Sethians or "Gnostics"?

Abstract

This thesis has three goals. First, it means to establish a definition for Sethianism, not just as a corpus of texts, but also as a functioning group during early Christianity (ca 35-325 CE). Second, it shows that the ideas held by the Sethians, first recorded in the Apocryphon of John (ApJn), spread throughout early Christianity, and were adapted by other “Gnostic” groups to fit their own beliefs. While these ideas primarily circulated orally, there is some small evidence to show that the text of ApJn was also circulating in some fashion at least during the late second century. Beyond that circulation, there is no reason to suspect nor evidence to support that there was a textual tradition that can be mapped out. Third, it examines the state of “Gnosticism” by the end of the early Christian period by examining the identities and boundaries of the groups under the “Gnostic” umbrella. With these goals, this thesis enters the fray of what to do with the term “Gnosticism” in the field of Early Christian studies, both as a designator for groups in early Christianity and the rhetorical space that it has occupied within scholarly and popular spheres and will briefly address that discussion as a result.