The Label Of Gnostic Gospel

From the beginning of the Christian church to the present age, followers of Christ have sought after truth as propagated by Christ and His disciples. The written words of the Apostles and of Christ became of immeasurable value as false doctrines emerged from the bowels of nefarious teachers. Those who would infiltrate the church of God and detract it from its purposes for their selfish ambitions, such as the Gnostics and Marcionites, began introducing and manipulating writings, hoping to gain credibility among orthodox Christians.[5]

Similarly, the topic of the Synoptic Gospel and its problems relate to the questions surrounding this core issue. With the Synoptic Gospel, similarities are found across all three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Stories were accounted for and verbal identical versions were found too, so the speculative questions that revolved around this matter, were how can this phenomenon be explained? Who copied from whom? Or was there an older document that acted as a source? The same type of questions can also be said for the Documentary Hypothesis as the same themes are running through this

The Gospel of John compared to the others has developed a lengthy, philosophical manner of speech which describes Jesus’ divinity as the highest Christology. Through this it expresses Jesus as the flesh of the eternal and living God, as a Source of Light and a Son of God. John’s Gospel focuses on the individual believers and their relationships with Jesus, as well as, show that the Spirit is the central connection between God, Jesus and believers. The main purpose of this Gospel is to make God Known, to inspire belief in himself and the Father, to glorify the Father and to bring salvation. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus’ character is described as miraculous due to his kindly actions towards the oppressed and his desire to help them. Jesus appears

For example, the Gospel of Thomas includes salvation by secret knowledge, polytheism, disregard for the bodily appetites, and the thought of a blissful teaching Christ who is not necessarily human. It is likely related to Sethian Gnosticism. However, “Gnosticism” is largely an umbrella term for the beliefs of several movements in the post-Apostolic era that sought out special knowledge. Gnosticism is a term that is used for spiritual practices and religious beliefs. This term was very common for early Christians, as well as Zoroastrianism, Hellenistic Judaism, and Neoplatonism. The discovery of this Gospel, which was founded in 1945, along with the rest of the Nag-Hamaddi library is very revealing of certain gnostic groups that we previously had less knowledge of. We knew of Gnosticism from other texts and witnesses to them (Irenaeus) before. However, now there are many more source texts. There is also a difference between Gnostics and Orthodox Christianity. The Old Testament prophecies were described as fulfilled by Jesus. That is that Jesus was explained in the canonical Gospels as the Messiah. The Canonical Gospels are highly Jewish in their language and references. They were written by Hebrews. The Gnostic Gospels seem to be ignorant of the fact of the Jewish nature of Christ. They basically use His name but attach it

A Gospel is a religious document that describes Jesus’ life from when he was born, until death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus, himself, had 12 disciples, whom advised him and later grew to the name, ‘The 12 Apostles’. Those of whom Jesus’ call his Apostles (Students) were: Simon (Named Peter), Andrew (‘Peters’ brother), James (Son of Zamebee), John (James’ brother), Phillip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (The Tax Collector), James (Son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (The Cananean) and lastly, Judas Iscariot. Of these Twelve Apostles, one presumably betrayed of lord. His name, Judas Iscariot. The Gospel of Judas, tell Judas’ accounts of what is going on through his point of view. It has been lost through time. But has been found. 1,600 years later in the caverns of Egypt.

The Gospel of Judas was discovered in the late 1970’s near El Minya in Egypt however the gospel was not available to scholars until 2006 when National Geographic published a translation of the Coptic text. The Gospel of Judas, believed to be written sometime in the second century, contains sixteen chapters that document Jesus teaching spiritual matters and cosmology to Judas. In 2006, when the translation was released, National Geographic came out and said that this text reveals Judas as the perfect gnostic where his act of betrayal is righteous and allows him to surpass all other disciples. One of the major problems with the release of this translation was that scholars, like April DeConick, began realizing that some words and phrases

The story of the Gnostic Gospels begins in a little village in North Egypt in 1945. Two brothers, living in poverty with their mother, ventured out to the cliffs in search of fertilizer. While digging, they hit upon an urn, and, after debating whether or not to open it, as there may have been a spirit or money inside, their superstition gave way to greed and they opened it, only to find papyrus texts. They brought these home to their mother, who, unaware of their value, burned them. The brothers, known they were wanted by the police for murdering their father’s murderer, gave the scrolls to a schoolteacher. After a series of interactions and transactions, these texts found their way to the Coptic Museum in the country’s capital, and then to Harvard where scholars were eventually able to translate the Coptic texts.

about the divine reality. Divine spark or a good seed that fell from a transcendent reality to

Although the Gospel of John is formally anonymous, with the help of internal and external evidence, a better understanding of who wrote this text can be achieved. Modern scholars believe that this gospel was written in three stages, by the beloved

which declares "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The false teaching of Gnosticism had

Gospels – The portraits of the person and work of the long pronounced Messiah. Matthew portrays Christ as King; Mark portrays Christ as a servant; Luke portrays Christ as man; and John portrays Christ as God (Unger, 1967). In the Gospels, Christ is made known to the world and his gospel provided in his death, resurrection, and ascension. The books called the Gospels deal with the life and ministry of Jesus. The Gospels do not present us with simple memoirs; rather, they give us proclamations and instructions written from theological standpoints. Additionally, they lack historical background, and analysis of character and personality,

The word gospel itself means good news, to spread the message of the gospel is to spread the good news, specifically the good news about Christ. The gospel of Matthew is all about spreading the good news of Christ and notably the good news about Christ’s love. Philosophy is the rational inquiry in search of the first cause of the order of the cosmos, with many philosophers believing that this first cause must be something divine. The message of the love of Christ can provide nuances to the philosophical ideals, like the search of the cause and order of the cosmos, that Plato provides in his Apology.

Whilst all of the gospels are proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, the genre behind each of these texts has a significant impact on how they are each viewed by the readers in antiquity.

When people hear the word “gospel,” they typically associate it with the Bible, and for a variety of people this is the extent of their biblical knowledge. While numerous people instinctively turn their heads away at the mention of religion, their assumptions of the Gospels as boring, stuffy orders to obey God are often incorrect. Sure, most people would find more excitement and pleasure reading a Harry Potter book instead of the Bible, but they often do not realize the Gospels contain a plethora of narrative stories of adventure, suspense, and peril. It almost appears the Gospels are the ultimate action stories equipped with the typical good versus evil storyline, and, of course, a heroic figure, Jesus. Translated into “good news,”

The New Testament contains four different gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These gospels are based off eyewitness gatherings from many various sources and provides us with virtually our only foundation of knowledge on Jesus and his importance in Christianity. Three of the gospels, “Matthew, Mark, and Luke had become known as the Synoptic Gospels; their authors are accordingly known as the Synoptists” (Fitzmyer 1). Out of these three, Luke’s Gospel is the longest and the most grammatically correct. The targeted audience for the Gospel of Luke was mostly gentiles, but these individuals also had to be able to read good Greek due to its novelistic Greek reading style. This gospel’s general concern is to display Jesus’ mission and the essence of his Messiahship: God’s hospitality. This hospitality exuded by God is revealed through Jesus’ outreach to the poor and marginalized, practice of compassion and mercy, outreach to the gentiles, and teachings on the right use of money and resources.