Are these gospels “apocryphal” and/or “gnostic”?
The terms “apocryphal” and “gnostic” will not be used to describe any of the gospels mentioned here because the value of such terminology is questionable. The term “apocryphal” has an obviously pejorative meaning. A glance at any dictionary will reveal a primary meaning similar to that found at dictionary.com: “of doubtful authorship or authenticity.” The term “gnostic” is a polemical label that has been used since it was coined in the second century to condemn a wide variety of religious belief systems that failed to conform to the orthodoxy of their day. In fact, the term has been applied so broadly through the ages that it is no longer even clear to what it actually refers. Since there is ongoing debate about whether the terms “apocryphal” or “gnostic” can be redeemed for use in historical scholarship or religious contexts, neither term will be used here in describing early Christian gospels not included in the New Testament. The focus of gospels.net will remain on the texts themsel
