Jesus, Gnosis and Dogma by Riemer Roukema (review)

Riemer Roukema is well known for his work on early Christianity, especially within the study of Gnosticism. In this book, originally published in Dutch in 2007, Roukema addresses an important and sometimes underappreciated issue in historical Jesus research. Specifically, he asks whether we can fruitfully utilize non-canonical sources, in this case those typically affiliated with Gnosticism, for accurately reconstructing Jesus's teachings. Often historical Jesus research focuses only on the New Testament sources, especially the Synoptic Gospels (and more recently the Fourth Gospel), with a few notable exceptions, namely the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, and, until recently, though always with caution, the Secret Gospel of Mark. Roukema is reacting largely to a recent flurry of popular scholarship on the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of Thomas, most notably the respective work of Bart Ehrman and Elaine Pagels.

Roukema defends both the integrity of the New Testament canon for historical Jesus research and the "orthodox" theological interpretation of the New Testament texts (i.e. as articulated in the Nicene Creed). The gnostic material, according to Roukema, while useful for historical work for the second and third centuries, offers nothing useful for getting back to the authentic teachings of Jesus. Roukema begins his study by establishing a distinction between theological and historical claims. Although Roukema returns to this distinction throughout the book, his focus centres upon whether or not the non-canonical sources are of use for reconstructing the teaching of Jesus. This is done largely by setting the New Testament sources in opposition to the supposedly gnostic sources.

Roukema divides his discussion into two sections, with part 1 (chapters 1 to 5) comparing the New Testament and the gnostic portrayals of Jesus. Roukema determines that the New Testament portrait of Jesus is of a pre-existent being that was physically incarnated on earth, whereas the later sources (e.g., Gospel of Judas, Theodotus, Gospel of Thomas) build on the first-century New Testament texts by proposing elaborate cosmological, especially dualistic, Christologies. In addressing the content of Jesus's teachings, the Synoptic Gospels place emphasis upon the kingdom within an apocalyptic framework, stressing the Old Testament as an authoritative source, whereas the later non-canonical materials move beyond the New Testament evidence (e.g., from criticizing family ties to a call for a celibate life), do not positively engage the Old Testament and in general move in a "gnosticizing" direction. In assessing early Christian claims about the death and resurrection of Jesus, Roukema argues that the earliest witnesses (Paul and New Testament gospels) claim that he really did die and rise from the dead, whereas the Ophites, Tripartite Tractate, Gospel of Thomas, and other gnostic witnesses countered with a "'gnostic' view of salvation" (111). Thus, in part 1 of the book, only the New Testament sources, so it is argued, are legitimate for determining the authentic teachings of Jesus.

In part 2 (chapters 6 to 9), Roukema turns his attention to trajectories within early Christian theology. Here he sets Jewish Christianity (e.g., indicated in the Pseudo-Clementine writings and reflected in the Gospel of Matthew and Paul's letters) in opposition to catholic Christianity over adherence to the Mosaic law and the inclusion of non-Jews (chapter 6). Furthermore, Jewish antecedents for the development of a high Christology are explored in chapter 8 (e.g., Philo and the Qumran material). In returning to Gnosticism, Roukema assesses whether Jesus had a secret teaching, such as the special revelations given in the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judas (chapter 7). While the New Testament gospels do not include such secret teachings, they do contain private teachings, serving as building blocks for later developments in the non-canonical accounts. Finally, he situates the New Testament evidence within early Christian Trinitarian developments culminating with the Nicene Creed (chapter 9). Roukema recognizes differences here, including various directions taken in...