The root motives of it are pride, man thinking he can do it on his own rather than humbling himself, confessing his inadequacy and inviting the Holy Spirit to help him.
The notion of a remote, supreme monadic divinity - this figure is known under a variety of names, including 'Pleroma' and 'Bythos' (Greek 'deep');
The introduction by emanation of further divine beings, which are nevertheless identifiable as aspects of the God from which they proceeded; the progressive emanations are often conceived metaphorically as a gradual and progressive distancing from the ultimate source, which brings about an instability in the fabric of the divine nature;
The subsequent identification of the Fall of Man as an occurrence with its ultimate foundations within divinity itself, rather than as occurring either entirely or indeed partially through human agency; this stage in the divine emanation is usually enacted through the recurrent Gnostic figure of Sophia (Greek 'Wisdom'), whose presence in a wide variety of Gnostic texts is indicative of her central importance;
The introduction of a distinct creator god, who is named as in the Platonist tradition demigods.
Evidence exists that the conception of the demureGEas derivation from figures in Plato's Timaeus and Republic. In the former, the demiurge is the benevolent creator of the universe from pre-existent matter, to whose limitations he is enthralled in creating the cosmos; in the latter, the description of the leontomorphic 'desire' in Socrates' model of the psyche bears a strong resemblance to descriptions of the demiurge as being in the shape of the lion.
Elsewhere this figure is called 'Ialdabaoth', 'Samael' (Aramaic s?m?a-?el, 'blind god') or 'Saklas' (Syriac s?kla, 'the foolish one'), who is sometimes ignorant of the superior God, and sometimes opposed to it; thus in the latter case he is correspondingly malevolent.
The demiurge typically creates a group of coactors named 'Archons', who preside over the material realm and, in some cases, present obstacles to the soul seeking ascent from it;
The estimation of the world, owing to the above, as flawed or a production of 'error' but nevertheless as good as its constituent material might allow. This world is typically an inferior simulacrum of a higher-level reality or consciousness. The inferiority may be compared to the technical inferiority of a painting, sculpture, or other handicraft to the thing(s) those crafts are supposed to be a representation of. In certain other cases it is also perceived as evil and constrictive, a deliberate prison for its inhabitants;
The explanation of this state through the use of a complex mythological-cosmological drama in which a divine element 'falls' into the material realm and lodges itself within certain human beings; from here, it may be returned to the divine realm through a process of awakening (leading towards salvation). The salvation of the individual thus mirrors a concurrent restoration of the divine nature; a central Gnostic innovation was to elevate individual redemption to the level of a cosmically significant event;
Knowledge of a specific kind as a central factor in this process of restoration, achieved through the mediation of a redeemer figure (Christ, or, in other cases, Seth or Sophia).
Gnosticism is only "bad" because the 1st Ecumenical Council at Nicea defined one of its core beliefs as heretical.
Basically, those councils were political forums to denounce a rival Christian group. BUT because they were sponsored by the Byzantine Emperors, their word was what became accepted as correct,
Correct, and yes it's a good thing. Scholars agree that the majority of gnostic writings were written by women. Also, women played an extremely important role in the early gnostic church, they were viewed as completely equal. IE. according to their scriptures, Mary Magdalene was teaching the male disciples.
Gnosticism means different things to different people.
ANARCHO-GNOSTICISM - A major component of gnosticism is the rejection of external authority in favor individual intuition and personal sovereignty. As such, it meshes very well with Anarchism as a philosophy, and also provides an excellent spiritual framework for what would otherwise be a secular ideology.
Gnosticism is a philosophical and religious movement which started in Prue-Christian times. The name is derived from the Greek word "nosies" which literally means "knowledge." However, the English words "Insight" and "enlightenment" capture more of the meaning of "nosies." It is pronounced with a silent "G" (NO-sis). Gnosticism is not factual, intellectual, rational knowledge, such as is involved in mathematics and physics; that would have been more accurately represented by the Greek world "epistemic." Rather, Gnosticism involves the relational or experiential knowledge of God and of the divine or spiritual nature within us. A visitor to this web site wrote: "...we believe that nosies-knowledge requires ultimate transcendence of the merely intellectual to be actualized."
Gnostics believe that they have secret knowledge about God, humanity and the rest of the universe of which the general population was unaware. It became one of the three main belief systems within 1st century Christianity, and was noted for four factors by which differed from the two other branches of Christianity: Novel beliefs about Gods, the Bible and the world which differed from those of other Christian groups.
Tolerance of different religious beliefs within and outside of Gnosticism.
Lack of discrimination against women. Although Jesus treated women as equals, and Paul mostly did the same, the other Christian belief systems started to oppress women in later generations.
A belief that salvation is achieved through relational and experiential knowledge. In the words of The contemporary Gnostic Apostolic Church, humanity needs to be awakened and brought "to a realization of his true nature. Mankind is moving towards the Omega Point, the Great day when all must graduate or fall. This day is also the Day of Judgment in that only those who have entered the Path of Transfiguration and are being reborn can return to the Treasury of Light."
The movement and its literature were essentially wiped out before the end of the 5Th century CE by Catholic heresy hunters and the Roman Army. Its beliefs are currently experiencing a rebirth throughout the world, triggered in part by the discovery of an ancient Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi, Egypt in the 1940s, and the finding of the Gospel of Judas at El Minya, Egypt, in the 1970s.
do to a bunch of power hungry impotent old men gnosticism was forced to go under ground and eventually wiped out. most early christian churches where ran by women and this made most men jealous. i am sad to say that most churches still discriminate against women
Gnosis (a particular mystical experience in a reunion event) should not be confused with Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a culture rape of Gnosis just as defined religions are a rape of spiritual/metaphysical experiences.
Jim.
It seems useful here to draw your attention to an original gnostic work, the Pistis Sophia which, in its present form, probably dates back to the second or third century of our era. Its content, however, takes us back through all the ages of dialectical time to the very origins of human existence.
It is perhaps not unknown to you that the main body of transfigures literature has been destroyed by bishops and magicians. It can therefore be regarded as a miracle that, after centuries of this kind of persecution, any of this pure gnostic work has been preserved. In 1785 the manuscript of the Pistis Sophia was bought from the estate of Dr. Anthony Askew and became the property of the British Museum.
In its content and manner of expression, this work is a marvelous gospel containing great treasures of veiled transfigures knowledge. Its subject matter is not easy to understand and consequently, to the people of our day, it seems simply a jumble of oracles, foolishness and nonsense. But the pupils of a Spiritual School, who have received the transfigures teachings, know better and are soon able to discover the treasures that lie hidden in the Pistis Sophia. However, it is true that only when his own liberation has reached a certain stage, can the pupil of a Spiritual School discern the pure, undefiled wisdom it contains. Then, by using the Pistis Sophia as a criterion, he is able to measure the ground he has covered and the path that still stretches ahead.
Herein lies the specific task of the ancient holy language, which has been utterly misunderstood in ordinary religious life. In nature-religion, the word of God is a book to which dialectical man must conform in faith and surrender. But conformity, faith and surrender are never the qualities of ordinary, dialectical human beings, for conformity presupposes that one has the ability to conform, while faith requires an inner knowledge, and surrender a certain aptitude. For this reason, the holy language is intended for and can be understood only by those who have found the path and are walking along it. As they continue to progress, the holy language becomes a blessing to them because it is able to explain the mysteries into which they have entered, and to point to the mysteries which still lie ahead.
We may not assume that the Christ-mystery, which man with his limited capacities has come to know, is the very summit of all that exists. For the mystery that the Light of Lights holds within it are unveiled only to a very limited extent. Not until the pupil approaches the gates of eternity can they be unlocked for him.
When we speak about the sacred language you, as a dialectical person, will be able to receive at most an intellectual image of it, while for a pupil who is inwardly ennobled to approach the language of wisdom, it can mean a great deal more. However, this should in no way disquiet you, for an intellectual image is not without value; in a later state of development the words spoken today may be remembered clearly.
In a language quite different from that used in the Pistis Sophia, we should like to present to you a picture of the indications of this gnostic gospel. At the same time we intend to consider these indications in the context of the philosophy of the Rosycross.
First of all, four human types are portrayed, types which stand hierarchically one above the other. The highest of these is the divine man of the Immovable Kingdom, the Christ-Jesus man. The other three types are, in descending order: the disciple-man, the John-man, and finally the dialectical man.
The Pistis Sophia emphasizes that the dialectical man maintains his existence by means of the reincarnation of souls from yonder side. It tells us that all men of this world possess souls born of the power of the arc hons of the aeons.
The philosophy of the modern Rosycross teaches that dialectical man is entirely spirit-less, and that he cannot consider himself as spirit-man at all. Dialectical man is a soul-being, developed out of this planetary system. This means that the spinal force, which contains his consciousness, is completely detached from the original intelligence of the true Spirit. The dialectical soul-man lives his life in distress, darkness and death, devoid of spirit, devoid even of the slightest guidance by the original spirit. The soul-man does possess the capability of procreation, and the process of preservation of the human race ensures the interchange of souls between here and yonder side, assisted by cosmic forces which exist through the power of this system.
The soul-man, the dialectical man of this nature, is maintained by means of twelve forces. In our School we speak of the twelve planetary forces, that is, eight etheric, two astral and two spinal forces. These twelve planetary forces are the same as those of which Pistis Sophia speaks when it says that all souls are born of the powers of the archons of these spheres. The whole world is peopled with millions of beings of this human sub-type. The archons are the powers which maintain this dialectical underworld; as the Pistis Sophia expresses it, they are the forces of destruction.
The nuclei of these forces are called the aeons of destruction. The twelve aeons of destruction are the twelve focal points of the lipika (the aural firmament, the totality of the senses, power-centers and foci, in which the total karma of man lies anchored. The earthly, mortal being is a projection of this firmament and is defined by it with respect to possibilities, limitations and nature. The lipika represents the entire burden of sin of the fallen microcosm.), seen cosmically as well as macrocosmically. As such, these twelve forces are not the saviors of mankind, but its destroyers. That is why they are also sometimes called the twelve gates of destruction. There is not the slightest speculation in this, for the Pistis Sophia also shows clearly the essential difference between souls born of the forces of this world, and living souls, who have their origin in the twelve forces of the original Light.
The second human type which, alas, is scattered very sparsely in this world, is the John-type, the type called the forerunner. This is the person who is beginning the path of return to the lost House of the Father. He begins to manifest himself as soon as the soul, longing for the original life, is prepared to renounce dialectics completely. When such a one begins to sever his bonds with nature, he is deemed able to bring to an end his journey through the desert.
It is also said of him that he is born of Elizabeth. When it becomes clear to the consciousness of the John-man that he is born of Elizabeth, this indicates that, in principal, he has broken all ties with nature and consequently has become barren, in the dialectical sense.
When we study the John-type more closely in the light of transfiguristic criteria, we detect that within this being a wondrous soul-transformation is taking place. In the John-man, the ties with the twelve archons, the twelve planetary forces, are being severed structurally. And since, in this "John" phase, the individual is still a dialectical human being, he is not yet able to live and function directly out of the original twelve forces. He is therefore helped by the intermediary which is Christ.
The Pistis Sophia speaks in chapter 7 of the power in the body of John as the power of the little Iao, the good one, who is in the midst. With this power, the John-man is enabled to bear witness to the Christ-Jesus man, to prepare His way, and to baptize with water for the forgiveness of sins. In the John-man one no longer finds the soul of the archons, but the soul of the prophet Elijah. Thus the power of Iao and the soul of the prophet Elijah are bound together in the body of John the Baptist.
The power of Iao is the universal love-power which envelops the John-man like a cloak, as we read in 1 Corinthians 13. This mantle of love is Elijah's mantle which is left behind as inheritance for Elisha, his successor. It is in this sense that John the Baptist is called an incarnation of Elijah.
Pupils of a Spiritual School need to learn to fathom these things, for when a pupil seriously undertakes the return to the original Fatherland and leaves the dialectical world more and more behind him, the mantle of renewal is spread about him as a majestic, radiant light.
In this touch of the Universal Brotherhood, the pupil breaks through to the third phase of his development in which the disciple-type is revealed. The dialectical human being who has become a John-type will, through this intermediary, take leave fundamentally and structurally of the twelve planetary forces of the archons of the aeons. He will become fully and essentially one with the twelve great divine powers which will then no longer function as destroyers but as redeemers. In this way, slowly but surely, the John-man becomes a disciple of the universal light.
A disciple is one who is reborn to his original state of being as a divine man, as a son of God. When the pupil has truly become a disciple, he has received a soul from the twelve powers of the Divine Order, and nothing remains of the soul that was born out of the forces of the earthly spheres. For this reason, the disciple is always full of inner joy because he knows that his time has become full, and that he is clothed in the garment prepared for him from the beginning. He knows that once he has been equipped with this radiant mantle of light, the gates of his firmament will spring open, allowing him to ascend into a mystery never seen or heard by any child of man. The soul of a true disciple is, as we said, completely renewed, and the spinalis ? the seat of the new soul-consciousness ? stands erect within him as a new serpent.
You may have read about the spinal serpent with the seven heads which must be totally destroyed by dialectical man before there can be any question of a complete renewal. The Pistis Sophia often mentions the seven-headed serpent which must be cast out so that man can gain power over his material being. The serpent, it is stated, must be destroyed so that its seed can no longer manifest itself. The philosophy of the Rosycross explains that the seven heads of the spinal serpent correspond to the seven cerebral cavities. When the soul-being is completely renewed and the seven-headed spinalis of the Pistis Sophia has been erected again, the pupil is then able, once again, to speak the great and mysterious creative word.
Many investigators and pseudo-transfigurists have searched for that mysterious word, but as dialectical beings they will never find it, however long they search. The creative word will always remain inexpressible for those who have not come to a total reversal, for it refers to the rebirth of the seven-headed basilisk, to the renewed spinalis crowned with the seven cerebral cavities. When the powers of the twelve redeemers are active within the pupil, the seven cerebral cavities are equipped with a new fluid that possesses an entirely new vibration. There is a different vibration in each cerebral cavity and, hence, a different sound. The seven sounds are sometimes called the seven pure vowels, and it is these seven pure vowels which together form the ineffable name.
As soon as the disciple is prepared in this way, and can speak the ineffable name, he rises to the highest state ? the state of the original man. He is then reborn as a Jesus-man. The disciple who has been reborn as a Jesus-man is the fully reversed being; he is Mary ? the one who has turned around. A Jesus-man enters into direct contact with the primordial principles of God, or, as the language of the Pistis Sophia puts it, with Barbelo, the Arch-Mother, and with Sabaoth, the Lord of the twelve Redeemers. Then man has returned again to his Fatherland as a prodigal Son.
The Pistis Sophia, in identifying these four types, makes great treasures available, and although we have tried to portray as clear a picture as possible, this attempt is nothing more than the indication of a small part of what the Pistis Sophia really has to tell us.
This rich gnostic gospel actually goes much further and describes to us the being called Pistis Sophia, that is, the lost son who in true faith, the Pistis, returns to the original wisdom, the Sophia.
This process of return is comprehensively dealt with in twelve phases, while the homecoming is described in the thirteenth phase.
May the words spoken to you thus far about the Pistis Sophia be understood, and may they have found their echo within you!
Why is Gnosticism bad? Gnosticism lacks discrimination against women, correct? Isn't
