One of the most important issues facing New Testament scholarship today is the issue of Gnosticism. So wrote the author in 1973 in the first edition. With the publication since then of the entire Nag Hammadi library, this observation has become even more incisive. Was there a pre-Christian Gnosticism? Did Gnosticism directly or indirectly influence nascent Christianity? Many modern scholars argue that Gnosticism preceded the emergence of New Testament Christianity and constituted the raw material from which the apostles formed their message about Jesus. The author here analyzes the evidence used to support this thesis. He notes a series of methodological fallacies in the use of this evidence and concludes that clearly Gnostic materials are late and pre-Christian materials are not clearly Gnostic. A new chapter in this paperback edition brings the discussion up to date.
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Edwin M. Yamauchi is Professor of History at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His Ph.D. degree is from Brandeis University. He frequently contributes to journals, such as the 'Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin', and is the author of a number of books including 'Greece and Babylon, the Stones and the Scriptures' and 'The Archaeology of New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor'. With the publication of 'Pre-Christian Gnosticism' Yamauchi has become an acknowledged expert in Gnostic studies.