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Gnostic Origins

Gnostic Origins GNOSTIC ORIGINS BY R. McL. WILSON In a recent contribution (V.C. viii. 220) R. A. Markus criticised in passing the view maintained by F. C. Burkitt, that Valentinus and his fellows were fundamentally Christians. According to Markus, "The great Christian Gnostics now appear in a much clearer light as men who attempted to christianise radically Greek and Oriental religion, rather than, as used to be fashionable to hold, doing the reverse". In a footnote he adds: "As late as 1932 Burkitt wrote: 'The various forms of gnosticism are attempts to formulate and express the ordinary Christianity in terms and categories which suited the science and philosophy of the and further, that "Burkitt's view that gnosticism was an essentially Christian heresy was endorsed by Casey as 'undoubtedly right"'.2 2 It may however be questioned if this is altogether fair to Burkitt, or to Casey, and a fresh -examination of the writings in question only serves to confirm the doubt. To summarise in a single sentence the argument of a book, or even of an article, is almost inevitably to distort it, since it is wellnigh impossible to convey the author's full position. Burkitt did quite frankly uphold the old-fashioned http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Vigiliae Christianae Brill

Gnostic Origins

Vigiliae Christianae , Volume 9 (1): 193 – Jan 1, 1955

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1955 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0042-6032
eISSN
1570-0720
DOI
10.1163/157007255X00170
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

GNOSTIC ORIGINS BY R. McL. WILSON In a recent contribution (V.C. viii. 220) R. A. Markus criticised in passing the view maintained by F. C. Burkitt, that Valentinus and his fellows were fundamentally Christians. According to Markus, "The great Christian Gnostics now appear in a much clearer light as men who attempted to christianise radically Greek and Oriental religion, rather than, as used to be fashionable to hold, doing the reverse". In a footnote he adds: "As late as 1932 Burkitt wrote: 'The various forms of gnosticism are attempts to formulate and express the ordinary Christianity in terms and categories which suited the science and philosophy of the and further, that "Burkitt's view that gnosticism was an essentially Christian heresy was endorsed by Casey as 'undoubtedly right"'.2 2 It may however be questioned if this is altogether fair to Burkitt, or to Casey, and a fresh -examination of the writings in question only serves to confirm the doubt. To summarise in a single sentence the argument of a book, or even of an article, is almost inevitably to distort it, since it is wellnigh impossible to convey the author's full position. Burkitt did quite frankly uphold the old-fashioned

Journal

Vigiliae ChristianaeBrill

Published: Jan 1, 1955

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