GnosticsFrom TinWiki.orgGnostics are people that belonged to a syncretic religious tradition called Gnosticism. The term derives from "gnosis," which means "knowledge" in Greek. Gnostics placed great value on secret and esoteric spiritual knowledge.
[edit] TraditionsBriefly, Gnosticism's system of thought maintains that the material world is a prison created by an evil or imperfect deity known as the Demiurge, frequently identified with the god of the Old Testament, who exists apart from the true realm of the God of absolute good (variously identified as the One, the Father, or even Anthropos). Humans were seen as divine sparks who had become trapped in this delusive world and ignorant of their true origin in the realm of the good God (the Pleroma). Gnostic traditions usually placed material evil and divine good in opposition to one another, but recognized that this material evil was a part of existence which came about through a cosmic error in the initial process of emanation from the One. Some, perhaps wishing to harmonize their beliefs with John's gospel, interpreted the line "through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made" (John 1:3 ISV) line as meaning that the "nothing" that had been made was the material world, which was, after all, nothing. There is certainly a Buddhist parallel here. While there was no belief in an immediate end of the world, it was presumed that the Demiurge's false kingdom would eventually come crashing down and all divine sparks would be drawn back to the Pleroma. Jesus Christ was identified by Christian Gnostics as a being who came to bring gnosis to the world. In contrast with Pauline doctrine, the suffering and crucifixion was rarely held by the Gnostics as an especially important event. Most held that while Jesus seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, he was in reality a pure and incorporeal spirit, and hence could not physically die. In particular, the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter presented "the living Jesus" as "glad and laughing" during the crucifixion, while only "his fleshly part" was crucified. Basilides went so far as to teach that Simon of Cyrene had been crucified in his place, and to believe otherwise was to still be under the influence of the Demiurge. A unique aspect of the Gnostic mythos, and one that invited ridicule from both Christian and Pagan opponents, was that vain and tyrannical Archons, impostor gods who created humanity as a slave race, covertly rule the world and work to lead humanity astray and keep it imprisoned within the realm of matter. According to Epiphanius, this was because "the soul is the food of the Rulers and powers without which they cannot live, because she is of the dew from above and gives them strength." As proof of the resiliency of Gnostic thought, some have tried to connect these ideas to the custodial extraterrestrials of such modern authors William Bramley, Zecharia Sitchin or David Icke. In addition, The Matrix has often been described as a Gnostic film. [edit] Interpretation of GenesisAt the beginning of creation, the One emanated a series of Æons in the form of divine syzygies, which inhabit the region of light, the Pleroma. These Æons ambiguously referred to periods of time, realms of being, and intelligences at work in the universe. After creation had progressed, usually after thirty or so Æons, the Æon of Sophia had the passionate desire to emanate without her consort, and this passion immediately took the form of the material universe. Some anonymous contributor of Wikipedia notes that this has a interesting, if implausible, parallels in the world of physics: This mechanism can be an allegorical representation of violation of CP symmetry, required to create a universe of matter, by facilitating particles to win over antiparticles. CP symmetry requires emanation of equal amount of matter and antimatter which obviously has been violated somehow in the beginning of the universe; otherwise we would not have a material universe. Æons may denote this conjugation of particles-antiparticles produced in equal number. Somehow the perfect symmetry of Pleroma gets violated and a particle or a number of particles ensued ... which ultimately led to the creation of our physical universe. Bishop Irenaeus, writing in Adversus Haereses, gives this account of Sophia's passion: From [her desire of] returning [to him who gave her life], every soul belonging to this world, and that of the Demiurge himself, derived its origin. All other things owed their beginning to her terror and sorrow. For from her tears all that is of a liquid nature was formed; from her smile all that is lucent; and from her grief and perplexity all the corporeal elements of the world. From the material world arises the Demiurge — a serpent with the head of a lion — who has three names: Yaldabaoth, Samael ("Poison of God," or "Blind God"), or Saklas ("fool"). Sophia, alarmed at this development, casts her creation away "like an aborted fetus," and, in order to hide the evil in it, casts a "delusive veil" separating it from the world above. And here begins the Gnostic interpretation of the book of Genesis. The Demiurge creates this world as a crude imitation of the world of the Pleroma, with seven heaven worlds and five hell worlds over which he rules with his minions. Wishing to trap the light from above, the Demiurge works with these minions to create Adam and Eve as slaves.
In events that parallel the Book of Enoch, the Demiurge then sends his minions into the world to beget Nephilim with the "daughters of men," and to teach them about metallurgy (perhaps an allusion to alchemy). And so, it is said, all of creation was misled and enslaved, from "the foundation of the world until now." [edit] OriginsThe exact origins of Gnosticism are unknown. There are many different traditions that have been passed along through history in many different religious contexts, and in the modern era, these ideas are collectively referred to as "Gnostic." It is important to note that while the Gnostics freely appropriated from other religious traditions, it was always in the service of a particular worldview of alienation distinct from those that preceded it. In fact, they proudly proclaimed that only they had properly discovered the truth, with all predecessors falling short of the full understanding. As the forgotten writer of On the Origin of the World declares, "seeing that everybody, gods of the world and mankind, says that nothing existed prior to chaos, I, in distinction to them, shall demonstrate that they are all mistaken." From the distinctive character of much of its mythology, it is probable that Gnosticism was first and foremost a movement that emerged in Jewish circles. The successive Æons of Gnostic creation are closely mirrored in the thirty-two ways of wisdom by which God produced the universe in the Kabbalah, and were said to represent in their totality the archetypal man, which was termed by the Gnostics Anthropos. Many antecedents can be found in the Greco-Roman Mystery religions, which have been claimed to have more than a passing resemblance to Christianity itself. The earliest forms of Gnosticism may also stem from the Persian religions and especially Mithraism, where the dualistic nature of the universe figures prominently. Ahriman, there, is the 'evil god' of the material world, but is himself subjected to the supreme being, called Ahura Mazda, largely described as consisting of pure heavenly light. The Leontocephaline, a monstrosity with a man's body and lion's head that figures prominently in the cult of Mithra, is, in at least one instance, associated with Ahriman, and the same imagery is used to describe the Demiurge. Other aspects are concerned with the transit of the soul through the universe, entering through one heavenly ladder, residing in the body, and then, upon death, exiting through another heavenly ladder. Neoplatonic and Hermetic ideas on the creation of the universe and transmigration of the soul are also echoed strongly in the Gnostic mythos, and works by Plato and Hermes Trismegistus were found in the Nag Hammadi Library. [edit] Secret societiesThe Muwahhidun of the Levant, also called the Druze, seem to have Neoplatonic aspects to their religion, however this is difficult to know for certain as their religion is kept a closely guarded secret. In one of their legends, they claim to have been founded by a Sheik from Egypt. Egypt figures prominently in the history of Christian Gnosticism, with figures such as Valentinus and Basilides establishing their first schools in Alexandria. One particular legend of the Rosicrucians states that the order was in fact founded in the year 46, when an Alexandrian Gnostic sage named Ormus and his six followers were converted by one of Jesus' disciples, Mark. From this conversion, Rosicrucianism was born by fusing early Christianity with the Egyptian mysteries. The Mandaeans, a Gnostic sect that revered John the Baptist, may have come into contact with the Knights Templar and informed many of their beliefs. According to the Clementine Homilies, Simon Magus (and not Jesus) was chosen as the true successor to John the Baptist. After the beheading of John, Simon took his followers and founded one of the first Gnostic sects, the Simonians. This information formed the basis of the book The Templar Revelation. A continuing source of speculation is the relationship between Gnosticism and Freemasonry, which share many superficial aspects, if not its overt antagonism to the Demiurge. Edith Starr Miller boldly declared in Occult Theocrasy, despite little evidence and no understanding of their beliefs, that every modern conspiracy and secret society, including the Illuminati, had its direct origins in Gnosticism and the worship of Lucifer. [edit] AlchemyThe languages of Gnosticism and Alchemy have always been inextricably linked, bound as they both were with the common Hermetic tradition, and Carl Jung saw in Alchemy the vehicle by which Gnosticism seamlessly concealed itself following the rise of Constantine. As clear evidence of this, one of the earliest historical alchemists, who wrote copious volumes about the art and his own mystical visions, was a Gnostic named Zosimos of Panopolis (ca. 300 AD). [edit] Controversy with ChristianityThe Gnostics emphasized that in order to free oneself from the cycle of death and rebirth in the inferior material world and evade its rulers, one needed esoteric spiritual knowledge available through a process of initiation and direct experience of the Divine. They typically held fierce anticlerical beliefs and encouraged free exchange of ideas, which often led to disagreements and the proliferation of different sects. All of these ideas were considered dangerous and heretical by an emerging Catholic Church that wished to consolidate its power in a single dogma, and dedicated much of its time in the first four centuries AD to fighting it. Some firmly believe that there is a grand conspiracy that involves the Catholic Church suppressing secret knowledge about the true life and teachings of Jesus Christ and various other Church figures. These alleged conspiracies are fuel to such works as Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and Michael Baigent's "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." The Gnostic texts give room for debates such as whether or not there truly is a grand Christian conspiracy. [edit] SuccessionMany Gnostic sects claimed, at least, to have legitimate apostolic succession.
[edit] Gospel of PhilipThe Gospel of Philip has led to speculation that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married: And the companion of [the saviour was] Mary Magdalene. [Christ loved] her more than [all] the disciples, [and used to] kiss her [often] on her [mouth? face? cheek? head?]. The rest of [the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval]. They said to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Saviour answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness. [edit] Gospel of JudasAccording to New Testament canon, Judas of Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ to the Jewish authorities. These authorities then handed Jesus to the Romans who had him crucified. The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic text and interprets this act of betrayal positively. In this text, this act was performed in obedience to the instructions of Jesus Christ, rather than as a betrayal. This positive portrayal follows the Gnostic notion that the human body is a prison--with this in mind, Judas helped to release the spirit of Christ from its physical constraints. It is said that only Judas properly understood Christ's true mission and the necessity of fulfilling the mystery of the crucifixion, and for his obedience he is given a secret revelation about the divine realm. [edit] TextsThe various texts of the Gnostics were primarily written during the first three centuries of Christianity. The following is a brief list of key Gnostic texts:
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