Lecture #7: Gnosticism

COURSE: New Testament

Lecture #7: Gnosticism

• During the first century of the Christian Era (CE), the church carried on a running battle with groups within and outside the church organization who claimed they possessed superior knowledge of God and his purposes.
  
  
• In the 2nd cent CE they became known as Gnostics, i.e., “those in the know”
  
  
• There is no information as to where these groups originated, whether the beginnings were among Jews or Pagans
• There is no question that Gnosticism was influenced by pagan religious and philosophical developments.
  
  
• Both Jewish and Christian organizations had gnostic groups opposing them and they were considered heretical by both.
• The church combated it as a dangerous heresy.
  
  
• A simple definition would be that Gnosticism is "A dualistic-mythological religion of redemption through revelation and knowledge."
• such religious ideas were already widespread in the pre-Christian era.
  
  
• what is distinctive about Gnosticism in it fully developed form however is:
• that it considers the supreme God to be utterly removed from the world and in no way responsible for its creation, which was accomplished by fallen angels or by one of a series of emanations from the supreme God (platonic)
• it believes that man's original being was purely spiritual but that the fall of man resulted in his imprisonment in a material body from which he required a redemptive agent to release hem
• finally, only through the possession of this spiritual knowledge--which is not the same as either rational or empirical modes of cognition--can man liberate himself from this alien world and return to the realm of his origin
  
  
• Gnosticism express severe disillusionment with life in this world and is made up of dualisms:

light/dark; flesh/spirit; soul/body; God/world, etc.

• There were many mythological systems, as many as there were groups, and they varied widely in their ethical norms, ranging from ascetic to libertine
• One thing most had in common was a belief that there were three different kinds of humans, and not all were capable of reaching the knowledge needed to be free of this world.
  
  
• Basically, these were

Hylikos--these were those who were carnal, fleshy and had no hope of salvation

Psykikos are those who are so mired in this world that they don’t pay attention to the spiritual side. They can be saved but have to really work on it.

Pneumatikos meaning spiritual, these were the persons who could be saved through knowledge, in fact are saved, all they have to do is wake up and realize it.

• It was not till Christianity that the idea of a heavenly revealer who came to help man developed, this for the Christian gnostic groups, was Jesus, who was seen as the one who was emissary from the good but hidden God sent to rescue men of spiritual character by revealing secret knowledge.
• There were many gospels written showing Jesus as that revealer.

We will discuss a few of them later.

• Gnosticism became the single most threatening thought system to contest orthodox Christianity there is evidence of this conflict in many of the later New Testament books, particularly John, Colossians, Colossians, the pastorals, I II and III John as well as Jude and II Peter,
  
  
• Though Paul was not a Gnostic the Gnostics were able to use much in his teaching to support their views.

For example, I Corinthians 2:7 had the idea of "a secret and hidden wisdom of God."

In other words. s good part of the New Testament: Fighting this heresy" of Gnosticism.

• Docetism was the first heresy involved with Gnosticism that the church had to contend with.
• This means "to appear" and the idea was that Jesus only appeared to be human and to die on the cross, have a human nature, etc. But in actuality he was not human
• This was based on the Crack Ides that a divine person could not be human. you were either one or the other not both.
• the later creeds are written to affirm that Jesus was both God and Man over against this idea
  
  
• Until quite recently the only evidence available on Gnosticism was the writings against them by the 2nd century church fathers, chiefly Irenaeus.
• He was bishop of Lyons, France beginning in the middle of the 2nd cent CE and wrote work called Refutation and Overthrow of Gnosis Falsely So-Called it is commonly known as Against Heresies
• He quotes at length from gnostic writings to refute their claims by appeal to scripture and church tradition.
  
  
• The divine process as seen by the Gnostics was one in which the lesser deities made unwitting errors, or in which their offspring became filled with pride and sought to usurp the powers of their betters.
• man was a divided being, imprisoned in the world of matter and yet with his ultimate source of being with the supreme deity, who was free of involvement in the creation, dwelling in eternal light.

Nag Hammadi Writings

• In 1945 in upper Egypt at Nag Hammadi a large clay jar containing a number of manuscripts was found.
• It was nearly a decade before they were available for scholarly study but it turned out to be part of a library of works, written in Coptic, which had once belonged to a church or monastery, whose ruins were nearby.
• There were about 50 different treatises, some known only by title and some from the church fathers' quotations.
• Most important there were complete manuscripts of many of them, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Truth, etc.
  
  
• They describe the ministry of Jesus as culminating at his crucifixion but otherwise there are no activities of Jesus depicted at all, only his sayings.
• These do parallel many of the sayings in our N. T. gospels and at some points may preserve an older form of the sayings of Jesus than those found in the gospels as we know them.
  
  
• The Gospel of Thomas confirms, for example, that the Gnostics were exclusively interested in what Jesus said, not his activity.
• By the middle of the 2nd century (about 150 CE) the Gnostics had transformed this view of Jesus into one that portrayed him as essentially the supreme manifestation of divine wisdom or Sophia, rather than as a historical person.
• this does indicate that Gnosticism arose as an organized movement
  
  
• A major ingredient in the development of Gnostic thought seems to have been the Jewish apocalyptic writings.
• These were used for names of demons and angels and elaborate descriptions of the celestial regions (Enoch)
• This dualistic way of looking at the world as has been said, came into Jewish apocalyptic through Persian influence, but the gnostic movement itself seems to have developed from Jewish and Christian sources,
  
  
• A good explanation for the emergence of this new framework in which Gnosticism placed old material. is the failure of the hope and expectation of both Jews and Christians that God was very soon going to establish a New Age.
• Instead of locating the fulfillment of this hope in the Future Age it was now envisioned as occurring in another sphere of existence in a timeless present.
• Instead of taking place on the plane of world history, the redemption was seen as happening in cosmic history. or perhaps in the realm of man's own personal history as an inner experience.
  
  
• In fact, the fruitfulness of the gnostic perspectives for providing humans with an understanding of themselves is evident even today in the interest of existentialist philosophers and theologians, as well. as depth psychologists.
• in fact The Gospel of Truth, one of the most important of the manuscripts found, was purchased by was purchased by the Jung institute and renamed the "Jung Codex"

Marcion

• Was the first major figure associated with Gnosticism.
• He converted to Christianity in Rome but under a Roman Gnostic, Cerdo, he began to develop a gnostic Christianity.
• He was excommunicated from the Roman church in 144 CE.
• He set up a church of his own and compiled a canon of Christian literature which accepted only the Gospel of Luke and 10 Pauline epistles, which he edited to meet his own gnostic standards.
• In fact during this time period many gospels and epistles appeared which go to make up the N. T. apocrypha.
• Marcion established his new church in part as a protest against the growing legalism in the church.
• Church manuals such as the Didache, the writings of Hermas and the Apostolic fathers (to be discussed in the last lecture) tried to work out practical ways to live the Christian life.
• fasting on Wednesday and Fridays, prayer, almsgiving, penance as well as repentance necessary for forgiveness of sins.

• Valentinus

• Valentinus was the most influential Gnostic teacher.
• He came from Egypt to Rome between 140-160 CE
• Most of his writings have been lost but the original draft of the Gospel of Truth may well have been his.
• Tertellun says that Valentinus fully expected to become leader of the church at Rome, but he subsequently separated from it and taught independently.
• His followers claimed that Valentinus' teacher was Theudas, a disciple of Paul who, they said, received the apostles' secret teaching.
• They saw themselves as the transmitters of wisdom and as the 'elect few' among a larger circle of Christians whom they termed "the many".
• It is these followers of Valentinus who developed the concept of the divisions of humans into carnal, soulish and spiritual.
• His teachings persisted in various Christian communities through the 4th century, but it is difficult to trace beyond that time. Gnosticism threatened to distort the meaning of the Christian faith, so the church responded by solidifying doctrine and organization.
• In response to Marcion's canon, the church in 180 developed the Muratorian Canon and is pretty close to what we have now, though it wasn't confirmed till 393 CE.
• Also, a creedal statement, the Apostles Creed was drawn up in an attempt to state in formal language the content and import of the faith.
  
  
• In response to Gnosticism, the organization of the church was into an ecclesiastical institution, with apostolic succession and bishops deciding what was orthodox.
• Christianity had to define its basic ideas and achieve some kind of uniformity with respect to Gnosticism or it probably would not have survived, at least not as a powerful cultural force.
• between 160 and 190 the church developed marked catholic characteristics.
• The church repelled the gnostic danger, but it changed itself considerably in the process.

Gnostic Gospels

• Describing an incident alleged to have taken place after the Resurrection, the Pistis Sophia introduces Philip, Thomas and Matthew as the writers of all Jesus spoke and did.

"Hear, Philip, thou blessed one, that I may speak with thee, for you and Thomas and Matthew are they to whom the charge is given by the first mystery, to write down all the things which I shall say and do, and all the things which ye shall see. But so far as thou art concerned, the number of the things which thou shalt write is not yet complete; … “

• Jesus is using the idea, shown in the next chapter, from Deuteronomy 19:15 which says "through two and three witnesses shall everything be established'; the three witnesses are Philip and Thomas and Matthew.
  
  
• Unfortunately, we have only a few fragments of the gospel of Matthias (not to be confused with the canonical gospel of Matthew.)
• However, complete transcripts of several others were found at Nag Hammadi, including the Gospel of Thomas, of Philip and the Gospel of Truth among many others.
  
  
• The Gospel of Philip as found at Nag Hammadi is Valentian in character and was probably written in Syria in the second half of the 3rd century.
• Like most the gnostic gospels it is not joined by narrative but contains the teachings of Jesus.
• It is largely from a Christian-gnostic catechism and is very sacramental, emphasizing baptism and eucharist.
• the writer uses the bridal chamber as his metaphor:

"The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism and a chrism and a eucharist and a redemption and a bridal chamber."

• According to Philip, the problem in humanity results from the differentiation of the sexes.
• when Adam and Eve were separated the original androgynous unity was broken
  
  
• The purpose of Christ's coming is to reunite Adam and Eve, just as the husband and wife unite in the bridal chamber, so also the reunion affected by Christ takes place in a bridal chamber, the sacramental, spiritual one, where a person receives a foretaste and assurance of ultimate union with an angelic, heavenly counterpart.

“Christ came to repair the separation which was from the beginning and again unite the two”

• This gospel makes an important contribution to the limited knowledge we have had of Gnostic sacramental theology and practice.
  
  
• The sacraments of the Gospel of Philip are similar to those used by Christians in the Great church for the initiation of candidates so these Gnostics had not departed radically from orthodox practice, yet the interpretation provided for the sacraments is clearly gnostic.

The Gospel of Thomas

• The Gospel of Thomas is probably the most important gospel found at Nag Hammadi because its antecedents date from possibly as early as Mark, or earlier,
• The edition found at Nag Hammadi date to about 200 CE #
• However, it seems there were at least two recensions, one of which was read by orthodox Christians as late as the 5th or 6th century, while the other circulated in Gnostic and Manichean circles.
• Needless to say, the version found at Nag Hammadi was the gnostic version.
• Basically the Gospel's writing was attributed to Didymus Judas Thomas, ie, Judas the twin who is identified in the Syrian church as the twin (in looks) to Jesus.
  
  
• The Gospel of John is the only gospel to refer to Thomas by this Same name (Didymus Judas) and I think for good reason, discuss later.
  
  
• The relationship of this gospel to the synoptic gospels of the canon is of special interest.
• the original author may have made use of genuine early tradition
• A comparison of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas with their parallels in the synoptic gospels suggests that the sayings in the 6. of T. either are present in a more primitive form or are developments of more primitive form of such sayings
• In fact, the Gospel of Thomas resembles the synoptic sayings source, often called Q which was the common source for Matt and Luke.
• Hence, the Gospel of Thomas and its sources are collections of sayings and parables which are closely related to the sources of the New Testament gospels.
  
  
• The final redactor of this gospel was a gnostic, who made use not of two independent sources but of an earlier collection and also of the source from which it drew.
• The earlier sources underlying the present document were already gnostic, although their Gnosticism was not so strongly marked, and the earliest probably derived from Jewish-Christian circles.
  
  
• The Gospel of Thomas, even very early, early enough for the Gospel of John to be writing against it, was influenced by gnostic theology.
• it is not possible to ascribe this work to any particular school or sect.
• The collected sayings are designated as "the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke."
• Thus, the collection is intended to be esoteric (secret)
• The key to understanding is the interpretation or secret meaning of the sayings, for : "whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death."
  
  
• The basic religious experience for the Gospel of Thomas is the recognition of one's divinity and more specifically, one's origins, (the light) and destiny (the repose).
• In order to return to one's origin, the disciple is to become separate from the world by "stripping off" the fleshly garment and "passing by" the present corruptible existence; then the disciple can experience the new world, the kingdom of light, peace, and life.
  
  
• The gospel contains 114 sayings with no narrative to hold them together.
• this is the largest collection of sayings of Jesus, or sayings attributed to Jesus, that has yet come down to us independently of the New Testament tradition
  
  
• Some examples:

His disciples said: "When wilt thou be revealed to us and when will we see Thee?" Jesus said: "When you take off your clothing without being ashamed, and take your clothes and put them under your feet as the little children and tread on them, then shall you behold the Son of the Living (One) and you shall not fear. (Logion 37)

• This passage, it is agreed, is probably more primitive than what appears in the synoptics about becoming like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven
  
  
• There are many passages which it seems very likely were taken by John’s gospel and contradicted very distinctly from the Thomas tradition.
• Two examples:
  
  

Thomas says: “Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world.”

John: I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

Thomas: Jesus said "He who will drink from My mouth will become like Me. I myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him." (Log. 108)

John: He who believes in me, as the scripture says, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive.. . (John 7:38-39)

• The point is, and I will discuss this more when I do the Gospel of John, it seems clear that at least the original gospel of Thomas was around quite early, perhaps actually the earliest of any written sources, as some scholars think now.
• It seems evident that John, writing later than the other gospels, certainly was trying to answer the Gnostics and most especially the Gospel of Thomas, which is as far as is known, the earliest of these gospels which are moving in a Gnosticism direction.

The Gospel of Truth

• As I already pointed out, the original could go back to Valentinus and it is certainly done by one of his disciples.
• It discusses in the manner of a meditation, the person and Work of Christ.
• The work is a "gospel" in the sense that it brings the "good news" about Jesus, about the eternal and divine Son, the Word who reveals the Father and passes on knowledge, particularly self-knowledge.
• it is thru this self-knowledge that the Gnostics know who they are and where they have come from, and where they are going
• Thus this "gospel" is a joy for those who have received the gift of knowing the Father.
• The nightmare of living in ignorance is transformed into a joyful life in union with the Father.
  
  
• Although the Gospel of Truth does not explicitly cite either the O or N. testaments, it does clearly allude to many themes and passages in the N. T.
• Like the Valintinians, the Gospel of Truth uses and interprets the New Test. as a witness to Christian Gnosticism.
  
  
• There are many other gospels, including infancy stories, or like the infancy story of Thomas, which covers Jesus' life from when He was 12 until he was baptized by John. etc.
• there are apocalyptic writings, acts of various apostles,
  
  
• There are some gnostic writings, such as Thunder, Perfect Mind which have a female revealer and parallel some of the literature of Isis, using "I am" sayings.

I am the whore and the holy one!

I am the wife and the virgin!

• This literature survived well into the Middle Ages and was quite popular.
  
  
• The Bogamils of Asia Minor and Bulgaria were founded in the 10th cent. and revived this gnostic belief in the dualism of good vs. evil and the docetic heresy.
• They were certainly influenced by some gnostic texts (but which ones are not known)
  
  
• The Cathars of southern France and northern Italy, also known as Albigenses, were strongly influenced by the Bogomils. out.
• Pope Innocent III called for the only crusade in Europe to wipe them
• This was done in 1208 and began a merciless war that continued for 20 years.
• In 1244 a massacre finally wiped enough out that they could never recover.
• 100 years before this, the group was so strong it had its own bishops, and many catholic churches were empty because the people were flocking to the Cathars.