Telling the Christian Story Differently

Abstract

This volume is devoted to the ‘counter-readings’ of the core Christian story proposed by texts from Nag Hammadi and elsewhere. Its chapters retrace the major elements of the Christian story in sequence, showing how and why each of them was disputed on inner-Christian grounds and reflecting on the different accounts of Christian identity underlying these disputes. Contributors present material that is often difficult and little-known to contribute to ongoing efforts to integrate Nag Hammadi and related literature into the mainstream of New Testament and early Christian studies. Taken together the chapters address a central issue: towards the end of the second century, Irenaeus could claim that the overwhelming majority of Christians throughout the world were agreed on a version of the core Christian story which is still recognisable today. Yet, as Irenaeus concedes and as the Nag Hammadi texts have confirmed, there were many who wished to tell the core Christian story differently. Those who criticized and rejected the standard story did so not because they were adherents of another religion, “Gnosticism”, but because they were Christians who believed that the standard account was wrong at point after point.