Gnosis: Self-Knowledge as Knowledge of God - Part 6

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

We concluded Part 5 with the following:

 

(p.141) This conviction - that whoever explores human experience simultaneously

discovers divine reality - is one of the elements that marks gnosticism as a

distinctly religious movement. Simon Magus, Hippolytus reports, claimed that

each human being is a dwelling place, 'and that in him dwells an infinite

power...the root of the universe'. [71] (P.142) But since that infinite power

exists in two modes, one actual, the other potential, so this infinite power

'exists in a latent condition in everyone', but 'potentially, not actually'.

[72]

 

The Gnostic Gospels, Chapter 6, Pg. 141

 

Here now is Part 6 - the conclusion to Chapter 6 of 'The Gnostic Gospels'.

 

Enjoy!

 

violet

 

 

Gnosis: Self-Knowledge as Knowledge of God - Part 6

 

(p.142) How is one to realize that potential? Many of the gnostic sources cited

so far contain only aphorisms directing the disciple to search for knowledge,

but refraining from telling anyone how to search. Discovering that for oneself

is, apparently, the first step toward self-knowledge. Thus, in the 'Gospel of

Thomas', the disciples ask Jesus to tell them what to do:

 

His disciples questioned him and said to him, 'Do you want us to fast? How shall

we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?' Jesus said, 'Do not

tell lies, and do not do what you hate...' [73]

 

His ironic answer turns them back to themselves: who but oneself can judge when

one is lying or what one hates? Such cryptic answers earned sharp criticism from

Plotinus, the neo-Platonic philosopher who attacked the gnostics when their

teaching was attracting some of his own students away from philosophy. Plotinus

complained that the gnostics had no program for teaching: 'They say only, " Look

to God! " but they do not tell anyone 'where' or 'how' to look.' [74]

 

Yet several of the sources discovered at Nag Hammadi do describe techniques of

spiritual discipline. 'Zostrianos', the longest text in the Nag Hammadi library,

tells how one spiritual master attained enlightenment, implicitly setting out a

program for others to follow. Zostrianos relates that, first, he had to remove

from himself physical desires, probably by ascetic practices. Second, he had to

reduce 'chaos in mind', [75] stilling his mind with meditation. Then, he says,

'after I set myself straight, I saw the perfect child' [76] - a vision of the

divine presence. Later, he says, 'I was pondering these matters in order to

understand them.... I did not cease seeking a place of rest worthy of my spirit

....' [77] But then, becoming 'deeply troubled', discouraged with his progress,

he went out into the desert, half anticipating being killed by wild animals.

There, Zostrianos relates, he first received a vision of 'the messenger of the

knowledge of the eternal Light', [78] and went on to experience many other

visions, which he relates in order to encourage others: 'Why are you hesitating?

Seek when you are sought; when you are invited, listen.... Look at the Light.

Flee the darkness. Do not be led astray to your destruction.' [79]

 

Other gnostic sources offer more specific directions. The 'Discourse on the

Eighth and the Ninth' discloses an 'order of tradition' that guides the ascent

to higher knowledge. (p.143) Written in dialogue form, the 'Discourse' opens as

the student reminds his spiritual master of a promise:

 

'[O my father], yesterday you promised me [that you would bring] my mind into

[the] eight and afterwards you would bring me into the ninth. You said that this

is the order of the tradition.' [80]

 

His teacher assents: 'O my son, indeed this is the order. But the promise was

according to human nature.' [81] He explains that the disciple himself must

bring forth the understanding he seeks: 'I set forth the action for you. But the

understanding dwells in you. In me, (it is) as if the power were pregnant.' [82]

The disciple is astonished; is the power, then, actually within him? The master

suggests that they both must pray that the disciple may come to the higher

levels, the 'eighth and the ninth'. Already he has progressed through the first

seven levels of understanding, impelled by moral effort and dedication. But the

disciple admits that, so far, he has no firsthand experience of divine

knowledge: 'O my father, I understand nothing but the beauty which came to me in

books.' [83]

 

Now that he is ready to go beyond vicarious knowledge, the two join in prayer

'to the perfect, invisible God to whom one speaks in silence'. [84] The prayer

moves into a chant of sacred words and vowels: 'Zoxathazo a oo ee ooo eee oooo

ee oooooooooooo oooooo uuuuuu oooooooooooo ooo Zozazoth.' [85] After intoning

the chant, the teacher prays, 'Lord...acknowledge the spirit that is in us.'

[86] Then he enters into the ecstatic state.

 

'... I see! I see indescribable depths. How shall I tell you, O my son? ...How

[shall I describe] the universe? I [am mind and] I see another mind, the one

that [moves] the soul! I see the one that moves me from pure forgetfulness. You

give me power! I see myself! I want to speak! Fear restrains me. I have found

the beginning of the power that is above all powers, the one that has no

beginning.... I have said, O my son, that I am Mind. I have seen! Language is

not able to reveal this. For the entire eighth, O my son, and the souls that are

in it, and the angels, sing a hymn in silence. And I, Mind, understand.' [87]

 

Watching, the disciple himself is filled with ecstasy: 'I rejoice, O my father,

because I see you smiling. And the universe rejoices.' Seeing his teacher as

himself embodying the divine, the disciple pleads with him, 'Let not my soul be

deprived of the great divine vision. For everything is possible for you as

master of the universe.' The master tells him to sing in silence, and to 'ask

what you want in silence':

 

(p.144) When had had finished praising he shouted, 'Father Trismegistus! What

shall I say? We have received this light. And I myself see the same vision in

you. I see the eighth and the souls that are in it and the angels singing a hymn

to the ninth and its powers....I pray to the end of the universe and the

beginning of the beginning, to the object of man's quest, the immortal

discovery...I am the instrument of thy spirit. Mind is thy plectrum. And thy

counsel plucks me. I see myself! I have received power from thee. For thy love

has reached us.' [88]

 

The 'Discourse' closes as the master instructs the student to write his

experiences in a book (presumably the 'Discourse' itself) to guide others who

will 'advance by stages, and enter into the way of immortality...into the

understanding of the eighth that reveals the ninth'. [89]

 

Another extraordinary text, called 'Allogenes', which means 'the stranger'

(literally, 'one from another race'), referring to the spiritually mature person

who becomes a 'stranger' to the world, also describes the stages of attaining

'gnosis'. Here Messos, the initiate, at the first stage, learns of 'the power

that is within you'. Allogenes explains to him his own process of spiritual

development:

 

....[i was] very disturbed, and turned to myself....[Having] seen the light

that [surrounded] me and the good that was within me, I became divine. [90]

Then, Allogenes continues, he received a vision of a feminine power, Youel, 'she

who belongs to all the glories', [91] who told him:

.... 'Since your instruction has become complete, and you have known the good

that is within you, hear concerning the Triple Power those things that you will

guard in great silence and great mystery ...' [92]

That power, paradoxically, is silent, although it utters sound: zza zza zza.

[93] This, like the chant in the 'Discourse', suggests a meditative technique

that includes intoning sound.

Having first discovered 'the good ... within me', Allogenes advanced to the

second stage - to know oneself.

[And then I] prayed that [the revelation] might occur to me.... I did not

despair ... I prepared myself therein, and I took counsel with myself for a

hundred years. And I rejoiced exceedingly, since I was in a great light and a

blessed path ... [94]

Following this, Allogenes says, he had an experience out of the body, and saw

'holy powers' that offered him specific instruction:

.... 'O Allo[g]enes, behold your blessedness...in silence, wherein you know

yourself as you are, and, seeking yourself, ascend to the Vitality that you will

see moving. And if it is impossible for you to stand, fear nothing; but if you

wish to stand, ascend to the Existence, and you will find it standing and

stilling itself...And when you receive a revelation...and you become afraid in

that place, withdraw back because of the energies. And when you have become

perfect in that place, still yourself.' [95]

(p.145) Is this speech of the 'holy powers' to be recited in some dramatic

performance enacted by members of the gnostic sect for the initiate in the

course of ritual instruction? The text does not say, although the candidate goes

on to describe his response:

Now I was listening to these things as those present spoken them. There was a

stillness of silence within me, and I heard the blessedness whereby I knew

myself as (I am). [96]

Following the instruction, the initiate says he was filled with 'revelation...I

received power...I knew the One who exists in me, and the Triple Power, and the

revelation of his uncontainableness'. [97] Ecstatic with this discovery,

Allogenes desires to go further: 'I was seeking the ineffable and Unknown God.'

[98] But at this point the 'powers' tell Allogenes to cease in his futile

attempt.

Contrary to many other gnostic sources, 'Allogenes' teaches that, first, one can

come to know 'the good that is within', and second, to know oneself and 'the one

who exists within', but one cannot attain knowledge of the Unknown God. Any

attempt to do so, to grasp the incomprehensible, hinders 'the effortlessness

which is within you'. Instead, the initiate must content himself to hear about

God 'in accordance with the capacity provided by a primary revelation'. [99]

One's own experience and knowledge, then, essential for spiritual development,

provides the basis for receiving understanding about God in 'negative' form.

'Gnosis' involves recognizing, finally, the limits of human knowledge:

'... (Whoever) sees (God) as he is in every respect, or would say that he is

something like 'gnosis', has sinned against him ... because he did not know

God.' [100]

The powers instructed him 'not [to] seek anything more, but go...It is not

fitting to spend more time seeking.' [101] Allogenes says he wrote this down for

'the sake of those who will be worthy'. [102] The detailed exposition of the

initiate's experience, including sections of prayers, chants, instruction,

punctuated by his retreat into meditation, suggest that the text records actual

techniques of initiation for attaining that self-knowledge which is knowledge of

divine power within.

(p.146) But much of the gnostic teaching on spiritual discipline remained, on

principle, unwritten. For anyone can read what is written down - even those who

are not 'mature'. Gnostic teachers usually reserved their secret instruction,

sharing it only verbally, to ensure each candidate's suitability to receive it.

Such instruction required each teacher to take responsibility for highly select,

individualized attention to each candidate. And it required the candidate, in

turn, to devote energy and time - often years - to the process. Tertullian

sarcastically compares Valentinian initiation to that of the Eleusinian

mysteries, which

first beset all access to their group with tormenting conditions; and they

require a long initiation before they enroll their members, even instruction for

five years for their adept students, so that they may educate their opinions by

this suspension of full knowledge, and, apparently, raise the value of their

mysteries in proportion to the longing for them which they have created. Then

follows the duty of silence... [103]

Obviously, such a program of discipline, like the higher levels of Buddhist

teaching, would appeal only to a few. Although major themes of gnostic teaching,

such as the discovery of the divine within, appealed to so many that they

constituted a major threat to catholic doctrine, the religious perspectives and

methods of gnosticism did not lend themselves to mass religion. In this respect,

it was no match for the highly effective system of organization of the catholic

church, which expressed a unified religious perspective based on the New

Testament canon, offered a creed requiring the initiate to confess only the

simplest essentials of faith, and celebrated rituals as simple and profound as

baptism and the eucharist. The same basic framework of doctrine, ritual, and

organization sustains nearly all Christian churches today, whether Roman

Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. Without these elements, one can scarcely

imagine how the Christian faith could have survived and attracted so many

millions of adherents all over the world, throughout twenty centuries. For ideas

alone do not make a religion powerful, although it cannot succeed without them;

equally important are social and political structures that identify and unite

people into a common affiliation.

The Gnostic Gospels

(Long Buried And Suppressed, The Gnostic Gospels Contain

The Secret Writings Attributed To The Followers of Jesus)

Chapter 6, Pg. 141-146

Elaine Pagels

Phoenix Publishers - St. Martin's Lane, London

ISBN 13: 978-0-7538-2114-5

Notes:

[71] Hippolytus, REF 6.9.

[72] ibid., 6.17.

[73] 'Gospel of Thomas' 33.14-19, in NHL 118.

[74] Plotinus, 'Against the Gnostics', 'Enneads' 2.9.

[75] 'Zostrianos' 1.12, in NHL 369.

[76] ibid., 2.8-9, in NHL 369.

[77] ibid., 3.14-21, in NHL 370.

[78] ibid., 3.29-30, in NHL 370.

[79] ibid., 131.16-132.5, in NHL 393.

[80] 'Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth' 52.1-7, in NHL 292.

[81] ibid., 53.7-10, in NHL 293.

[82] ibid., 52.15-18, in NHL 293.

[83] ibid., 54.23-5, in NHL 293.

[84] ibid., 56.10-12, in NHL 294.

[85] ibid., 56.17-22, in NHL 294.

[86] ibid., 57.3-11, in NHL 294.

[87] ibid., 57.31-58.22, in NHL 295.

[88] ibid., 58.31-61.2, in NHL 295-6.

[89] ibid., 63.9-14, in NHL 297.

[90] 'Allogenes' 52.8-12, in NHL 446.

[91] ibid., 50.19, in NHL 445.

[92] ibid., 52.15-21, in NHL 446.

[93] ibid., 53.36-7, in NHL 447.

[94] ibid., 55.31-57.34, in NHL 447-8.

[95] ibid., 59.9-37, in NHL 449.

[96] ibid., 60.13-18, in NHL 449.

[97] ibid., 60.37-61.8, in NHL 449.

[98] ibid., 61.14-16, in NHL 449-50.

[99] ibid., 61.29-31, in NHL 450.

[100] ibid., 64.16-23, in NHL 451.

[101] ibid., 67.23-35, in NHL 451-2.

[102] ibid., 68.18-19.

[103] Tertullian, 'Adversus Valentinianos' 1.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jagbir and All,

 

On the subject of rituals, when Jesus' disciples asked him if He wanted them to

fast, or how should they pray, or should they give alms, or what diet should

they observe, he just told them not to tell lies and not to do what they hate:

 

> His disciples questioned him and said to him, 'Do you want us to

> fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we

> observe?' Jesus said, 'Do not tell lies, and do not do what you

> hate...' [73]

>

> His ironic answer turns them back to themselves:

> who but oneself can judge when one is lying or what one hates? Such

> cryptic answers earned sharp criticism from Plotinus, the

> neo-Platonic philosopher who attacked the gnostics when their

> teaching was attracting some of his own students away from

> philosophy. Plotinus complained that the gnostics had no program

> for teaching: 'They say only, " Look to God! " but they do not tell

> anyone 'where' or 'how' to look.' [74]

 

So, why didn't Jesus' disciples just " go within " ? Instead, did they need to

fast? Did they need to pray in a certain way? Did they need to give alms? Did

they need to observe a certain diet?

 

Jesus simply tells them not to tell lies! Not to do what they hate to do!

 

We were all brought up with rituals in Sahaja Yoga. It was when we discovered

the Divine Within in reality, that the rituals became something we don't like to

do, so why do them. Going one step further, why indoctrinate people into

rituals? Why tell them to fast? Why tell them how to pray? Why tell them they

must give money? Why tell them they must go on a diet?

 

All these things are on the periphery. The reality is the Divine Within, without

a doubt!

 

with love,

 

violet

 

 

 

, " Violet " <violetubb

wrote:

>

> Dear All,

>

> We concluded Part 5 with the following:

>

> (p.141) This conviction - that whoever explores human experience

simultaneously discovers divine reality - is one of the elements that

marks gnosticism as a distinctly religious movement. Simon Magus,

Hippolytus reports, claimed that each human being is a dwelling place,

'and that in him dwells an infinite power...the root of the universe'.

[71] (P.142) But since that infinite power exists in two modes, one

actual, the other potential, so this infinite power 'exists in a

latent condition in everyone', but 'potentially, not actually'. [72]

>

> The Gnostic Gospels, Chapter 6, Pg. 141

>

> Here now is Part 6 - the conclusion to Chapter 6 of 'The Gnostic

Gospels'.

>

> Enjoy!

>

> violet

>

>

> Gnosis: Self-Knowledge as Knowledge of God - Part 6

>

> (p.142) How is one to realize that potential? Many of the gnostic

sources cited so far contain only aphorisms directing the disciple to

search for knowledge, but refraining from telling anyone how to

search. Discovering that for oneself is, apparently, the first step

toward self-knowledge. Thus, in the 'Gospel of Thomas', the disciples

ask Jesus to tell them what to do:

>

> His disciples questioned him and said to him, 'Do you want us to

fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we

observe?' Jesus said, 'Do not tell lies, and do not do what you

hate...' [73]

>

> His ironic answer turns them back to themselves: who but oneself can

judge when one is lying or what one hates? Such cryptic answers earned

sharp criticism from Plotinus, the neo-Platonic philosopher who

attacked the gnostics when their teaching was attracting some of his

own students away from philosophy. Plotinus complained that the

gnostics had no program for teaching: 'They say only, " Look to God! "

but they do not tell anyone 'where' or 'how' to look.' [74]

>

> Yet several of the sources discovered at Nag Hammadi do describe

techniques of spiritual discipline. 'Zostrianos', the longest text in

the Nag Hammadi library, tells how one spiritual master attained

enlightenment, implicitly setting out a program for others to follow.

Zostrianos relates that, first, he had to remove from himself physical

desires, probably by ascetic practices. Second, he had to reduce

'chaos in mind', [75] stilling his mind with meditation. Then, he

says, 'after I set myself straight, I saw the perfect child' [76] - a

vision of the divine presence. Later, he says, 'I was pondering these

matters in order to understand them.... I did not cease seeking a

place of rest worthy of my spirit ...' [77] But then, becoming 'deeply

troubled', discouraged with his progress, he went out into the desert,

half anticipating being killed by wild animals. There, Zostrianos

relates, he first received a vision of 'the messenger of the knowledge

of the eternal Light', [78] and went on to experience many other

visions, which he relates in order to encourage others: 'Why are you

hesitating? Seek when you are sought; when you are invited, listen....

Look at the Light. Flee the darkness. Do not be led astray to your

destruction.' [79]

>

> Other gnostic sources offer more specific directions. The 'Discourse

on the Eighth and the Ninth' discloses an 'order of tradition' that

guides the ascent to higher knowledge. (p.143) Written in dialogue

form, the 'Discourse' opens as the student reminds his spiritual

master of a promise:

>

> '[O my father], yesterday you promised me [that you would bring] my

mind into [the] eight and afterwards you would bring me into the

ninth. You said that this is the order of the tradition.' [80]

>

> His teacher assents: 'O my son, indeed this is the order. But the

promise was according to human nature.' [81] He explains that the

disciple himself must bring forth the understanding he seeks: 'I set

forth the action for you. But the understanding dwells in you. In me,

(it is) as if the power were pregnant.' [82] The disciple is

astonished; is the power, then, actually within him? The master

suggests that they both must pray that the disciple may come to the

higher levels, the 'eighth and the ninth'. Already he has progressed

through the first seven levels of understanding, impelled by moral

effort and dedication. But the disciple admits that, so far, he has no

firsthand experience of divine knowledge: 'O my father, I understand

nothing but the beauty which came to me in books.' [83]

>

> Now that he is ready to go beyond vicarious knowledge, the two join

in prayer 'to the perfect, invisible God to whom one speaks in

silence'. [84] The prayer moves into a chant of sacred words and

vowels: 'Zoxathazo a oo ee ooo eee oooo ee oooooooooooo oooooo uuuuuu

oooooooooooo ooo Zozazoth.' [85] After intoning the chant, the teacher

prays, 'Lord...acknowledge the spirit that is in us.' [86] Then he

enters into the ecstatic state.

>

> '... I see! I see indescribable depths. How shall I tell you, O my

son? ...How [shall I describe] the universe? I [am mind and] I see

another mind, the one that [moves] the soul! I see the one that moves

me from pure forgetfulness. You give me power! I see myself! I want to

speak! Fear restrains me. I have found the beginning of the power that

is above all powers, the one that has no beginning.... I have said, O

my son, that I am Mind. I have seen! Language is not able to reveal

this. For the entire eighth, O my son, and the souls that are in it,

and the angels, sing a hymn in silence. And I, Mind, understand.' [87]

>

> Watching, the disciple himself is filled with ecstasy: 'I rejoice, O

my father, because I see you smiling. And the universe rejoices.'

Seeing his teacher as himself embodying the divine, the disciple

pleads with him, 'Let not my soul be deprived of the great divine

vision. For everything is possible for you as master of the universe.'

The master tells him to sing in silence, and to 'ask what you want in

silence':

>

> (p.144) When had had finished praising he shouted, 'Father

Trismegistus! What shall I say? We have received this light. And I

myself see the same vision in you. I see the eighth and the souls that

are in it and the angels singing a hymn to the ninth and its

powers....I pray to the end of the universe and the beginning of the

beginning, to the object of man's quest, the immortal discovery...I am

the instrument of thy spirit. Mind is thy plectrum. And thy counsel

plucks me. I see myself! I have received power from thee. For thy love

has reached us.' [88]

>

> The 'Discourse' closes as the master instructs the student to write

his experiences in a book (presumably the 'Discourse' itself) to guide

others who will 'advance by stages, and enter into the way of

immortality...into the understanding of the eighth that reveals the

ninth'. [89]

>

> Another extraordinary text, called 'Allogenes', which means 'the

stranger' (literally, 'one from another race'), referring to the

spiritually mature person who becomes a 'stranger' to the world, also

describes the stages of attaining 'gnosis'. Here Messos, the initiate,

at the first stage, learns of 'the power that is within you'.

Allogenes explains to him his own process of spiritual development:

>

> ...[i was] very disturbed, and turned to myself....[Having] seen

the light that [surrounded] me and the good that was within me, I

became divine. [90]

>

> Then, Allogenes continues, he received a vision of a feminine power,

Youel, 'she who belongs to all the glories', [91] who told him:

>

> ... 'Since your instruction has become complete, and you have known

the good that is within you, hear concerning the Triple Power those

things that you will guard in great silence and great mystery ...' [92]

>

> That power, paradoxically, is silent, although it utters sound: zza

zza zza. [93] This, like the chant in the 'Discourse', suggests a

meditative technique that includes intoning sound.

>

> Having first discovered 'the good ... within me', Allogenes advanced

to the second stage - to know oneself.

>

> [And then I] prayed that [the revelation] might occur to me.... I

did not despair ... I prepared myself therein, and I took counsel with

myself for a hundred years. And I rejoiced exceedingly, since I was in

a great light and a blessed path ... [94]

>

> Following this, Allogenes says, he had an experience out of the

body, and saw 'holy powers' that offered him specific instruction:

>

> ... 'O Allo[g]enes, behold your blessedness...in silence, wherein

you know yourself as you are, and, seeking yourself, ascend to the

Vitality that you will see moving. And if it is impossible for you to

stand, fear nothing; but if you wish to stand, ascend to the

Existence, and you will find it standing and stilling itself...And

when you receive a revelation...and you become afraid in that place,

withdraw back because of the energies. And when you have become

perfect in that place, still yourself.' [95]

>

> (p.145) Is this speech of the 'holy powers' to be recited in some

dramatic performance enacted by members of the gnostic sect for the

initiate in the course of ritual instruction? The text does not say,

although the candidate goes on to describe his response:

>

> Now I was listening to these things as those present spoken them.

There was a stillness of silence within me, and I heard the

blessedness whereby I knew myself as (I am). [96]

>

> Following the instruction, the initiate says he was filled with

'revelation...I received power...I knew the One who exists in me, and

the Triple Power, and the revelation of his uncontainableness'. [97]

Ecstatic with this discovery, Allogenes desires to go further: 'I was

seeking the ineffable and Unknown God.' [98] But at this point the

'powers' tell Allogenes to cease in his futile attempt.

>

> Contrary to many other gnostic sources, 'Allogenes' teaches that,

first, one can come to know 'the good that is within', and second, to

know oneself and 'the one who exists within', but one cannot attain

knowledge of the Unknown God. Any attempt to do so, to grasp the

incomprehensible, hinders 'the effortlessness which is within you'.

Instead, the initiate must content himself to hear about God 'in

accordance with the capacity provided by a primary revelation'. [99]

One's own experience and knowledge, then, essential for spiritual

development, provides the basis for receiving understanding about God

in 'negative' form. 'Gnosis' involves recognizing, finally, the limits

of human knowledge:

>

> '... (Whoever) sees (God) as he is in every respect, or would say

that he is something like 'gnosis', has sinned against him ... because

he did not know God.' [100]

>

> The powers instructed him 'not [to] seek anything more, but go...It

is not fitting to spend more time seeking.' [101] Allogenes says he

wrote this down for 'the sake of those who will be worthy'. [102] The

detailed exposition of the initiate's experience, including sections

of prayers, chants, instruction, punctuated by his retreat into

meditation, suggest that the text records actual techniques of

initiation for attaining that self-knowledge which is knowledge of

divine power within.

>

> (p.146) But much of the gnostic teaching on spiritual discipline

remained, on principle, unwritten. For anyone can read what is written

down - even those who are not 'mature'. Gnostic teachers usually

reserved their secret instruction, sharing it only verbally, to ensure

each candidate's suitability to receive it. Such instruction required

each teacher to take responsibility for highly select, individualized

attention to each candidate. And it required the candidate, in turn,

to devote energy and time - often years - to the process. Tertullian

sarcastically compares Valentinian initiation to that of the

Eleusinian mysteries, which

>

> first beset all access to their group with tormenting conditions;

and they require a long initiation before they enroll their members,

even instruction for five years for their adept students, so that they

may educate their opinions by this suspension of full knowledge, and,

apparently, raise the value of their mysteries in proportion to the

longing for them which they have created. Then follows the duty of

silence... [103]

>

> Obviously, such a program of discipline, like the higher levels of

Buddhist teaching, would appeal only to a few. Although major themes

of gnostic teaching, such as the discovery of the divine within,

appealed to so many that they constituted a major threat to catholic

doctrine, the religious perspectives and methods of gnosticism did not

lend themselves to mass religion. In this respect, it was no match for

the highly effective system of organization of the catholic church,

which expressed a unified religious perspective based on the New

Testament canon, offered a creed requiring the initiate to confess

only the simplest essentials of faith, and celebrated rituals as

simple and profound as baptism and the eucharist. The same basic

framework of doctrine, ritual, and organization sustains nearly all

Christian churches today, whether Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or

Protestant. Without these elements, one can scarcely imagine how the

Christian faith could have survived and attracted so many millions of

adherents all over the world, throughout twenty centuries. For ideas

alone do not make a religion powerful, although it cannot succeed

without them; equally important are social and political structures

that identify and unite people into a common affiliation.

>

> The Gnostic Gospels

> (Long Buried And Suppressed, The Gnostic Gospels Contain

> The Secret Writings Attributed To The Followers of Jesus)

> Chapter 6, Pg. 141-146

> Elaine Pagels

> Phoenix Publishers - St. Martin's Lane, London

> ISBN 13: 978-0-7538-2114-5

>

> Notes:

>

> [71] Hippolytus, REF 6.9.

>

> [72] ibid., 6.17.

>

> [73] 'Gospel of Thomas' 33.14-19, in NHL 118.

>

> [74] Plotinus, 'Against the Gnostics', 'Enneads' 2.9.

>

> [75] 'Zostrianos' 1.12, in NHL 369.

>

> [76] ibid., 2.8-9, in NHL 369.

>

> [77] ibid., 3.14-21, in NHL 370.

>

> [78] ibid., 3.29-30, in NHL 370.

>

> [79] ibid., 131.16-132.5, in NHL 393.

>

> [80] 'Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth' 52.1-7, in NHL 292.

>

> [81] ibid., 53.7-10, in NHL 293.

>

> [82] ibid., 52.15-18, in NHL 293.

>

> [83] ibid., 54.23-5, in NHL 293.

>

> [84] ibid., 56.10-12, in NHL 294.

>

> [85] ibid., 56.17-22, in NHL 294.

>

> [86] ibid., 57.3-11, in NHL 294.

>

> [87] ibid., 57.31-58.22, in NHL 295.

>

> [88] ibid., 58.31-61.2, in NHL 295-6.

>

> [89] ibid., 63.9-14, in NHL 297.

>

> [90] 'Allogenes' 52.8-12, in NHL 446.

>

> [91] ibid., 50.19, in NHL 445.

>

> [92] ibid., 52.15-21, in NHL 446.

>

> [93] ibid., 53.36-7, in NHL 447.

>

> [94] ibid., 55.31-57.34, in NHL 447-8.

>

> [95] ibid., 59.9-37, in NHL 449.

>

> [96] ibid., 60.13-18, in NHL 449.

>

> [97] ibid., 60.37-61.8, in NHL 449.

>

> [98] ibid., 61.14-16, in NHL 449-50.

>

> [99] ibid., 61.29-31, in NHL 450.

>

> [100] ibid., 64.16-23, in NHL 451.

>

> [101] ibid., 67.23-35, in NHL 451-2.

>

> [102] ibid., 68.18-19.

>

> [103] Tertullian, 'Adversus Valentinianos' 1.

>