Another thing to keep in mind as you read this study is that the early church fathers regarded anything the Hebrew wrote as "heresies" and called many of the Jews "gnostics"; however, it is quite clear from the writings of Shaul (Paul), from Yahshua himself, and from the apostolic letters (called the "general epistles", the ones written in Hebrew and were disputed by the church fathers) that "gnosticism" was a prevalent religious concept in both Judaism and the Primitive Congregation of Yahshua. These "gnostics" (any first century Jew writing in the Hebrew language about the concept of "good and evil") were considered heretical. The reason for this is that the latter "church" (from 70 C.E. onward) was steeped in Babylonian mysticism due to so many of its members being former pagans who promulgated the "savior god" or the "man-god" of the Babylonian and Egyptian pantheons.



It is also clear that the earliest list of books written about Yahshua was recorded by Marcion (who was sharply criticized and called a "heretic"). There were many other lists that were developed prior to the canonization of the "New Covenant", the books on which were generally circulated among the earliest messianic believers in Yahshua. For instance, the Gospel of Peter, criticized and labeled today as "gnostic" was read regularly in the earliest assemblies.
[link to www.earlychristianwritings.com]