ABSTRACT
To ask whether or not the New Testament reflects Gnostic motifs does not mean that its authors either explicitly accepted or opposed the religious systems which belong to the broad category, Gnosticism. Instead we are looking for seeds that would take root and flower in the Gnostic mythic speculation and ritual practices of the second to sixth centuries ce. Christians begin learning about their religion from four gospels that focus on the earthly life, miracles, teaching and death of Jesus in the Jewish setting of Galilee and Jerusalem. The short resurrection stories tacked on at the end of each one remain firmly anchored to that biographical narrative line. So, students find Gnostic writings which are labeled “Gospel of …” very strange reading indeed. Some, like the Gospel of Thomas, collect familiar sayings and parables of Jesus without the life context of the canonical gospels. Others, like the Gospel of Mary, provide revelations by or about the heavenly Savior which Jesus only gives after his resurrection. Still others, like the Gospel of Truth or Gospel of Philip may interpret items from the Jesus story or Christian rituals according to some version of second-century Gnostic speculation.
