Description
Book Synopsis
M. David Litwa is research fellow in biblical studies and early Christianity at Australian Catholic University, Australia. Litwa is the author of many books, most recently Posthuman Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Thought and The Evil Creator: Origins of an Early Christian Idea.
Trade Review
There’s no time better than the present to study early Christianity. Long-forgotten ancient writings that resurfaced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have overturned traditional accounts of Christianity’s rise. The task now is to rewrite that history in a way that takes into consideration all of the available voices, even those long ago dismissed as ‘heretical.’
Found Christianities takes up this challenge by restoring marginalized early Christian writers to their rightful place alongside the so-called Church Fathers as pioneers and influencers in Christianity’s earliest centuries. * Geoffrey S. Smith, The University of Texas at Austin, USA *
David Litwa’s fascinating book tells the stories of those early Christians whom other Christians rejected by denying they
were Christian. Navigating carefully amidst ancient sources, Litwa offers a comprehensive treatment of the varieties of second-century Christianity. I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to understand the complex world in which Christianity evolved. * Outi Lehtipuu, University of Helsinki, Finland *
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Abbreviations Chronological Table Introduction Chapter 1: Setting the Scene: The World of the Second Century CE
Part I: Early Christian Leaders and their Movements Chapter 2: Cerinthus and John Chapter 3: Simon, Helen, and Simonian Christians Chapter 4: The “Nicolaitans” and Nicolaus
Part II: Early Syrian Teachers Chapter 5: Menander Chapter 6: Saturninus Chapter 7: The Seed of Seth
Part III: Early Egyptian Theologians Chapter 8: “Ophite” and “Peratic” Christians Chapter 9: Basilides and Isidore Chapter 10: Carpocrates, Epiphanes, and Marcellina Chapter 11: Valentinus
Part IV: Texts and Figures in Rome Chapter 12: The
Gospel of Truth Chapter 13: The
Treatise on the Resurrection Chapter 14: Marcion Chapter 15: Ptolemy and Flora Chapter 16: Heracleon
Part V: Some Christian Leaders in Asia Minor Chapter 17: Marcus and the Rise of Valentinian Churches Chapter 18: Noetus and his Followers
Part VI: Theologians in Later Second-century Rome Chapter 19: Tatian Chapter 20: Lucanus, Apelles, and Philumene Chapter 21: Theodotus, Florinus, and “Melchizedekian” Christians Chapter 22: Justin, author of
Baruch Part VII: Later Theologians in Alexandria Chapter 23: Julius Cassianus and Tatian Chapter 24: Prodicus and his Disciples Chapter 25: The Naassene Preacher Chapter 26: “Sethian” Christians of the
Refutation Conclusion
Bibliography Index
