Hal Taussig

Erin Vearncombe

Brandon Scott

The Westar Institute

A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements

After Jesus, Before Christianity

"This is the first book-length treatment in English of the Nag Hammadi text, The Thunder: Perfect Mind - a poem of "I am" statements that has garnered a strong following in mainstream culture. This book offers a fresh, current translation (with detailed Coptic annotations) and ten chapters of introductory analysis of the text. Approaching the text from socio-historical, literary, and postmodern gender-theoretical frameworks, the editors situate Thunder as an early Christian text - away from the now suspect category of "Gnosticism" - and offer conclusions on its possible ancient meanings, as well as its interpretive possibilities for the present moment"--Provided by publisher.

perfect mind : a new translation and introduction

The thunder

Maia Kotrosits

Jared Calaway

Celene Lillie

Justin Lasser

This is the first book-length treatment in English of the Nag Hammadi text, The Thunder: Perfect Mind – a poem of “I am” statements that has garnered a strong following in mainstream culture. This book offers a fresh, current translation (with detailed Coptic annotations) and ten chapters of introductory analysis of the text. Approaching the text from socio-historical, literary, and postmodern gender-theoretical frameworks, the editors situate Thunder as an early Christian text - away from the now suspect category of “Gnosticism” - and offer conclusions on its possible ancient meanings, as well as its interpretive possibilities for the present moment.

A New Translation and Introduction

The Thunder: Perfect Mind

Westar Institute, The

From the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the religion and its early dissemination. Christianity has endured for more than two millennia and is practiced by billions worldwide today. Yet that longevity has created difficulties for scholars tracing the religion’s roots, distorting much of the historical investigation into the first two centuries of the Jesus movement. But what if Christianity died in the fourth or fifth centuries after it began? How would that change how historians see and understand its first two hundred years? Considering these questions, three Bible scholars from the Westar Institute summarize the work of the Christianity Seminar and its efforts to offer a new way of thinking about Christianity and its roots. Synthesizing the institute’s most recent scholarship—bringing together the many archaeological and textual discoveries over the last twenty years—they have found: There were multiple Jesus movements, not a singular one, before the fourth century There was nothing called Christianity until the third century There was much more flexibility and diversity within Jesus’s movement before it became centralized in Rome, not only regarding the Bible and religious doctrine, but also understandings of gender, sexuality and morality. Exciting and revolutionary, After Jesus Before Christianity provides fresh insights into the real history behind how the Jesus movement became Christianity. After Jesus Before Christianity includes more than a dozen black-and-white images throughout.

After Jesus Before Christianity

A founding member of the Jesus Seminar presents a new edition of the New Testament that includes ten more recently discovered texts, selected by a council of scholars and spiritual leaders, along with the classic books.

A Reinvented Bible for the Twenty-first Century Combining Traditional and Newly Discovered Texts

A New New Testament

Hal Taussig

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