Synopsis
"Lord, tell us about the works these souls must do, the ones who labor, the little ones. When they depart, where will they go?"
Jesus answers questions about cosmic origins, the soul, and how to escape the material world
What this edition gives you
- The complete text in clear modern English. Nothing abridged, nothing summarized, nothing skipped.
- Essential Background, a short course that opens the book: who wrote it, when, what the first readers already knew, and why it matters.
- Inline explainers throughout, set beside the passage that needs them, so you never leave the text to hunt for a footnote.
6 kinds of explainer, each labeled so you know what you are getting
- Gnostic Concepts. Decodes the theological and cosmological vocabulary specific to Gnostic Ch.
- Who Wrote This?. Authorship, dating and what the title signals.
- Biblical Connections. Marks places where the Dialogue echoes, reframes, or engages canonical mat.
- Historical Context. Situates specific passages and choices within second-century Christianity.
- Textual Notes. Marks damaged passages, reconstructed text, and places where scholarly int.
- Why It Was Rejected. Explains why orthodox Christianity excluded this text, applied once at the.
Built to be skippable. Already know this one? Keep reading.
Who this is for
Readers who want the primary text rather than a summary of it, and who would rather have the background arrive where it is needed than go looking for it. Students of early Christianity, and anyone who has picked up a bare public domain reprint and found it impenetrable without help.
The whole text, and enough context to actually read it.
Part of the Clear Text Explainer Series from Clear Text Editions: Classic works. Clear words.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.