Gnosticism: From Nag Hammadi to the Gospel of Judas

In Gnosticism: From Nag Hammadi to the Gospel of Judas, Professor David Brakke of The Ohio State University is your guide in a richly detailed immersion in the theology, sacred writings, rituals, and outstanding human figures of the Gnostic movements. At the heart of the story is the 1945 discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices, a mysterious cache of ancient documents unearthed in the Egyptian desert, that gave us firsthand accounts of the Gnostics’ beliefs, practices, and ways of life. Studying these invaluable texts, along with more recent discoveries, such as the astonishing Gospel of Judas and Gospel According to Mary, gives you a profound look at Gnostic spirituality and its singular impact on religious history. While fully respectful of traditional Christian beliefs, this course provides a valuable perspective on the development of Western religions and Christian theology.

Lectures

LECTURE 1 Rediscovering Gnosis

LECTURE 2 Who Were the Gnostics?

LECTURE 3 God in Gnostic Myth

LECTURE 4 Gnosticism on Creation, Sin, and Salvation

LECTURE 5 Judas as a Gnostic Tragic Hero

LECTURE 6 Gnostic Bible Stories

LECTURE 7 Gnosticism’s Ritual Pathway to God

LECTURE 8 The Feminine in Gnostic Myth

LECTURE 9 The Gospel of Thomas Cryptic Sayings

LECTURE 10 The Gospel of Thomas on Reunifying the Self

LECTURE 11 Valentinus, Great Preacher of Gnosis

LECTURE 12 God and Creation in Valentinian Myth

LECTURE 13 “Becoming Male” through Valentinian Ritual

LECTURE 14 Valentinian Views on Christian Theology

LECTURE 15 Mary Magdalene as an Apostle of Gnosis

LECTURE 16 Competing Revelations from Christ

LECTURE 17 The Invention of Heresy

LECTURE 18 Making Gnosis Orthodox

LECTURE 19 Gnosticism and Judaism

LECTURE 20 Gnosis without Christ

LECTURE 21 The Mythology of Manichaeism

LECTURE 22 Augustine on Manichaeism and Original Sin

LECTURE 23 Gnostic Traces in Western Religions

LECTURE 24 “Gnosticism” in the Modern Imagination