Michael Allen Williams - Rethinking Gnosticism PDF
Preview Michael Allen Williams - Rethinking Gnosticism
Rethinking “Gnosticism” This page intentionally left blank Rethinking “Gnosticism” AN ARGUMENT FOR DISMAN TLING A DUBIOUS CATEGORY MICHAEL ALLEN WILLIAMS P R I N C E T O N U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S P R I N C E T O N , N E W J E R S E Y Copyright1996byPrincetonUniversityPress PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,Princeton,NewJersey08540 IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,Chichester,WestSussex AllRightsReserved LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Williams,MichaelA. Rethinking“Gnosticism”:anargumentfordismantling adubiouscategory/MichaelAllenWilliams. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0-691-01127-3(cl:alk.paper) 1.Gnosticism. 2.Rome—Religion. I.Title. BT1390.W475 1996 229′.932—dc20 96–6490 ThisbookhasbeencomposedinAdobeGalliard PrincetonUniversityPressbooksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguidelinesfor permanenceanddurabilityoftheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBook LongevityoftheCouncilonLibraryResources PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyPrincetonAcademicPress 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TO MY PARENTS “A G O D L Y H E A R T P R O D U C E S A H A P P Y L I F E” SentencesofSextus326b (NagHammadiCodexXII28,22–24) This page intentionally left blank C O N T E N T S LISTOFFIGURESANDTABLES xi PREFACE xiii ABBREVIATIONS xvii INTRODUCTION 3 CHAPTERONE What Kind of Thing Do Scholars Mean by “Gnosticism”? A LOOK AT FOUR CASES 7 Introduction 7 TheApocryphonofJohn 8 PtolemyandValentinianChristianity 14 JustintheGnostic 18 MarcionofSinope 23 WhatIs“Gnosticism”? 26 CHAPTERTWO “Gnosticism”as a Category 29 Introduction 29 “Gnosticism”andSelf-Definition 31 “Gnosticism”asTypologicalConstruct 43 Alternativesto“Gnosticism”asaCategory 51 CHAPTERTHREE Protest Exegesis? or HermeneuticalProblem-Solving? 54 Introduction 54 HermeneuticalValueReversalsNotThoroughgoing 57 ValueReversalsUsuallyLinkedtoSpecificProblems 63 Conclusion 76 CHAPTERFOUR Parasites? or Innovators? 80 Introduction 80 SpecialOrganismversusOrdinaryProcess 83 TheAgentsofInnovation 84 InnovationasaDynamicProcess 90 MetaphorsversusExplanations 93 Conclusion 94 viii C O N T E N T S CHAPTERFIVE Anticosmic World-Rejection? or Sociocultural Accommodation? 96 Introduction 96 MythologicalSymbolandSocialReality 97 GeneralLevelofSocialInteractionandInvolvement 101 DegreeofSociopoliticalDeviance 103 AttemptstoReduceCulturalDistance 107 SocialDropouts? 108 BreakingOfftheFrontEnd 109 Conclusion 113 CHAPTERSIX Hatredof the Body? or the Perfectionof the Human? 116 Introduction 116 TheBodyNegative 118 TheBodyDivine 123 Conclusion 136 CHAPTERSEVEN Asceticism... ? 139 Introduction 139 AsceticPracticesandLifestyles 140 PerfectionandtheFamily 150 Conclusion 160 CHAPTEREIGHT ... or Libertinism? 163 Introduction 163 TheProblematicEvidence 164 TheOneInstanceofDirectTestimony 184 Conclusion 187 CHAPTERNINE DeterministicElitism? or Inclusive Theories of Conversion? 189 Introduction 189 EthicalParenesis 190 SpiritualEthnicity,Conversion,andGrowth 193 Providence,Fate,andFreeWill 202 RecruitmentandConversion 208 Conclusion 211 CHAPTERTEN Where They Came From ... 213 Introduction 213 TheProblemwithDefining“Gnosticism”astheInnovation 214 C O N T E N T S ix AccountingfortheInnovationsinQuestion 219 Conclusion 231 CHAPTERELEVEN ... and What They Left Behind 235 Introduction 235 SuccessfulMovementsandUnsuccessfulMovements 236 PreviousTheoriesabouttheRelationoftheLibrary’sContentto ItsSocialContext 241 SelectionandArrangementsofTractateswithinthe NagHammadiCodices 247 Conclusion 260 CONCLUSION 263 NOTES 267 MODERNWORKSCITED 311 INDEX 329
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