Essay --

Virginia Lash Professor Leedom Earliest Christianity December 2013 Nag Hammadi Library In 1945, two unsuspecting brothers stumbled upon a jar that contained thirteen ancient codices, or texts, in Upper Egypt that had been hidden away for centuries. Their discovery would reshape the world's understanding of religion in more ways than one. These codices, later referred to as the Nag Hammadi library, enlightened the world about an ancient movement known as Gnosticism. In addition, this library revealed itself to be the source that countless scholarly works had referred to for centuries. This chance unearthing has brought much attention and debate to the subjects of earliest Christianity and Gnosticism and its significance in the ancient world, The Nag Hammadi library brought forth a new understanding of Gnosticism, a way to reassess religions in the ancient world, and a new perspective on early Christianity. The unbelievable discovery and analysis of the Nag Hammadi Library also brings a sense of hope, faith that in time more historical discoveries will come about and we will be further enlightened about our pasts, and therefore further prepared for our future. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi library was an odd one. Two brothers Muhammad Ali al-Samman and Abu al-Majd were digging around the cliffs of Al-Oasr for a valuable fertilizer. As they were searching they came across a jar, hoping they had struck gold, the brothers smashed the jar open and instead of being filled with ancient treasures, the contents revealed themselves to be â€Å"thirteen books containing fifty-three texts, a total of 1,153 pages These books turned out to be an astonishing find with significant impact. They were found to be ancient mostly gnostic texts... ...put it â€Å"it helped liberate Gnosticism from the predominantly negative aura that surrounded it. It could be examined as a movement in its own right and on its own terms† . The discovery had a significant impact on how the modern world now viewed the previously unknown and misunderstood movement that was Gnosticism. The unearthing of these texts sparked a new interest in finding out what Gnosticism and how the early Christian Church operated. The texts provided the world a map showing the different perspectives and the lively debates that were happening around the Roman Empire. It showed how the ancient world was a very diverse place when it came to the different sects of all the religions. The Nag Hammadi Codices show how the Gnostics were truly part of that debate circulating their own works with what they thought was the truth, which others had deigned a heresy.