- Paperback: 412 pages
- Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco; New edition edition (30 Nov 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060670185
- ISBN-13: 978-0060670184
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 544,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Presents a readable and appealing introduction to what otherwise might seem an inaccessible religion of late antiquity.
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First Sentence
Our knowledge and understanding of any historical phenomenon on is dependent to a quite considerable extent upon the state of our sources, be they written, oral, archaeological or of some other kind. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Our knowledge and understanding of any historical phenomenon on is dependent to a quite considerable extent upon the state of our sources, be they written, oral, archaeological or of some other kind. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Rudolph acheives the almost impossible task of making gnosticism easy to understand. An invaluable reference, "The Nature and History of Gnosticism" illuminates countless factes of a long-censored (and often confusing) belief system.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rudolph's volume excellently fills a niche between works for the general reader on the one hand and deeply profound hard-going scholarly works such as that by Jonas (The Gnostic Religion) on the other. With this work Rudolph was among the first to bring the full results of scholarship on the Nag Hammadi codices to the attention of the public in the mid seventies, and it still remains valuable today.
Most of the book concentrates on the nature of Gnostic beliefs as evidenced by Nag Hammadi, followed by a shorter section attempting to trace the history of Gnosticism, as far as one can possibly do such a thing.
Some have commented on the quality of the translation. Certainly some sentences are worded a little oddly and look as though perhaps German word order has been carried over to the English, but such instances are sufficiently uncommon to not cause a problem. The layout is helpful, having a somewhat archaic format with margin references and section titles. (I don't know why such a useful arrangement ever went out of fashion - presumably simply saving on cost by optimising the use of space on the page.)
Most of the book concentrates on the nature of Gnostic beliefs as evidenced by Nag Hammadi, followed by a shorter section attempting to trace the history of Gnosticism, as far as one can possibly do such a thing.
Some have commented on the quality of the translation. Certainly some sentences are worded a little oddly and look as though perhaps German word order has been carried over to the English, but such instances are sufficiently uncommon to not cause a problem. The layout is helpful, having a somewhat archaic format with margin references and section titles. (I don't know why such a useful arrangement ever went out of fashion - presumably simply saving on cost by optimising the use of space on the page.)
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is comprehensive, steeped in the sources and objective which is rare in a field where personal covinctions often interfere with narrative. There are some minor works or subjects which I wanted to see better covered but, nevertheless, it is an outstanding achievement. It helped me a lot to penetrate the world of ancient Gnosticism and finally to write and defend a doctoral thesis on it. It will be published in 2000, alas, in Bulgarian. It also stimulated me to begin researching the influence of Gnosticism through the ages which is enormous but much neglected.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Heavy Going, But A Useful Tool
As a source book for academics studying Gnosis and the Gnostics, this book is excellent. The depth, and breadth, of its scope is impressive, although I would like to have seen a... Read more
Published on 27 May 2005 by Capt I. McRae
good work spoiled by poor translation from German
This book is a most authoritative account of Gnosis and Gnosticism. The translation into English from the author's native German is however litle short of appalling in many... Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2000 by Sid Green
...
This is not a book for four to eight year olds.
Published on 24 Oct 1998
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