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Nag Hammadi papyri, The

Collection of more than forty Gnostic documents, unearthed in the mid-1940s near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt. According to The Da Vinci Code, these are "the earliest Christian records. Troublingly, they do not match up with the gospels in the Bible" (245-46).

The Nag Hammadi documents do not "match up with the gospels in the Bible"-that much is true. The documents found at Nag Hammadi are not, however, "the earliest Christian records." The documents in the New Testament were written between AD 40 and 100. Most of the texts at Nag Hammadi were copied between the third and fifth centuries AD. In fact, the oldest document at Nag Hammadi is probably Gospel of Thomas, which seems to have been written around AD 140-nearly a half-century later than the latest New Testament text!

Because so much of Dan Brown's argument in The Da Vinci Code hinges on the dates and contents of these texts, we've included a complete listing of the Nag Hammadi documents, with a summary of the contents and the approximate date of each document's original composition.

JAMES L. GARLOW Document	*Approximate Date of Composition*	*Summary of Contents*
Acts of Peter and the Twelve	AD 150-250	Tale of a pearl merchant who turns out to be Jesus; not to be confused with the Christian writing Acts of Peter from the late second century
Allogenes	AD 300-350	Refers to Gnostics as members of the race of Seth (allogenes means "from another race")
Apocalypse of Adam	AD 160-300	Adam tells Seth how he and Eve became more powerful than their Creator, never explicitly mentions any Christian themes or characters
Apocalypse of James 1	AD 200-300	Supposed dialogue between Jesus and James the brother of Jesus
Apocalypse of James 2	AD 150-180	Supposed dialogue between Jesus and James the brother of Jesus, ending with James' martyrdom
Apocryphon of James	AD 140-160	Mildly Gnostic letter, claiming to come from James the brother of Jesus
Apocryphon of John	AD 160-200	Presents the deity of the Old Testament and creator of the physical world as an evil demigod

*Document*	*Approximate Date of Composition*	*Summary of Contents*
Asclepius	Uncertain	Greek philosophicaltractate
Authoritative Teaching	AD 150-200	Gnostic tractate, urging people to avoid physical pleasures
Book of Thomas the Contender	AD 150-225	Supposed"secret words" spoken by Jesus to Thomas and recorded by Matthias; perhaps connected to the Gospel of Matthias
Concept of Our Great Power	AD 300-390	Gnostic description of salvation and of the end of the world
Coptic Apocalypse of Paul	AD 160-260, perhaps	Describes Paul's supposed ascension through several levels of heaven
Coptic Apocalypse of Peter	AD 250-300	Describes Jesus as if he possessed no physical body
Coptic Gospel of the Egypttians	AD 200-300	Presents Jesus as the rein carnation of Seth, third son of Adam and Eve
Dialogue of the Savior	AD 150-200	Found only in fragments, which present a consistently negative view of sexuality and of women
Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth	AD 150-200	Guide for Gnostics to experience the mystical realm
Epistle of Peter to Philip	AD 180-220	Supposed letter, followed by a Gnostic discourse concerning the nature of Jesus Christ

JAMES L. GARLOW Document	*Approximate Date of Composition*	*Summary of Contents*
Eugnostos the Blessed	Uncertain	Presentation of Gnostic cosmology; some elements may be pre-Christian
Exegesis on the Soul	AD 200-250	Short story, recounting the Gnostic myth of the soul's fall from heaven
Gospel of Philip	AD 160-300	Collection of Gnostic sayings from several previous writings, apparently reflecting the teachings of Valentinus
Gospel of Thomas	AD 130-150	List of supposed sayings of Jesus
Gospel of Truth	AD 250-350	Gnostic reworking of the Creation and of the ministry of Jesus
Hypostatis of the Archons	AD 250-350	Mythological presentation of Gnostic cosmology
Hypsiphrone	Uncertain	Fragments of text describe the descent of a heavenly figure similar to Sophia
Interpretation of Knowledge	AD 160-200	Valentinian reinterpretation of the teachings of Jesus and Paul
Marsanes	AD 200-300	Descriptions of Gnostic experience and rituals
Melchizedek	AD 200-300	Fragments of text seem to provide a Gnostic reinterpretation of the Old Testament account of Melchizedek
Origin of the World	AD 290-330	Presentation of Gnostic theology

*Document*	*Approximate Date of Composition*	*Summary of Contents*
Paraphrase of Shem	Uncertain	Fragments, presenting a negative view of sexuality
Prayer of Thanksgiving	AD 150-250	Brief prayer of gratitude for having received gnosis
Prayer of the Apostle Paul	AD 160-300	Brief prayer with similarities to Three Steles of Seth and Gospel of Philip
Republic (Plato)	Uncertain	Gnostic adaptation of the philosopher Plato's classic work
Sentences of Sextus	Uncertain	List of wise sayings
Sophia of Jesus Christ	Uncertain, some portions may stem from the late first or early second centuries	List of supposed questions from the apostles, to which Jesus provides Gnostic answers; probably an adaptation of Eugnostos
Teachings of Silvanus	AD 160-220	Unlike other Nag Hammadi documents, not a Gnostic text; emphasizes spiritual growth through self-denial
Testimony of Truth	AD 180-220	Polemic against competing Gnostic groups
Thought of Norea	AD 180-240	Depicts a feminine savior, apparently the counterpart of the biblical figure Seth
Three Steles of Seth	AD 220-260	Includes many Gnostic hymns and prayers

JAMES L. GARLOW Document	*Approximate Date of Composition*	*Summary of Contents*
Thunder, Perfect Mind	Uncertain	A divine female figure,"Thunder," sings hymns about herself; not clearly Gnostic, Jewish, or Christian in origin
Treatise of the Great Seth	Uncertain	Supposedly the words of Jesus to a group of Gnostic believers; Simon of Cyrene is crucified instead of Jesus
Treatise on the Resurrection	AD 180-200	Brief letter denying the future physical resurrection of believers
Trimorphic Protennoia	AD 160-200	Description of the descent of"the First Thought" of God into the world
Tripartite Tractate	AD 200-250	Gnostic description of salvation history and cosmology
Valentinian Exposition on Baptism, Anointing, and the Eucharist	AD 150-180	Gnostic reinterpretations of Chrisian rituals
Zostrianos	AD 260-300	Description of Gnostic cosmology

See also Apocryphon of John; Bible; canon; Coptic Apocalypse of Paul; Coptic Apocalypse of Peter; Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians; Dialogue of the Savior; Gnosticism; Gospel of Philip; Gospel of Thomas; Gospel of Truth; Gospels, canonical.

Printed with permission from Bethany House Publishers, South Bloomington, Minnesota from the book "The Da Vinci Codebreaker : an easy-to-use fact checker for truth seekers" by James L. Garlow.