I meant to post this a few days ago, but I got overrun (what else is new? does life ever slow down?).
I had the pleasure of interviewing with Miguel Connor for his radio show and podcasts: Aeon Byte. The subject was more revelations about the Gospel of Judas and we talked quite a bit about gnosticism. If you want to check it out, go to this link to AEON BYTE homepage and scroll down until you see my pic and link to the interview. Hope you enjoy it.
5 comments:
Your recent thought-provoking interview was wonderful. Miguel has new interviews available free through the weekend. I listened to it on Sunday while it was free, although I believe it’s now available to download for a small fee.
If you have time in future blog posts, I’d be quite interested in learning more about your ideas on some subjects you addressed near the end of the interview, such as use of the term “Gnosticism” and also your theory of the pre-Christian origin of Sethianism, possibly in a hermetic lodge around Alexandria.
I heard your interview being a big fan of Abraxas and yourself. I second more on your theories. I am defending myself at church from people operating on old info.
Unfortunately, you now have to pay $2.99 to listen to it. The site says my money would go to supporting the show and "buying the Democratic Party some Prozac". :-(
Sure, I would love to share my thoughts on Gnosticism with you. What are your specific questions?
Dr. DeConick,
First, I do admire your continuing emphasis on the complexity of early Christianity. In fact, placing origins of Sethianism in a pre-Christian setting does make sense, when considering, for instance, the variety of texts in the Nag Hammadi Library, some even without any obvious Jewish or Christian influence. This hermetic lodge in Alexandria you mention might have seen some Jews and perhaps Samaritans. Do you have some ideas about the interplay of these groups in regards to burgeoning Sethianism and how Christians came into the mix?
Also, the term “Gnosticism” is undoubtedly a slippery label. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that truly “Gnostic” groups would be those that eventually established new religions, such as the Manicheans or Mandaeans, who found survival in areas outside the Western world. So, would various ancient Sethian and Valentinian groups retain more of a proto-Gnostic character, as many still self-identified as Christians?
What common distinctiveness (soteriology, cosmology, cosmogony, philosophy, etc.?) ties all these groups (older and newer) together?
Thanks!
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