This page groups esoteric texts by the later movement that drew on them. Wikipedia notes that "the 17th century saw the development of initiatory societies professing esoteric knowledge such as Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, while the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century led to the development of new forms of esoteric thought." Browsing by tradition lets a visitor read every text from one esoteric tradition together.
Facts
Origins
Era of Compositionc. 2nd-4th century CE; the Nag Hammadi codices themselves were copied in the mid-fourth century 2 Place of OriginEgypt and the eastern Mediterranean; the codices were found near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt in 1945 2 LanguageCoptic, translated from Greek originals 2 Overview
What Defines This GroupingWritings of the diverse second- to fourth-century currents that taught salvation through gnosis and, in many cases, a sharp division between the material world and a hidden higher God. Since 1945 they are read from the Nag Hammadi codices themselves rather than through the summaries of their opponents. 2 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryUsed, but its validity as a comparative category is disputed 3 Learn More
The Gnostic texts
This group holds texts of Gnosticism, the diverse early religious currents, flourishing in the first centuries CE, that taught salvation through secret knowledge (gnosis) and often a sharp dualism between the material world and a hidden higher God. Many were long known only from their opponents until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945.
The browser will find the works the atlas gathers here. The entries describe each text's teaching and history, noting the recovery of Gnostic writings in the twentieth century and their varied relation to early Christianity.
Tradition
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The International Edition
3. Rethinking "Gnosticism": An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
Michael Allen Williams, Princeton University Press, 1996introductionView the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.