Changes

Nonetheless, certain Gnostic texts do mention Jesus in the context of his earthly existence, and some scholars have, with great caution, sought to glean certain bits of information about Jesus from them.<ref>James M. Robinson, ed., ''The Nag Hammadi Library in English'' (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1977) and especially his essay in Hedrick and Hodgson, ''Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, and Early Christianity'' (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1986); R. E. Brown, "The Christians Who Lost Out" in ''The New York Times Book Review'', 20 January 1980 p. 3; Koester in Robinson, ''Nag Hammadi in English'', vol. 2 pp. 4, 47, 68, 150-154, 180.</ref>  The relevance for us in not so much the conclusions of these scholars, but the fact that, in a minimal and contingent way, they help dispel the notion that Jesus never existed as a historical figure.  Examples of such texts include the ''Gospel of Truth'', ''Treatise on Resurrection'', and the ''Apocryphon of John'', the latter of which opens with the following:

Nonetheless, certain Gnostic texts do mention Jesus in the context of his earthly existence, and some scholars have, with great caution, sought to glean certain bits of information about Jesus from them.<ref>James M. Robinson, ed., ''The Nag Hammadi Library in English'' (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1977) and especially his essay in Hedrick and Hodgson, ''Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, and Early Christianity'' (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1986); R. E. Brown, "The Christians Who Lost Out" in ''The New York Times Book Review'', 20 January 1980 p. 3; Koester in Robinson, ''Nag Hammadi in English'', vol. 2 pp. 4, 47, 68, 150-154, 180.</ref>  The relevance for us in not so much the conclusions of these scholars, but the fact that, in a minimal and contingent way, they help dispel the notion that Jesus never existed as a historical figure.  Examples of such texts include the ''Gospel of Truth'', ''Treatise on Resurrection'', and the ''Apocryphon of John'', the latter of which opens with the following:

: ''It happened one day when John, the brother of James – who are sons of Zebedee – went up and came to the temple, that a Pharisee named Arimanius approached him and said to him: "Where is your master whom you followed?"  And he said to them: "He has gone to the place from which he came."  The Pharisee said to him: "This Nazarene deceived you all with deception and filled your ears with lies and closed your hearts and turned you from the traditions of your fathers."<ref>''Apocryphon of John'' 1:5-17</ref>

: ''It happened one day when John, the brother of James – who are sons of Zebedee – went up and came to the temple, that a Pharisee named Arimanius approached him and said to him: "Where is your master whom you followed?"  And he said to them: "He has gone to the place from which he came."  The Pharisee said to him: "This Nazarene deceived you all with deception and filled your ears with lies and closed your hearts and turned you from the traditions of your fathers."''<ref>''Apocryphon of John'' 1:5-17</ref>

=== Greco-Roman Sources ===

=== Greco-Roman Sources ===