Voices of the Mystics

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The Gospel of John has always been perceived as a more mystical Gospel than the Synoptics. This book explores the mysticism of John in its historical context and puts forward evidence that the mysticism developed in this text is the result of the textualization of a dialogue between the Johannine and Thomasine Christians on the subject of soteriology. In contradiction to the Christians who revered the Gospel of Thomas and taught salvation through ascent and vision mysticism, the Johannine Gospel argues for a mysticism based on the faith experience. Evidence from the Preachings of John, the Gospel of the Savior (P. Berolinensis 22220), the Apocryphon of James, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the Dialogue of the Savior is examined to show that this soteriological controversy did not end with the composition of the Gospel of John but continued well into the second century. This book not only sheds new light on the development of Johannine ideology, but also forges a new path in New Testament socio-rhetorical criticism, particularly by developing the field of tradition intertexture.

Author Bio

April D. DeConick is the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University (Houston, Texas). She specializes in early Christian history and theology, noncanonical Gospels, and gnostic and mystical traditions. Her books include" Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas" (1996);" Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature" (Sheffield Academic, 2001);" Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth" (T. &T. Clark, 2005); and" The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, with Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel" (T. &T. Clark, 2006) and The Thirteenth Apostle: what the Gospel of Judas really says (Continuum, 2007). She has also edited the collection of papers, " Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism" (SBL, 2006).