Christian Gnosis: Christian Religious Philosophy in Its Historical Development

Ferdinand ChristianBaur''s Die Christliche Gnosis, first published in 1835, is considered bymany to be the most important book on Gnosticism published in the nineteenthcentury and is a pivotal work within Baur''s canon. Baur''s unique thesis of alink between ancient and modern religious philosophy, as well as his conceptionof Gnosticism - developed through dialogues with his predecessors andcontemporaries - consolidate Christian Gnosis as an importantcontribution to Christian theology.

In this seminalwork, written over a hundred years before the manuscript discovery at NagHammadi, Baur classifies the gnostic systems in terms of how they conceive therelationship of Christianity to Judaism and paganism, describing them indetail. He then goes on to describe the criticism of and reaction to gnosis inchurch history, before contending with the modern religious philosophy of histime, discussing Boehme, Schelling, Schleiermacher and Hegel. ChristianGnosis is Baur''s first great religio-historical study, and Robert Brown''smasterful translation ensures the work is as impactful today as it was on itsfirst publication.