Simon of Samaria and the Simonians

Simon of Samaria and the Simonians PDF

Author: M. David Litwa

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2024-03-07

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0567712982

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Who were the Simonians? Beginning in the mid-second century CE, heresiologists depicted them as licentious followers of the first “gnostic,” a supposedly Samarian self-deifier called Simon, who was thought to practice “magic” and became known as the father of all heresies. Litwa examines the Simonians in their own literature and in the literature used to refute and describe them. He begins with Simonian primary sources, namely The Declaration of Great Power (embedded in the anonymous Refutation of All Heresies) and The Concept of Our Great Power (Nag Hammadi codex VI,4). Litwa argues that both are early second-century products of Simonian authors writing in Alexandria or Egypt. Litwa then moves on to examine the heresiological sources related to the Simonians (Justin, the book of Acts, Irenaeus, the author of the Refutation of All Heresies, Pseudo-Tertullian, Epiphanius, and Filaster). He shows how closely connected Justin's report is to the portrait of Simon in Acts, and offers an extensive exegesis and analysis of Simonian theology and practice based on the reports of Irenaeus and the Refutator. Finally, Litwa examines Simonianism in novelistic sources, namely the Acts of Peter and the Pseudo-Clementines. By the time these sources were written, Simon had become the father of all heresies. Accordingly, virtually any heresy could be attributed to Simon. As a result-despite their alluring portraits of Simon-these sources are mostly unusable for the historical study of the Simonian Christian movement. Litwa concludes with a historical profile of the Simonian movement in the second and third centuries. The book features appendices which contain Litwa's own translations of primary Simonian texts.

Simon Magus

Simon Magus PDF

Author: George Robert Stow Mead

Publisher: Library of Alexandria

Published: 2020-09-28

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1465516387

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Simon Magus

Simon Magus PDF

Author: G. R. S. Mead

Publisher: DigiCat

Published: 2022-05-28

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13:

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According to Apocrypha, Simon Magus was a contemporary of the Biblical apostles and an important religious figure. Biblical legend tells that Simon was trying to buy his way into the number of Apostles but got rejected by Peter. Later he started preaching as well and collected a group of adherents. In his book, G.R.S. Mead compares the deeds of Simon with those of Peter and Paul and casts a look on the Simonian ideas, which he believes are similar to the system of Theosophy popular in Mead's times.

Apocryphal Writings and the Latter-day Saints

Apocryphal Writings and the Latter-day Saints PDF

Author: C. Wilfred Griggs

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781589580893

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This classic volume of essays takes an in-depth look at the Apocrypha and how Latter-day Saints should approach this in their gospel study. With notable LDS authors such as Stephen E. Robinson, Joseph F. McConkie, and Robert L. Millet this volume is an essential addition to any well rounded Mormon studies library. Essays include: Whose Apocrypha? Viewing Ancient Apocrypha from the Vantage of Events in the Present Dispensation, Lying for God: The Uses of Apocrypha, and The Nag Hammadi Library: A Mormon Perspective.

Simon Magus

Simon Magus PDF

Author: G. R. S. Mead

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2018-11-14

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 3748183224

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Everybody in Christendom has heard of Simon, the magician, and how Peter, the apostle, rebuked him, as told in the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles. Many also have heard the legend of how at Rome this wicked sorcerer endeavoured to fly by aid of the demons, and how Peter caused him to fall headlong and thus miserably perish. And so most think that there is an end of the matter, and either cast their mite of pity or contempt at the memory of Simon, or laugh at the whole matter as the invention of superstition or the imagination of religious fanaticism, according as their respective beliefs may be in orthodoxy or materialism. This for the general. Students of theology and church history, on the other hand, have had a more difficult task set them in comparing and arranging the materials they have at their disposal, as found in the patristic writings and legendary records; and various theories have been put forward, not the least astonishing being the supposition that Simon was an alias for Paul, and that the Simon and Peter in the accounts of the fathers and in the narrative of the legends were simply concrete symbols to represent the two sides of the Pauline and Petrine controversies.

The Gnostics

The Gnostics PDF

Author: Jacques Lacarriere

Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers

Published: 2014-08-01

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 0720618029

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Gnostics have always sought to “know” rather than to accept dogma and doctrine, often to their peril. This inquiry into Gnosticism examines the character, history, and beliefs of a brave and vigorous spiritual quest that originated in the ancient Near East and continues into the present day.Lawrence Durrell writes, “This is a strange and original essay, more a work of literature than of scholarship, though its documentation is impeccable. It is as convincing a reconstruction of the way the Gnostics lived and thought as D.H. Lawrence’s intuitive recreation of the vanished Etruscans.”

Redemption and Resistance

Redemption and Resistance PDF

Author: Markus Bockmuehl

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2009-09-01

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 0567318761

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Redemption and Resistance brings together an eminent cast of contributors to provide a state-of-the-art discussion of Messianism as a topic of political and religious commitment and controversy. By surveying this motif over nearly a thousand years with the help of a focused historical and political searchlight, this volume is sure to break fresh ground. It will serve as an attractive contribution to the history of ancient Judaism and Christianity, of the complex and often problematic relationship between them, and of the conflicting loyalties their hopes for redemption created vis-à-vis a public order that was at first pagan and later Christian. Although each chapter is designed to stand on its own as an introduction to the topic at hand, the overall argument unfolds a coherent history. The first two parts, on pre-Christian Jewish and primitive Christian Messianism, set the stage by identifying two entities that in Part III are then addressed in the development of their explicit relationship in a Graeco-Roman world marked by violent persecution of Jewish and Christian hopes and loyalties. The story is then explored beyond the Constantinian turn and its abortive reversal under Julian, to the Christian Empire up to the rise of Islam.

Simon Magus

Simon Magus PDF

Author: G. R. S. Mead

Publisher: Book Tree

Published: 2003-04

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 9781585092314

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Simon Magus was originally a Christian and disciple of John the Baptist, but broke off and formed the first Christian heresy, called Simonianism. After learning magical medicine in Alexandria he was considered to have many magical skills. To this day, a skilled magician is called a "magus." He also studied Greek philosophers, especially Heraclitus, and became the first Christian to attempt to bridge Greek philosophy and Christianity. If a mixture ever occurred Church leaders feared they would become weaker over time and not survive. According to Mead, this was Simon's great heresy -- not his magic. This interesting book shows Simon Magus to have been a brilliant man who was breaking new ground, both philosophically and spiritually.

The Apostles and Simon Magus

The Apostles and Simon Magus PDF

Author: Boris Romanov

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016-04-27

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 9781532955761

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The Story about the Apostles, Pontius Pilate and Simon Magus. Great books in the genre of fiction on historical background of the events of evangelical times appear very rarely. We can recall just only "Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz, "Silver Bowl" by Thomas Costain, "Barabbas" by M. Corelli, "Judas" by T. Gedberg or the "Commission for the cause of Christ" by A. Mandino. "The Story of the Apostles ..." can be attributed to this sort of fiction - I can say this without false modesty: ) This book is a fascinating set out of the canonical Book of the New Testament "The Acts of the Apostles," - in the expanded by me version of those events of evangelical times. Let us recall that the canonical book of the New Testament, "The Acts of the Apostles" (lat. Actus Apostolorum or Acta Apostolorum) tells about the events that took place immediately after the events of the Gospel. Traditionally it is believed that its author was Luke the Evangelist (author of the third Gospel too). Acts begins with a description of the Ascension (by which ends the Gospel of Luke). "The Acts of the Apostles" is the only book of the New Testament, which has the character of historical chronicles. Among the other New Testament books, it stands also as an unusually wide geography of the action - from Jerusalem up to Rome, and with a large number of persons, many of whom certainly are historical persons and are mentioned in other historical sources. "The Story about the Apostles, Pontius Pilate and Simon Magus" - the story about the same events on behalf of the young Roman Remy Otton, who by chance has witnessed and participated in many events of that time in Jerusalem. If canonical "Acts of the Apostles" occupy a volume of about 40 pages, in the "The Story of the Apostles ..." almost 200 pages (180 in eBook format on Amazon.com). All events of "Acts of the Apostles" are set out in my book in much more detail, and, as expected in fiction, with fascinating detective story, which at the same time, I believe, does not contradict to the book of the New Testament - and at the same time it is making more understandable some mysterious pages of this canonical book of St. Luke. Many pages of my book are devoted not only to the Christian issues, but also to Zoroastrianism, the Essenes, and, in part, to Buddhism. The plot of the book is also associated with the "special service" of Pontius Pilate in Judea; one of the protagonists throughout the story - an officer of the secret service of Aphranius (the same, who was described in "Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov). At first (in 1999), my book "The Story about the Apostles, Pontius Pilate, and Simon Magus," was published by the publishing house "Art of St. Petersburg," a small circulation, and since then has not been republished. The book, I think may be of interest to anyone interested in Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism, as well as for all fans of the adventure genre *** The English edition had been divided by me into two parts for the convenience of readers. The first part of the book (Part I. Jerusalem. The Apostles and Pontius Pilate) describes the events in Jerusalem, from the Ascension of Jesus Christ (on the fortieth day after His Resurrection), and till the spring of next year. The second part (Part II. Samaria. The Apostles and Simon Magus) describes events in Samaria, including those related to Simon Magus. I apologize in advance for my very imperfect English. You can find on Amazon also the complete edition of this book in Russian under the title The Story of the Apostles, Pontius Pilate, and Simon Magus): (in Russian) (in one volume).