Pre-Christian Gnosticism: A Survey of the Proposed Evidences by Edwin M. Yamauchi (PDF)

Description

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.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review A timely, important, and helpful book . . . [for] its survey of the evidence.David M. Scholer, ‘Christianity Today’A most valuable critical assessment of scholarly work on Gnosticism since [Wilhelm] Anz first set out his theory [in 1897].W. H. C. Frend, ‘Scottish Journal of Theology’A valuable survey of a difficult field. . . . As an introduction, teaching aid, and survey to be used in conjunction with other materials, ‘Pre-Christian Gnosticism’ will be staple reading in its field.James B. Hurley, ‘Westminster Theological Journal’

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐The author pulls no punches as he reviews the enormous pile of nonsense about Gnosticism in the technical literature. He sugar-coats nothing as he shows you which hypotheses are baloney, which ones are cute but unsupported by facts, which are based entirely on imagination, and which actually make sense and are evidence-based. He beautifully sorts through the morass of misinformation on Gnosticism to show you what’s real and what’s just hype.

⭐As this book shows, many of the accepted theories on the origins of Gnosticism have no basis of proof because they rely upon much later sources. In particular the German theories rest upon lacking evidence. Some of the best scholars such as Jonas and Rudolph and their books accepted/accept these faulty constructions; however, this fact is not greatly detrimental to the works of these two excellent authors, because they attempt a primarily philosophical, rather than philological approach, which the current book does not really provide. Also I don’t remember much of any discussion about the controversial legitimacy of Gnosticism as a category. There is not a chapter on Greek sources such as Plotinus and Porphyry, though honestly I’m not entirely sure that would be directly relevant. Still an excellent and unparalleled book. Thank you.

⭐This book was precise and fair. Yamauchi goes into great detail of many of the views held. He accurately portrays both sides of the debate over pre-Christian Gnosticism. Another great thing about Yamauchi’s work is the listings of all the other published works from scholars on all sides. therefore, if you want to dig deeper, this book will tell you where to dig. This book is mostly exactly what it claims to be, a survey of the evidences. I give it four stars instead of five because it is a little difficult to read at times.

⭐For years it has been postulated that Gnosticism comes from Judaism and Christian Gnosticism is derived from the former. Yamauchi takes a comprehensive study and shows that this hypothesis should be checked with analysis other than the mere study of documents.

⭐Yamauchi’s book “Pre-Christian Gnosticism” is a survey of all the different scholars who argued that early Christianity borrowed, or was influenced by, the Gnostics.Could any scholar be more balanced? Yamouchi is simply wonderful in his careful discussion of all the evidence. Without exception, he is fair to each scholar’s opinion.Indeed, he scarcely gives his opinion until the last few chapters. Then, after a careful weighing of the various arguments, he finds:”An impressive array of scholars both in the past and in more recent times have come to the conclusion that the Gnostic Redeemer figure as described by Reitzenstein and Bultmann, and as attested in the Hymn of the Pearl, the Manichaean and the Mandaean tests is simply a post-Christian development dependent upon the figure of Christ, rather than a pre-Christian myth upon which the New Testament figure of Christ depends” (p 165).And again, “As Wilson states: ‘The myth of the Urmensch-Redeemer has been adequately examined by others, and the view that such a myth, if it ever existed, exercised a formative influence on the early Church is now generally rejected” (p 166).Many scholars now argue that the evidence suggests that the Gnostics borrowed ideas from Christianity, not the other way around.In conclusion, Yamouchi writes:”In the case of the New Testament texts we have not Gnostic texts which are older, and the evidences which have been adduced to prove the priority of Gnosticism over Christianity have been weighed in this study and found wanting” (p 186).Anyone interested in this topic should also read the other famous study on Gnosticism, “A Separate God, The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism” by Simone Petrement.

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