Description
Book SynopsisChallenges the validity of the widely invoked category of ancient "gnosticism" and the ways it has been described. This book uncovers the similarities and differences among some major traditions widely categorized as gnostic. He provides an eloquent, systematic argument for a more accurate way to discuss these interpretive approaches.
Trade Review"Rare is the book on gnosticism that is thoroughly grounded in the primary sources in the ancient languages, widely conversant with the secondary literature, controlled and sophisticated in its historical method--and still intelligible and interesting, not only for experts in its field, but also for religious historians and educated readers in general. Michael Williams's Rethinking 'Gnosticism' is such a book. It is essential reading for scholars of ancient Christianity and for anyone who wishes to use the terms 'gnostic' and 'gnosticism,' but it can be read with profit by all historians concerned with issues of methodology in studying religious people of the past."--Church History "There can hardly be a category more misused in contemporary scholarly and not-so-scholarly discourse than 'gnosticism,' so it was probably inevitable that a serious scholar would come along with an argument for the abandonment of the category altogether. In this provocative book Williams does just that."--Religious Studies Review
Table of ContentsList of Figures and TablesPrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction3Ch. 1What Kind of Thing Do Scholars Mean by "Gnosticism"?: A Look at Four Cases7Ch. 2"Gnosticism" as a Category29Ch. 3Protest Exegesis? or Hermeneutical Problem-Solving?54Ch. 4Parasites? or Innovators?80Ch. 5Anticosmic World-Rejection? or Sociocultural Accommodation?96Ch. 6Hatred of the Body? or the Perfection of the Human?116Ch. 7Asceticism...?139Ch. 8...or Libertinism?163Ch. 9Deterministic Elitism? or Inclusive Theories of Conversion?189Ch. 10Where They Came From...213Ch. 11...and What They Left Behind235Conclusion263Notes267Modern Works Cited311Index329
