Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas (2001 De Conick), book

Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (2001) is a book by April D. De Conick.

Abstract

"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."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in Sheffield [England]: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001.

Contents

• 1. Traditio-Rhetorical Criticism: A Methodology for Examining the Discourse of Intertraditions
• 2. Vision Mysticism in the Ancient World: The Religio-Historical Horizon
  • 1. Ancient Mystery Religions
  • 2. Hermeticism
  • 3. Judaism
  • 4. Conclusion
• 3. Johannine Polemic against Vision Mysticism: The Traditio-Religious Horizon and the Point of Discourse
  • 1. John 14.3-7
  • 2. John 14.20-23
  • 3. John 20.24-29
  • 4. Conclusion
• 4. Thomasine Support for Vision Mysticism: The Traditio-Religious Horizon of John's Opponents
  • 1. The visio Dei
  • 2. Ascent and Transformation
  • 3. Ascent Preparations
  • 4. Celestial Temple Traditions
  • 5. Conclusion
• 5. Faith Mysticism in the Gospel of John: The Interpretative Trajectory and Synthetic End Point
  • 1. The Pretemporal Existence of Jesus
  • 2. The Historical Presence of Jesus
  • 3. The Historical Absence of Jesus
  • 4. Conclusion
• 6. Vision Mysticism in Early Syrian Christian Texts: The Discourse Continues
  • 1. Preachings of John
  • 2. Gospel of the Savior
  • 3. Apocryphon of James
  • 4. Ascension of Isaiah
  • 5. Dialogue of the Savior
  • 6. Conclusion

External links

• Google Books (partial text)