teaching of the cerinthian variety see gnosticism above. The secret book of john is the most significant and influential text of the ancient gnostic religion. Apocryphon comes from, apokryphos, hidden, obscure, from apo away and kryptein to hide. Even the book of revelation cites a couple of gnostic beliefs and practices, referring to knowing the depths of satan and the nicolaitans revelation 2. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society.

The title of this scripture in greek is apocryphon ioannis. The late books of the new testament are all occupied, more or less, with this movement, which was the more dangerous as it threatened the church from within professor e. After the first century of christianity, two primary divisions developed the orthodox and the gnostics. A battle of gnosis, that some christians might consider a war of christ vs the antichrist, angel vs demon, or good vs evil. Mar 14, 2008 in one of the recent threads it was brought up about how 1st john was really written to combat the gnostic heresy of the time. The secret book of john is a complex developmental mythology that has been made more complicated because, over the years, versions of it have been improved by several levels of scribal alteration. Gnostic cosmology and the apocryphon of john lecture. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. The gnostics in lectures on the history of philosophy, vol 2. This site includes the entire hammadi library, as well as a large collection of other primary gnostic scriptures and documents.

This is a stunning book about the presentday followers of john the baptist. One set of levels is the evident addition of rather lengthy texts a list of magical names, a dialogue on the soul. The author of the gospel of john began to grapple with gnostic cosmology to develop his own. New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing quest books, 2002 buy the book there has long been need for a comprehensive introductory guide to the gnostic tradition. Irenaeus even writes that when he himself was young, he knew another teacher, polycarp, bishop of smyrna c. The antinomian side of gnosticism is not so directly referred to in the first epistle of john as docetism is. Who are the deceivers 1 john is written against, mentioned. These three books are often referred to as letters, though only 1 and 2 john truly fit that description. Gnostics following this school of thought often fell into licentiousness.

The secret book of john was probably written by jewish gnostics in the first century ce, or even a century before. Sep 14, 2019 gnosticism pronounced nos tuh siz um was a secondcentury religious movement claiming that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge. The secret book of john, the apocryphon of john, or the secret revelation of john all have accuracy, but knowing the roots of the name leads to a clearer understanding. The gospel of john even specifically calls this being the archon of this world. Gnosticism is a heresy which is made up of a diverse set of beliefs. The books of john, i corinthians, galatians, colossians, i and ii timothy, jude, and i john all combat various elements of gnosticism. Jesus walked on uld have gathered that jesus was a spirit. Gnosticism in 1 john and 2 john gnosticism in the bible. The three books share the same writing style, however, and so are likely from the same hand. Consequently, john wrote this letter with two basic purposes in mind. Who better than john 1, the delusional author of revelation. Officially, the target of john s writing were first century heretics.

Jun 04, 2015 based on the internal evidence of 1 and 2 john, a problem had arisen within the church, possibly throughout asia minor. Nevertheless, the gnostics laid claim to jesus as a great teacher of theirs and as such requires some attention. The gospel of john, written before the major gnostic writings recovered so far, clearly refutes the dualistic teachings that were giving strength to the gnostic philosophies of the time by pointing to jesus being human and yet god, thereby arguing against the spiritualism and the perverted symbology promoted by gnostics at that time. The term gnosis means an experience of knowledge and religion from the latin religio means to bind back to the point of origin and hence gnosticism is an experience of the real. My little children, i am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. At that time, the only books in english were made on copy machines, were terribly expensive, and most of the translations were filled with errors, omissions, and confusion. Johns gospel is the work of a trained mind who wrote good greek with some semitizing. Early christian church fathers such as origen, tertullian, justin martyr and eusebius of caesarea condemned gnostic teachers and beliefs as heretical. I was thinking yesterday of the possibility of an influence on gnosticism from the book of st. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. Peter, paul, john and the writer of hebrews were probably addressing budding gnostic ideas when they insisted that jesus came in the flesh and was a man like us. The gnostic gospels dont need my praise, this is a timeless classic, and a very valuable addition to the new testament.

The orthodox christians held to books we now have in the bible and to what is today considered orthodox theology. Gnosticism in 1 john and 2 john most of the christians already know the famous passage talking about the false teachers and deceivers. Saint john vs the archheretic gnostics of crete, is a little known biblical battle that is one of the most important stories about gnosticism that has ever been told. The letter is difficult to date with precision, but factors such as 1 evidence from early christian writers irenaeus and clement of alexandria, 2 the early form of gnosticism reflected in the denunciations of the letter and 3 indications of the advanced age of john suggest the end of the first century.

The book is written anonymously, although it identifies an unnamed disciple whom jesus loved as the source of its traditions, and reached its final form around ad 90110. To say john s gospel contained elements of gnosticism is to assume that gnosticism had developed to a. This peril, against which the apostle writes, and from which he seeks to defend the church, was gnosticism, as is proved by what is said again and again in the epistle of the characteristics of this insidious and deadly teaching. Ad 69155, who claimed to have been tutored by john. John makes little reference to galilee, which is scarcely what we would expect from a native of the province, especially since galilee supposedly was the centre of christs ministry. Drawing connections to christianity, buddhism, hinduism, kabbalistic judaism, and sufism, davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the father, jesus christ the righteous. All he says is that the revealer has appeared in the world on behalf of his own, not why they are his own and others are not.

They felt it was only through knowledge that one could be saved, and that meant it was only for a select few, however the bible teaches that whomever will come to christ can be saved john 6. It was first used by the english poet and philosopher of religion henry more 161487, who applied it to the religious groups referred to in ancient sources as. Jul, 2017 maccoby posits gnosticism as a bitter parody of philonictype judaism to which some alexandrians were temporarily attracted, but thought better of it and, ashamed of their near conversion, belittled the jewish scripture, especially genesis. The gnostic christians, if they can truly be described. The hymn of jesus and the mystery of the cross from the acts of john.

It has no traditional introduction from whom, to whom. Irenaeus, writing at about ad 200, says that the beloved disciple was john, the disciple of jesus, and that john originated the gospel at ephesus. Some in john s area of ministry seem to have believed that they could not sin in their flesh. The marriage of greek and jewish themes in the apocryphon of john. Therefore, while some forms of gnosticism may claim to be christian, they are in fact decidedly nonchristian. The apostle uses the weight of his personal experience witnessing this life to combat the heresies of the gnostics. The gnostic claim to knowledge throws light upon many passages in this epistle. Grace of continual confession the text lays out two decidedly different paths. We should note that john s method of countering it is highly subjective, that is, the epistle has many references to the firstperson pronouns i and we. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the johannine works. It makes very clear that early christianity had 2 teachings one for common people, another esoteric for the narrow circle of initiated disciples. It is the teaching based on the idea of gnosis a koine greek word meaning secret knowledge, or knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of internal, intuitive means. The discovery and significance of the nag hammadi gnostic library new york. While it is critical of the jewish god, its terminology and mythic motifs and biblical citations show that it comes from a jewish cultural background.

In 1 john, the prophet explains how important is to believe in god. It is possible that 1 john was written against some of the errors that gnosticism promoted. The gnostic gospels by elaine pagels, the nag hammadi library by anonymous, the gnostic bible by willis barnstone, the gnost. Gnosticism was perhaps the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries. It helps to remember that many things were going on during the rise of christianity in the 2 nd to 4 th centuries. There is debate whether or not this is a christian heresy or simply an independent development.

There are two forms of incipient gnosticism which apparently could be in the background of 1 john 1 docetic gnosticism, which denies the true humanity of jesus because matter is evil 2 cerinthian gnosticism, which identifies the christ with one of many aeons or angelic levels between the good high god and evil matter. The gospel of john and gnosticism 1 introduction 2 teachings about gnosticism 2. Part of the library of books found in nag hammadi, egypt, in 1945, this central myth of gnosticism tells the story of how god fell from perfect oneness to imprisonment in the material world, and how this ancient gnostic text can be a companion. The gnostic gospels are writings by early christian gnostics. Gnostic cosmology and the apocryphon of john lecture the modern hermeticist.

Since it was known to the church father irenaeus, it must have been written before around 180 ce. The gnostic gospels of thomas, mary, and john kindle. The message of the alien god and the beginnings of christianity. At the onset it should be made clear that gnosticism is a personal experience of religion. Christian gnosticism did not fully develop until the mid2nd century and 2ndcentury christians concentrated much effort in examining and refuting it. The great value of this book is that churton provides not only a careful overview of the role of john, as handed down in christian tradition, but gives us a unique and erudite reanalysis of the role of the baptist using the lenses of gnosticism, freemasonry, and other esoteric traditions that have elevated john to a position equal to or. John shows no knowledge of such a myth unless john 1. We know from church history that near the end of the first century, and in the early second century, proto gnosticism, specifically docetism, arose within the church bruce, 16. The worldgod enmity, for john, is not the result of worldcreation by an evil power. Gnosticism pronounced nos tuh siz um was a secondcentury religious movement claiming that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge. The gnostic scriptures portray him as ignorant, malicious, and utterly inferior to the true god who sent christ to earth to save mankind from the demiurges evil world. This book was originally written to accompany a television documentary on the gnostics, produced by in great britain by boarder television in 1987. This heresy was also libertine, throwing off all moral restraints.

This would support a date towards the end of the first century b. Numenius of apamea in the middle platonists cornell university press. The gospel of john is closely related in style and content to the. The author of the first epistle is termed john the evangelist, who most scholars believe is not the same as john the apostle. The gospel of mary and the secret book of john, for example, illustrate the variety of early christianities and are witness to the struggle of christians to craft an identity in the midst of the culturally pluralistic roman empire. It wasnt long before the gnostics had already infiltrated the church. Gnosticism international standard bible encyclopedia.

The soul of man was a splinter of light trapped on earth in the body of the human. The principles of gnosticism contradict what it means to be a christian. When john wrote this epistle, the gnostic heresy was rising in the church. The demiurge greek demiurgos, 1 craftsman 2 is the being who created the world in gnosticism. The apocryphon of john collection the gnostic society library. The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john, is a secondcentury sethian gnostic christian text of secret teachings. Take, for example, a work that both turner 14 and pearson 15 characterize as originally jewish gnostic and subsequently christianized. Jan 19, 2010 the secret book of john, the apocryphon of john, or the secret revelation of john all have accuracy, but knowing the roots of the name leads to a clearer understanding. Rather, his demiurge, the logos, is a part of the divine being, what later gnostics would call one of the aions among whom, by the way, they, too, numbered the logos. Having targeted the heresy of valentinus and kindred groups, it was necessary to backdate john to a more appropriate authorship. The only way to get the books was from a handful of schools who put up many obstacles and restrictions, requiring students to earn access to the books. In short, john s gospel was drafted in the 160s as a defining dogma.

Gnosticism, any of various related philosophical and religious movements prominent in the grecoroman world in the early christian era, particularly the 2nd century the designation gnosticism is a term of modern scholarship. The apocryphon of john collection the gnostic society. Thus, while the letter does address the errors of gnosticism, 1 john is clearly an epistle written to christians warning them about false teachings. Who are the deceivers 1 john is written against, mentioned in. Euangelion kata ioannen is the fourth of the canonical gospels. The secret book of john is one evidence of this suppressed gnostic view and veneration of john.

In complement to the secret book of john, another remarkable voice of john has survived within a text known as the acts of john. King shows how historians have been misled by ancient christian polemicists who attacked gnostic beliefs as a. In one of the recent threads it was brought up about how 1st john was really written to combat the gnostic heresy of the time. Gnosticism is incipient, but not yet fully developed. These various groups emphasised personal spiritual knowledge over orthodox teachings, traditions, and ecclesiastical authority.

Ad 70 suggests a date during the same period, and may in fact follow it depending upon the question of priority. Aug 02, 2018 gnostic cosmology and the apocryphon of john lecture. There were about 70,000 of them who lived in the marshes of iraq for centuries, following their creed which required the priests to immerse themselves in running water 3 times a day and getting along with their arab sunni marsh neighbors, until first, saddam drained the marshes to destroy their habitat, and then. It describes jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge gnosis to john the apostle. And what do you get if you follow his son, jesus christ. From a gnostic point of view, the cosmos was divided into a realm of the material and a heavenly world of light. This is characteristic of the dead sea scrolls and the gnostic false teachers. Apr 28, 2010 as this suggests, elements of gnosticism existed before the advent of christianity. The gospel of john and the gnostic myth of redemption. The prophetic record of human destiny and evolution by zinovia dus.