Gnostic Gospels of the Nag Hammadi Scrolls
Ancient Hidden Codices Referenced in The Da Vinci Code
May 4, 2009
In 1945, near the Egyptian desert of Nag Hammadi, several gnostic gospels that had been hidden since the first century, were discovered.
These scrolls reflect on the religious following called gnosticism - a movement that emerged during the formative period of Christianity. Gnosis literally means "hidden knowledge."
Gnostics focus on attaining spiritual bliss or life of the holy spirit by renouncing the material world. Many Christian sects are derived from the esoteric knowledge of Gnosticism.
Nag Hammadi and The Da Vinci Code
Even though Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (Random House, 2003), is a work of fiction, there are many references in the book to the findings of the Nag Hammadi codices.
Author Dan Brown, makes claims about the authenticity of the plot based on the Nag Hammadi gnostic texts. Some scholars and religious groups have argued that some of the historical information in the book is inaccurate.
Some Characteristics of the Early Gnostic Thought
The gnostic texts in the scrolls proposed rituals and philosophies that were deviant from those popular in that time.
Some of the chief characteristics of the Gnostic thought are:
- Divine revelation and accessing divine knowledge was considered its prime focus;
- Gnostics considered that the divine knowledge was passed on by tradition and initiation, and;
- In many of the Nag Hammadi Gnostic texts God is imaged as a dyad of masculine and feminine elements.
The Nag Hammadi Library
Translation of the original scrolls found near the Nag Hammadi desert into English is generally referred to as the Nag Hammadi Library. T
he 13 codices discovered were found in a earthenware jar. The writings in these codices comprised a total of 52 treatises.
Upon further analysis, it was found that the materials used to bind these codices had been produced in the area they were found. Dates on letters and grain receipts indicate a date in the mid 4th century AD.
The writings of the Nag Hammadi collection were in Coptic. Its believed they were translated into Coptic from Greek. The Nag Hammadi codices are now in the Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt.
13 Codices of the Nag Hammadi Scrolls
Manuscripts of the 13 codices of the Nag Hammadi scrolls include such works as the Gospel of Philip, the Complete Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Truth, the Apocalypse of Adam, the Acts of Peter and the 12 Apostles, and the Apocryphon of John.
Several scholarly books and essays have spawned around the Nag Hammadi discovery. But, even decades after the findings at Nag Hammadi, analysis and interpretation of these texts continue to represent a source of contention.
Sources:
- The Nag Hammadi Library in English, by James Robinson,
- The Gnostic Gospels by Alan Jacobs.
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