EUR  â¬155.09EUR  â¬147.00 excl. VAT
The Gospel of Thomas and Plato
A Study of the Impact of Platonism on the âFifth Gospelâ
Series: - Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, Volume: 93
Author:
Now available in Open Access thanks to the support of the University of Helsinki. In The Gospel of Thomas and Plato, Ivan Miroshnikov contributes to the study of the earliest Christian engagements with philosophy by offering the first systematic discussion of the impact of Platonism on the Gospel of Thomas, one of the most intriguing and cryptic works among the Nag Hammadi writings. Miroshnikov demonstrates that a Platonist lens is indispensable to the understanding of a number of the Thomasine sayings that have, for decades, remained elusive as exegetical cruces. The Gospel of Thomas is thus an important witness to the early stages of the process that eventually led to the Platonist formulation of certain Christian dogmata.
Ivan Miroshnikov, Ph.D. (2016), is Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Helsinki and Research Fellow at the Center of Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He co-edited Women and Knowledge in Early Christianity (Brill, 2017) and is currently working to publish various unedited manuscripts in Coptic.
"This careful and illuminating study... will be viewed as a significant contribution to Thomasine studies." - Paul Foster, in: Expository Times, 2019
'...einen wichtigen Beitrag zu weiteren Erforschung der platonischen Hintergründe des Thomasevangeliums im Speziellen und des frühen Christentums im Generellen [...] der in jeden weiteren Diskussionen zu diesem Themenfeld zu berücksichtigen sein wird.' Enno Edzard Popkes, Kiel, Theologische Literaturzeitung 145 (2020) 1/2
'...einen wichtigen Beitrag zu weiteren Erforschung der platonischen Hintergründe des Thomasevangeliums im Speziellen und des frühen Christentums im Generellen [...] der in jeden weiteren Diskussionen zu diesem Themenfeld zu berücksichtigen sein wird.' Enno Edzard Popkes, Kiel, Theologische Literaturzeitung 145 (2020) 1/2
Acknowledgements A Note to the Reader
1 Setting the Scene âMiddle Platonism: A Debated Concept âEarly Christian Appropriation of Platonism: The Prologue of John âPreliminary Notes on the Gospel of Thomas âThe Gospel of Thomas and Philosophy: A History of Research
2 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on the World âThe Text of Sayings 56 and 80 âThe World as a Body and as a Corpse âBodies are Corpses âWhat is Alive is Hidden in What is Dead âConclusions
3 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on the Body and the Soul âInterpretative Notes on Sayings 29, 87, and 112 âTripartite Anthropology in the Gospel of Thomas? âThe Body vs. the Soul âConclusions
4 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Oneness âThe Androgynous Protoplast? âBecoming Asexual? âPlatonists on Becoming One âAramaic Background of the Term μοναÏá½¹Ï? âThe Meaning of μοναÏá½¹Ï in the Gospel of Thomas âConclusions
5 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Stability âDeConick, Williams, and Murray on âStandingâ in the Gospel of Thomas âThe Varieties of âStandingâ in the Gospel of Thomas âPlatonists on Transcendental âStandingâ âTranscendental âStandingâ in the Gospel of Thomas âConclusions
6 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Immutability and Indivisibility âThe Setting of the Dialogue âThe Contents of the Dialogue âThe Integrity of the Dialogue âConclusions
7 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Freedom from Anger âThe Text of Gos. Thom. 7 âRecent Research on Gos. Thom. 7 âThe Lion within a Human is Anger âTripartite or Bipartite? âPlatonists on Anger âThe Meaning of Gos. Thom. 7 âConclusions
8 Thomasine Metaphysics of the Image and Its Platonist Background âThe Text of Gos. Thom. 83 âThe Two Types of Images in Middle Platonism âÎἰκὼν θεοῦ as a Paradigmatic Image âThe Meaning of Gos. Thom. 83:1 âThe Meaning of Gos. Thom. 83:2 âThe Metaphysics of the Image in Sayings 22, 50, and 84 âConclusions
9 Concluding Remarks
Appendix 1: The Greek Vorlage of Gos. Thom. 12:2 Appendix 2: The Secondary Nature of Gos. Thom. 5:3 Appendix 3: A Note on Gos. Thom. 77:1 Bibliography Index
1 Setting the Scene âMiddle Platonism: A Debated Concept âEarly Christian Appropriation of Platonism: The Prologue of John âPreliminary Notes on the Gospel of Thomas âThe Gospel of Thomas and Philosophy: A History of Research
2 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on the World âThe Text of Sayings 56 and 80 âThe World as a Body and as a Corpse âBodies are Corpses âWhat is Alive is Hidden in What is Dead âConclusions
3 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on the Body and the Soul âInterpretative Notes on Sayings 29, 87, and 112 âTripartite Anthropology in the Gospel of Thomas? âThe Body vs. the Soul âConclusions
4 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Oneness âThe Androgynous Protoplast? âBecoming Asexual? âPlatonists on Becoming One âAramaic Background of the Term μοναÏá½¹Ï? âThe Meaning of μοναÏá½¹Ï in the Gospel of Thomas âConclusions
5 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Stability âDeConick, Williams, and Murray on âStandingâ in the Gospel of Thomas âThe Varieties of âStandingâ in the Gospel of Thomas âPlatonists on Transcendental âStandingâ âTranscendental âStandingâ in the Gospel of Thomas âConclusions
6 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Immutability and Indivisibility âThe Setting of the Dialogue âThe Contents of the Dialogue âThe Integrity of the Dialogue âConclusions
7 The Gospel of Thomas and the Platonists on Freedom from Anger âThe Text of Gos. Thom. 7 âRecent Research on Gos. Thom. 7 âThe Lion within a Human is Anger âTripartite or Bipartite? âPlatonists on Anger âThe Meaning of Gos. Thom. 7 âConclusions
8 Thomasine Metaphysics of the Image and Its Platonist Background âThe Text of Gos. Thom. 83 âThe Two Types of Images in Middle Platonism âÎἰκὼν θεοῦ as a Paradigmatic Image âThe Meaning of Gos. Thom. 83:1 âThe Meaning of Gos. Thom. 83:2 âThe Metaphysics of the Image in Sayings 22, 50, and 84 âConclusions
9 Concluding Remarks
Appendix 1: The Greek Vorlage of Gos. Thom. 12:2 Appendix 2: The Secondary Nature of Gos. Thom. 5:3 Appendix 3: A Note on Gos. Thom. 77:1 Bibliography Index
All interested in the Nag Hammadi writings and the Gospel of Thomas, and anyone concerned with Middle Platonism and its impact on early Christian literature.