Valentinus’ Legacy and Polyphony of Voices

Description

This book challenges the popular use of ‘Valentinian’ to describe a Christian school of thought in the second century CE by analysing documents ascribed to ‘Valentinians’ by early Christian Apologists, and more recently by modern scholars after the discovery of codices near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. To this end, Ashwin-Siejkowski highlights the great diversity of views among Christian theologians associated with the label ‘Valentinian’, demonstrating their attachment to the Scriptures and Apostolic traditions as well as their dialogue with Graeco-Roman philosophies of their time. Among the various themes explored are ‘myth’ and its role in early Christian theology, the familiarity of the Gospel of Truth with Alexandrian exegetical tradition, Ptolemy’s didactic in his letter to Flora, the image of the Saviour in the Interpretation of Knowledge, reception of the Johannine motifs in Heracleon’s commentary and the Tripartite Tractate, salvation in the Excerpts from Theodotus, Christian identity in the Gospel of Philip, and reception of selected Johannine motifs in ‘Valentinian’ documents. Valentinus’ Legacy and Polyphony of Voices will be an invaluable and accessible resource to students, researchers, and scholars of Early Christian theologies, as well as trajectories of exegesis in New Testament sources and the emerging of different Christian identities based on various Christologies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1 A 'Valentinian' as a tag? Rethinking classification in the light of polemic and documents 2 Myth and its role in education of the Christian mind and imagination: A Valentinian Exposition, NHC, XI, 2 3 The Gospel of Truth, NHC, I, 3 and its possible Alexandrian affiliation 4 Ptolemy and the education of Flora 5 The Teacher of Immortality: The Saviour and soteriology in the Interpretation of Knowledge, NHC, XI, 1 6 Reception of the Johannine motifs in Heracleon's Commentary on the Gospel of John and the Tripartite Tractate, NHC, I, 5 7 The Excerpts from Theodotus: In search of theology of salvation 8 Construction of the Christian identity in the Gospel of Philip, NHC, II, 3 9 The relationship between selected documents from the Nag Hammadi collection and the New Testament Conclusion: When did the 'Valentinians' cease to be Christians? The wrong question Index of ancient authors Index of modern authors Index of subjects