Books by Samuel Zinner

An examination of the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam, especially in the areas of ontology, philosophy and metaphysics. The integration of the heritages of Plato and Aristotle in the Church and in Islam is explored deftly and densely. This book invites adherents of Christianity and Islam to understand more deeply their own respective traditions and on this basis to understand and respect 'the other'. Several chapters are devoted to a comparison between both Sunnite Sufi and Shi'ite Gnostic esoteric traditions, especially in the area of Qur'anic exegesis. This book will be equally challenging and rewarding for the serious reader.

A new translation from Coptic and Greek texts, and an in-depth study of The Gospel of Thomas, integrating philological expertise with historical synthesis, tracing and reconstructing the threads of ancient Jewish esoteric ideas stretching across the millennia in Kabbalah, Jewish-Christian (Ebionite) texts, as well as in Islamic Sufi and Shi'ite gnostic traditions. Zinner's work injects fresh and invigorating ideas into Thomas scholarship and delivers an important contribution to the field of Jewish Studies.