Christian Identity in the Gospel of Philip

In this book Minna Heimola reads the Gospel of Philip employing both traditional exegetical methods and new social scientific insights. The author reads the Gospel of Philip as a theologically coherent Valentinian Christian text, rooting the Valentinian Christianity among the early Christianities: the Gospel of Philip has close affinities both with other Valentinian texts and with Pauline theology and the Syrian Thomasine literature. The correct interpretations on the virginal conception and the resurrection are particularly important to the composer of the text. The Gospel of Philip also includes some interesting implications about the Christian school setting, comparable to the philosophical schools in antiquity.