This volume contains a series of provocative essays that explore expressions of magic and ritual power in the ancient world. The essays are authored by leading scholars in the fields of Egyptology, ancient Near Eastern studies, the Hebrew Bible, Judaica, classical Greek and Roman studies, early Christianity and patristics, and Coptology. Throughout the book the essays examine the terms employed in descriptions of ancient magic. From this examination comes a clarification of magic as a polemical term of exclusion but also an understanding of the classical Egyptian and early Greek conceptions...
This volume contains a series of provocative essays that explore expressions of magic and ritual power in the ancient world. The essays are authored b...
In December 1945, two Egyptian fellahin, digging for natural fertilizer in the Nile River valley unearthed a sealed storage jar. The jar proved to hold treasure of an unexpected sort: a collection of some fifty-two ancient manuscripts, most of which reflect the teachings of a mystical religious movement we call Gnosticism (from the Greek word gnosis, "knowledge"). The texts are also, with few exceptions, Christian documents, and thus they provide us with valuable new information about the character of the early church, and about the Gnostic Christians within the church. In this volume,...
In December 1945, two Egyptian fellahin, digging for natural fertilizer in the Nile River valley unearthed a sealed storage jar. The jar proved to hol...
This thought-provoking collection of magical texts from ancient Egypt shows the exotic rituals, esoteric healing practices, and incantatory and supernatural dimensions that flowered in early Christianity. These remarkable Christian magical texts include curses, spells of protection from "headless powers" and evil spirits, spells invoking thunderous powers, descriptions of fire baptism, and even recipes from a magical "cookbook." Virtually all the texts are by Coptic Christians, and they date from about the 1st-12th centuries of the common era, with the majority from late antiquity. By...
This thought-provoking collection of magical texts from ancient Egypt shows the exotic rituals, esoteric healing practices, and incantatory and sup...
"The ancient mysteries have remained all too mysterious because of the lack of ready access to them. . . . Now we have in one volume a fine collection of the sources that have survived. . . . This will be for many students the lifting of the veil for whic
"The ancient mysteries have remained all too mysterious because of the lack of ready access to them. . . . Now we have in one volume a fine collection...
The best and most readable one-volume introduction available to the Sayings Gospel Q and the Gospel of Thomas-the very earliest collections of the sayings and parables of Jesus. The Q-Thomas Reader includes new translations, lucid commentary by leading scholars, suggested readings and a comprehensive glossary. This is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about "the gospels before the gospels."
The best and most readable one-volume introduction available to the Sayings Gospel Q and the Gospel of Thomas-the very earliest collections of the say...
Marvin Meyer is one of the leading experts on the secret gospels -- Gospel of Thomas, Secret Gospel of Mark, and others -- who has changed forever how we read the canonical gospels and understand early Christianity. In this new collection of his work, Meyer looks at these revolutionary texts in original and illuminating ways.
He writes, for example, about the naked youths in the Villa of the Mysteries. On the walls of a villa in Pompeii, a famous mural depicts a naked male reading from a scroll, a look of wonder on his face. A naked youth again appears in the Gospel of Mark, abandoning his...
Marvin Meyer is one of the leading experts on the secret gospels -- Gospel of Thomas, Secret Gospel of Mark, and others -- who has changed forever how...
Synopsis: The Gospel of Judas: On a Night with Judas Iscariot presents a fresh translation of the Gospel of Judas, with introduction, commentary, and notes. Originally published with considerable international fanfare in 2006, the Gospel of Judas has prompted a vibrant discussion among scholars and other interested readers about the meaning of the text and the place of Judas Iscariot in the story of Jesus and the history of the church. Meyer, a member of the original research team assembled by the National Geographic Society to edit, translate, and publish the Gospel of Judas and the...
Synopsis: The Gospel of Judas: On a Night with Judas Iscariot presents a fresh translation of the Gospel of Judas, with introduction, commentary, ...
