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The Origins of Gnosticism: Jewish Apocalypticism and the Problem of Evil
Marcet Martín, Santiago
Marcet Martín, Santiago
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Abstract
The discoveries of the Nag Hammadi Library in 1945 and of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 revived scholarly interest in the phenomenon of Gnosticism and Jewish Apocalypticismrespectively, and the way in which their systems relate to one another. They also provided a greatamount of new material to work with, including original text which were previously unaccountedfor. Regardless of the amount of new primary sources, scholars still cannot find consensus on thespecific origins of Gnosticism, yet it is commonly believed among them that its origins are sowide and diverse that they cannot be traced back to a single origin.Going along those lines, this essay will attempt to explore one of said possible origins,namely the problem of evil, as it appears in the Jewish Apocalypse genre of literature, includingWisdom teaching and Scepticism as closely related genres. It will do so by identifying andanalyzing common themes as they appear in the texts, and exploring the way in which they relateand can be identified with recurring Gnostic themes.This thematic analysis and the textual analysis alongside it will conclude that there is atraceable development from the fringes of the Jewish tradition and their concern with thesuffering of their people to the ontological separation of God from the material world present inGnostic texts as the final answer to the problem of evil. This development follows the steps fromprophetic eschatology to apocalyptic eschatology and from ethical dualism to cosmologicaldualism, as certain Jewish communities realize that God’s new order for the righteous wouldneither unfold within the realities of this world nor come about during their lifetimes.
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Thesis (B.A. in Humanistic Studies, Minor in Philosophy)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.
Date
2019
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Keywords
Gnosticism, Apocalyptic literature
Citation
Marcet Martín, Santiago. "The Origins of Gnosticism: Jewish Apocalypticism and the Problem of Evil". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2019.