This volume offers an accessible investigation of the Naassene discourse embedded in the anonymous Refutation of All Heresies (completed about 222 CE), in order to understand the theology and ritual life of the Naassene Christian movement in the late second and early third centuries CE.
The work provides basic data on the date, genre, and provenance of the Naassene discourse as summarized by the author of the Refutation (or Refutator). It also offers an analysis of the Refutator’s sources and working methods, an analysis which allows for a full reconstruction of the original Naassene discourse. The book then turns to major aspects of Naassene Christianity: its intense engagement with Hellenic myth and “mysteries,” its biblical sources, its cosmopolitan hermeneutics, its snake symbology, as well as its distinctive approach to baptism, hymns, and celibacy. A concluding chapter outlines all we can securely reconstruct about the Naassene Christian movement in terms of its social identity and place in the larger field of early Christianity and ancient Mediterranean religions more broadly.
The Naassenes: Exploring an Early Christian Identity is suitable for students, scholars, and general readers interested in Early Christianity, Gnostic and Nag Hammadi Studies, Classics, and Ancient Philosophy, as well as hermeneutical issues like allegory and intertextuality.
Introduction: Uncovering a Mysterious Manuscript; 1. Translation of the Naassene Report; 2. A Method to the Madness; 3. A Reconstruction of the Original Discourse; 4. God and Humanity; 5. Jesus and Salvation; 6. Jesus as Attis; 7. The Truth of Hellenic Mythology; 8. The Preacher’s Library; 9. How to Read Like a Naassene; 10. The Symbol of the Snake; 11. Going to Church with the Naassenes; 12. The Hymns They Sung; 13. How to Walk Like a Naassene; Conclusion: A Profile of the Preacher and His Group.
Biography
M. David Litwa (PhD, 2013) is a scholar of ancient Mediterranean religions with a focus on the New Testament and early Christianity. He has taught courses at the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, and Virginia Tech. From 2017 to 2023, he was Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry in Melbourne, Australia. He currently works as a writer and editor for New Testament Abstracts at Boston College.
