Antti Marjanen
The last ten years have witnessed great changes in research on Gnosticism. Due to the discovery of new sources, most notably the Nag Hammadi Library, and an increasing demand for more analytical and precise definitions of the phenomenon, scholars have developed new and more nuanced understandings of Gnosticism. For others, this has not been enough. They have asserted that if the term Gnosticism is still used, each use will require careful reflection on how and for what purpose it is employed since, in their view, the term no longer has a generally approved content that is independent of its use in a given situation. Having found all definitions too ambiguous or even misleading, some scholars have suggested that the term should be abandoned altogether.,The present volume provides an up-to- date introduction into the debate. The contributors, Karen King, Gerd LÃ¼demann, Antti Marjanen, Birger Pearson, and Michael Williams, represent leading experts in the study of Gnosticism.
Was There a Gnostic Religion?