The people whom they called gnostics would have called themselves Christian. And they were Christians of very diverse viewpoints. I mean, we think today Christianity looks diverse.

Scholars disagree on whether Gnosticism evolved out of ancient Judaism, Christianity, or is better identified with other salvation sects from the Roman world. It may have been a set of beliefs ...

At the heart of the strangeness of Christianity, of course, is the cross of Jesus. It is surpassingly odd that the first devotees of Jesus enthusiastically held up the cross as a sign of their faith.

More on the Gnostics: Post-Belief Christianity | This summer, ”Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas,” by Elaine Pagels, spent 13 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.

The ancient Gnostic gospels received a fresh advertisement in 2003 when Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code again argued that such movements were at the center, not the margins, of Christianity.

Marvin W. Meyer, an expert on Gnosticism and ancient texts about Jesus outside the New Testament who challenged the traditional portrayal of Judas Iscariot as the ultimate biblical villain, has died.