Sexual Astrology - Books : Rethinking 'Gnosticism': An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category

All ProductsApparelBabyBeautyBooksDVDDigital MusicHealth & Personal CareJewelryKitchen & HousewaresMagazinesMiscellaneousMusicMusic TracksPhotoSoftwareToysVHSVideo (DVD & VHS)Video Games

 View Shopping Cart or Checkout 

by: Michael Allen Williams See Larger Image List Price: $33.95 Our Price: $27.92 You Save: $6.03 (18%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $15.00 Third Party New Price: $25.76 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 200 EAN: 9780691005423 ISBN: 0691005427 Label: Princeton University Press Manufacturer: Princeton University Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 360 Publication Date: April 12, 1999 Publisher: Princeton University Press Sales Rank: 283890 Studio: Princeton University Press Related Items: What Is Gnosticism? Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions by (The Anchor Bible Reference Library) Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions And Literature The Nag Hammadi Library see more Editorial Review: Product Description: Most anyone interested in such topics as creation mythology, Jungian theory, or the idea of 'secret teachings' in ancient Judaism and Christianity has found 'gnosticism' compelling. Yet the term 'gnosticism,' which often connotes a single rebellious movement against the prevailing religions of late antiquity, gives the false impression of a monolithic religious phenomenon. Here Michael Williams challenges the validity of the widely invoked category of ancient 'gnosticism' and the ways it has been described. Presenting such famous writings and movements as the Apocryphon of John and Valentinian Christianity, Williams 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. The modern construct 'gnosticism' is not justified by any ancient self-definition, and many of the most commonly cited religious features that supposedly define gnosticism phenomenologically turn out to be questionable. Exploring the sample sets of 'gnostic' teachings, Williams refutes generalizations concerning asceticism and libertinism, attitudes toward the body and the created world, and alleged features of protest, parasitism, and elitism. He sketches a fresh model for understanding ancient innovations on more 'mainstream' Judaism and Christianity, a model that is informed by modern research on dynamics in new religious movements and is freed from the false stereotypes from which the category 'gnosticism' has been constructed. Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - good arumentation, but his way of correcting the problem is wrong i agreed with all his notions that gnosticism is such a wide category that cannot be pinned down to one set of characteristics, however his notion that it should all be changed to 'biblical demiurgical traditions' is also wrong. Changing the name of the category will not change the fact that all the old misconceptions will also come along with it. also if he perceive 'gnosticism' to really mean heretical, then whats the problem with using this term? Rating: - Taking it a little too far Michael Allen William's "Rethinking `Gnosticism': An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category" has become very influential within scholarly circles. Few books or articles about Gnosticism have been written since this book which do not, at the least, address his argument. Scholars are now much more careful to acknowledge that "Gnostic" is a widely varying and loosely constructed model. In his book, Williams attempts to show that no proposed definition of Gnosticism fits the varying currents ... Read More Rating: - The definitive argument for reviving the spirit Michael Allen Williams has produced an outstanding work which I suspect will pull the rug out from under the feet of anyone who thought they understood Gnosticism. His approach is so thorough and so fresh that I still haven't gotten up from off the ground. Here are just a few of William's observations: 1) That that which we consider Gnostic was not necessarily world rejecting but was often world embracing, a positive effort to make sense of Jewish and Christian teachings in ... Read More Rating: - Demiurgal urges "Gnostics" have had a bad press, especially among orthodox Christian historians. They've been booted out of the household of faith, pontificated over and generalized to death. Williams does the decent thing and brings them out from under the grey clouds of polemic so we can get a clearer view. Untangling some of the specific groups that have been squeezed into the "gnostic" pigeonhole, it becomes apparent that these people were as different in their day as differing sects in American Christianity ... Read More Rating: - A Timely Rethink After reading one book which specifically mentions and disagrees with Michael Allen Williams' position, ("No Longer Jews: The Search for Gnostic Origins" by Smith), I figured that "Rethinking 'Gnosticism'" would be an important read. Williams' basic position is that there is not enough evidence to support and maintain the category of "Gnosticism", and he proposes a term "biblical demiurgic tradition". Throughout the book, Williams systematically addresses central issues that have been cited as making ... Read More see more Browse for similar items by category: Philosophy - Humanities - New & Used Textbooks - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - Books - History & Surveys Philosophy - Humanities - New & Used Textbooks - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - Books - General AAS Religious Studies - Humanities - New & Used Textbooks - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - Books - Religious History Religious Studies - Humanities - New & Used Textbooks - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - Books - General AAS New & Used Textbooks - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - Books - General AAS