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Gnosticism: Nag Hammadi
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Gnosticism is a heresy which is made up of a diverse set of beliefs. It is the teaching based on the idea of [G]nosis (a Koine Greek word meaning "secret knowledge"), or knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of internal, intuitive means. While Gnosticism ... relies on personal religious experience as its primary authority, early "Christian" Gnostics did adopt their own versions of authoritative Scriptures, such as those found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt.
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Like Plato, Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable "alien God" and the demiurgic "creator" of the material. However, in contrast to Plato, several systems of Gnostic thought present the Demiurge as antagonistic to the will of the Supreme God: his act of creation either in unconscious imitation of the divine model, and ... is fundamentally flawed, or else formed with the malevolent intention of entrapping aspects of the divine in materiality. Thus, in such systems, the Demiurge acts as a solution to the problem of evil. In the Apocryphon of John (several versions of which are found in the Nag Hammadi library), the Demiurge has the name "Yaltabaoth", and proclaims himself as God:
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In What Is Gnosticism?, Ms. King argued that the promise of "a new chapter in the history of Christianity" offered by the Nag Hammadi discoveries had not materialized. "The new riches did not provide quick or easy solutions," she wrote. "Indeed, the surprise is that for decades little has changed."
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Until the discovery of the codices at Nag Hammadi, the only known literature about Gnosticism was derived from heresiologists. In 1945, the world of Gnosticism was forever changed. Here, the Nag Hammadi Library is unlocked and its story is told. From its discovery, to its translation to a guide to its codices, this section of the site is your one-stop place for truly uncovering the texts of the Nag Hammadi Library.
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What is known about Gnosticism traditionally depended upon reports in the church fathers such as Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Origen, and Epiphanius, who were opponents of Christian Gnostic teachers. Since the eighteenth century, several original Gnostic works have been discovered, including Codex Askew, Codex Bruce, the Berlin Gnostic Codes and, most recently, the Nag Hammadi collection.
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The discovery of 45 lost texts at Nag Hammadi in 1945 gave scholars a new perspective on Gnosticism. They now could read "gospels" and "revelations" by believers the early Church fathers had labeled heretics. The papyri even contained attacks against orthodox Christians that accused them of heresy. (A Nag Hammadi text called the Apocalypse of Peter, for instance, assails "those outside our number who name themselves bishop and ... deacons. They are dry canals.")
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