Gerd Ludemann

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  Heretics : The Other Side Of Early Christianity

  $35.99

  According to the official view, held for almost two thousand years, early Christianity was marked by great harmony, and heresy only emerged at a later stage. This book, written in nontechnical language for interested non-theologians, argues that such a picture is wishful thinking.
  Using all available sources, including newly-discovered Gnostic texts, Professor Luedemann argues that in many areas, ‘heresy’ in fact preceded ‘orthodoxy’ and was later forcibly replaced by it. The controversies shed an interesting light on the human character and concerns of the first Christians, who were occupied not only with right belief but also with power. The first chapter investigates the positions of Christians in Jerusalem in the first two centuries, since they were the ones who in fact introduced the concept of heresy into the church, and pays particular attention to the revision of the portrait of Paul and his theology. Then it goes on to the dramatic events around Marcion and his approach to a scriptural canon. Thirdly, it examines the conflicts underlying the Johannine writings, the formation of the Apostles’ Creed and the formation of the New Testament canon.
  Professor Luedemann argues that his findings have important and liberating consequences for the understanding of both Christianity and the Bible.

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  Unholy In Holy Scripture

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  The Bible is the most widely read and translated book in the world, and its influence is immeasurable. Nonetheless, according to Gerd Ludemann, its use by Christians is highly selective. Ludemann asks, what about those parts of the Bible that contain God’s command to exterminate entire peoples or those texts which demonize other faiths? He focuses first on the practice of Holy War and then on the anti-Judaism of New Testament writings. He also tackles the question of how, given this destructive side of Scripture, we can continue to be Christians. In response, he points to the person of Jesus and his example.

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  Heretics : The Other Side Of Early Christianity

  $55.00

  According to the commonly held view, early Christianity was a time of great harmony, and heresy emerged only at a later stage. To the contrary, Gerd Ludemann argues that the time from the first Christian communities to the end of the second century was defined by struggle by various groups for doctrinal authority. Drawing on a wealth of data, he asserts that the losers in this struggle actually represented Christianity in its more authentic, original form. Orthodoxy has been defined by the victors in this struggle and it is they who subsequently silenced alternative views and labeled them heretical. Ludemann’s findings are important as well as liberating for the understanding of both Christianity and the Bible. Readers will gain a new understanding of Jesus and the early church from this compelling and controversial book.

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