Project Gutenberg 2023-09-14 Public domain in the USA. 491 Legge, Francis 1853 1922 Legge, F. (Francis) Legge, George Francis Forerunners and rivals of Christianity : $b being studies in religious history from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (of 2) $aCambridge :$bUniversity Press, $c1915. Post-Christian Gnostics -- Post-Christian Gnostics: the Ophites -- Post-Christian Gnostics: Valentinus -- The system of the Pistis Sophia and its related texts -- Marcion -- The worship of Mithras -- Manes and the Manichaeism -- Conclusion. Wouter Franssen, David King, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.) "Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity: Being Studies in Religious History" by F. Legge is a historical account written in the early 20th century. This work examines the various religious movements and sects that existed in the centuries leading up to the rise of Christianity, focusing especially on Gnosticism and its interaction with early Christian thought. The text delves into the merging ideas and beliefs that influenced early Christianity, providing context for the emergence of what would become orthodox Christian doctrine. The opening of the book sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of post-Christian Gnostic sects, establishing that many early Christians were preoccupied with their faith during the Apostolic age, believing in an imminent divine intervention. Legge discusses how a shift in beliefs occurred by the end of the first century, as the sense of urgency diminished, prompting some converts to seek a blend between Christian tenets and existing Hellenistic religions. He details the evolution of various Gnostic sects, such as the Ophites and others, and emphasizes their complex relationships with both Judaism and early Christianity, illustrating how these heretical sects were influenced by and contributed to the broader religious landscape of the time. (This is an automatically generated summary.) https://archive.org/details/forerunnersrival02legguoft 20210410005034legge 1915 GB Reading ease score: 72.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Christianity and other religions Religions BR Text Category: History - Religious 1991076 2025-07-28T10:30:50.555959 text/html 1878423 2023-09-14T13:11:01 text/html 830073 2025-07-28T10:31:30.421718 application/epub+zip 853444 2025-07-28T10:30:58.898871 application/epub+zip 708894 2025-07-28T10:30:54.433916 application/epub+zip 1476426 2025-07-28T10:31:50.084634 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1168525 2025-07-28T10:31:25.715778 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1253161 2025-07-28T10:30:43.644984 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1253166 2023-09-14T13:11:01 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17063 2025-07-28T10:31:50.310671 application/rdf+xml 11422 2025-07-28T10:30:55.228903 image/jpeg 2438 2025-07-28T10:30:54.768926 image/jpeg 719280 2023-09-14T13:11:01 application/octet-stream application/zip 780341 2025-07-28T10:30:50.680966 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog