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The Sophia of Jesus Christ is one of many Gnostic tractates from the Nag Hammadi codices, discovered in Egypt in 1945. Sophia is the Greek for wisdom, which in a Gnostic context has an esoteric meaning.
The manuscript itself has been dated to the 4th century, although it is possible that the Sophia codex was transcribed from an earlier document, as it has apparent similarities to Eugnostos, another manuscript found in two copies in Nag Hammadi. Most scholars argue that the text is of Gnostic origin, based on the similarities between the mystical teachings found in the text itself and standard Gnostic themes. If the original tractate should date from the 1st century, we have a rare glimpse at a conversation between Jesus Christ and his disciples after his resurrection from the dead. Highly mystical, the content of this text concerns creation of gods, angels, and the universe with an emphasis on infinite and metaphysical truth.
- Mary [Magdalene] said to him: "Lord, then how will we know that?"
- The perfect Savior said: "Come (you) from invisible things to the end of those that are visible, and the very emanation of Thought will reveal to you how faith in those things that are not visible was found in those that are visible, those that belong to Unbegotten Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!"
- — from The Sophia of Jesus Christ
The debate about dating is critical since some argue that they reflect the "true, recorded, sayings" of Jesus, which is possible should they date back as far as the first century. Others argue that they are in fact considerably later and an unreliable secondary source, at best post facto hearsay.
Curiously, the writings of four Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – are dated after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 or later, placing them in the historical range some scholars identify for the gnostic writings. Therefore, one could conclude that the early Christians had a much different Bible than exists today. Some scholars believe the Gnostic texts were written later than the New Testament, wheras others think that they were earlier. Most scholars, however, think that the period of writing overlaps, with some gnostic texts earlier than some new testament texts (such as the Pastorals – Timothy and Titus) but later than others, and with other gnostic texts either pre-dating or post-dating the new testament.
External links
- A translation of this tractate can be seen at Sophia (http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/sjc.html).
- PBS Article (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/pagels.html)
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