God's Word or Human Words - Part 9

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

Part 8 concluded with the following words:

 

(p.96) " Irenaeus expresses dismay that many other teachers, too, within

Christian communities, " introduce an indescribable number of secret and

illegitimate writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds

of foolish people, who are ignorant of the true scriptures. " [60] He quotes some

of their writings, including part of a well-known and influential text called

the Secret Book of John (discovered among the so-called gnostic gospels at Nag

Hammadi in 1945), and he refers to many others, including a Gospel of Truth

(perhaps the one discovered at Nag Hammadi), which he attributes to Marcus's

teacher, Valentinus, and even a Gospel of Judas. (p.97) Irenaeus decided that

stemming this flood of " secret writings " would be an essential first step toward

limiting the proliferation of " revelations " that he suspected of being only

delusional or, worse, demonically inspired. " [61]

 

Beyond Belief (The Secret Gospel of Thomas), Chapter 3, p. 96-97

 

Notes:

 

[60] Irenaeus, AH 1.20.1

 

[61] For discussion of the Secret Book of John and the Gospel of Truth and how

such writings interpret " the Scriptures, " see Chapter 4; for some recent

articles on gnostic exegesis, see, for example, Pheme Perkins, " Spirit and

Letter: Poking Holes in the Canon, " 'Journal of Religion' (1996), 307-327;

Harold W. Attridge, " The Gospel of Truth as an Exoteric Text, " in 'Nag Hammadi,

Gnosticism, and Early Christianity' C.W. Hedrick and R. Hodgson, eds.,

(Peabody,Mass., 1986), 239-255 Patricia Cox Miller, " 'Words with an Alien

Voice': Gnostics, Scripture, and Canon, " 'Journal of the American Academy of

Religion' 57 (1989), 459-483; Robert M. Grant, 'Heresy and Criticism: The Search

for Authenticity in Early Christian Literature' (Louisville, Ky., 1993); and

Louis Painchaud, " The Use of Scripture in Gnostic Literature, " 'Journal of Early

Christian Studies' 4:2 (1996), 129-146.

 

Here now, is Part 9.

 

Enjoy,

 

violet

 

 

 

 

God's Word or Human Words - Part 9

 

(p.97) Yet the discoveries at Nag Hammadi show how widespread was the attempt

" to seek God " --not only among those who wrote such " secret writings " but among

the many more who read, copied, and revered them, including the Egyptian monks

who treasured them in their monastery library even two hundred years after

Irenaeus had denounced them. But in 367 C.E., Athanasius, the zealous bishop of

Alexandria--an admirer of Irenaeus--issued an Easter letter in which he demanded

that Egyptian monks destroy all such writings, except for those he specifically

listed as " acceptable, " even " canonical " --a list that constitutes virtually all

of our present " New Testament. " [62] But someone--perhaps monks at the monastery

of St. Pachomius--gathered dozens of the books Athanasius wanted to burn,

removed them from the monastery library, sealed them in a heavy, six-foot jar,

and intending to hide them, buried them on a nearby hillside near Hag Hammadi.

There an Egyptian villager named Muhammad Ali stumbled upon them sixteen hundred

years later.

 

Now that we can read for ourselves some of the writings that Irenaeus detested

and Athanasius banned, we can see that many of them express the hope of

receiving revelation, and encourage " those who seek for God. " The author of the

Secret Book of James, for example, 'reinterprets' the opening scene we noted

from the New Testament Acts, in which Luke tells how Jesus ascended into heaven

and departed. The Secret Book, apparently written as a 'sequel' to that scene,

opens as James, Jesus' brother, offers to reveal in this book what happened

'after' Jesus " departed from us while we gazed after him. " [63] After that, he

says,

 

the twelve disciples were all sitting together and recalling what the Savior had

said to each one of them, either secretly or openly, and putting it into books,

and I was writing what is in my book. [64]

 

But the Secret Book says that Jesus astonished his disciples by suddenly coming

back--a year and a half after he had departed--and explained that he had not

actually removed himself from his disciples:

 

Lo, the Savior appeared....And 'five hundred and fifty days' since he had risen

from the dead, we said to him, " 'Have you departed and removed yourself from

us'? " But Jesus said, " 'No'; but I go to the place whence I came. If you wish to

come with me, come! " [65]

 

According to the Secret Book, Jesus then invited James and Peter to travel with

him to heaven, perhaps in the kind of ecstatic trance that John of Patmos said

he experienced before he wrote the book of Revelation. First Jesus separated

them from the others and privately explained that they could join him not only

after death but also here and now, by becoming " full of the spirit. " [66] But

instead of urging his disciples simply to 'follow' him, here Jesus encourages

them to 'surpass' him. (p.99) He explains that those who suffer and overcome the

fear of death may " become better than I; make yourselves like the son of the

Holy Spirit! Be zealous, and if possible, arrive [in heaven] even before I do. "

[67] As the Secret Book concludes, James tells how

 

Peter and I gave thanks, and sent our hearts upward toward heaven. We heard with

our ears, and saw with our eyes, the noise of war, trumpets blaring and a great

turmoil. And when we had passed beyond that place, we sent our minds farther

upwards, and saw with our eyes and heard with our ears...angels rejoicing, as

we, too, rejoiced. [68]

 

Many other Christians who sought revelation--and may even have hoped to ascend

into heaven during their lifetime--took Paul, naturally enough, as their patron

apostle. The author of the Prayer of the Apostle Paul, discovered at Nag

Hammadi, is one of many to recall what Paul wrote in his letter to Christians in

Corinth about his own " visions and revelations of the Lord, " especially the

famous episode in which Paul says he was

 

caught up into the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body, I do

not know; God knows...I heard things that are not to be spoken, that no mortal

is allowed to speak. [69]

 

The author of the Prayer of the Apostle Paul, then, takes Paul as the paradigm

of " those who seek for God " and articulates the longing to enter into God's

presence, as Paul had:

 

(p.100) My redeemer, redeem me, for I am yours, one who has come forth from you.

You are my mind; bring me forth. You are my treasure; open to me. You are my

fulfillment; join me to you! [70]

 

 

Finally, echoing what Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, the

prayer concludes, " Grant what no angel's eye has seen and what no ruling power's

ear has heard, and what has not entered into the human heart...since I have

faith and hope. " [71]

 

Those who wrote, translated, and carefully copied works such as the Secret Book

of James and the Prayer of the Apostle Paul may have known about techniques that

certain Jewish groups used to induce a state of ecstasy and invoke visions. For

example, one group of Jewish ascetics living in Egypt at the time of Jesus,

called the Therapeutae, practiced a rigorous regimen of prayer, celibacy,

fasting, and singing to prepare themselves to receive " the vision of God. " Some

of the Dead Sea Scrolls also offer prayers and rituals apparently intended to

help the devout enter God's presence and join in worship with angels. [72]

 

Beyond Belief (The Secret Gospel of Thomas), Chapter 3, p. 97-100

Elaine Pagels

Vintage Books, New York, U.S.A

ISBN: 0-375-70316-0

 

Notes:

 

[62] For discussion, see Chapter 5; of the many scholarly discussions, see,

among recent articles, David Brakke, " Canon Formation and Social Conflict in

Fourth Century Egypt, " 'Harvard Theological Review' 87:4 (1994), 395-419, as

well as his illuminating book 'Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism'

(Baltimore and London, 1995).

 

[63] Acts 1:9.

 

[64] Apocryphon of James 2:9-15, in NHL 30.

 

[65] Ibid., 2:19-25, in NHL 30.

 

[66] Ibid., 3:35-4:27, especially 4:19, in NHL 31.

 

[67] Ibid., 5:19-20.

 

[68] Ibid., 15:6-28. In her recent book, April De Conick evaluates this as a

vision that both resembles and qualifies those she says were sought in certain

circles of Jewish visionaries. See 'Seek to See Him'.

 

[69] II Corinthians 12:1-4. April De Conick and Jarl Fossum, " Stripped Before

God: A New Interpretation of Logion 37 of the Gospel of Thomas, " 'Vigiliae

Christianae' 45 (1991), 123-150; see also Alan F. Segal, " Heavenly Ascent in

Hellenistic Judaism, Early Christianity, and Their Environment, " 'Aufstieg und

Niedergang der Romischen Welt' 2:23:2 (1980), 1333-94; 'Paul the Convert: The

Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee' (New Haven and London, 1990); and

C.R.A. Morray-Jones, " Paradise Revisited (2 Cor. 12:1-12): The Jewish Mystical

Background of Paul's Apostolate, Part 2: Paul's Heavenly Ascent and Its

Significance, " 'Harvard Theological Review' 86.3 (1993), 265-292. For a major

critical perspective, see Martha Himmelfarb, 'Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and

Christian Apocalypses' (New York, 1993); " The Practice of Ascent in the Ancient

Mediterranean World, " in John J. Collins and M. Fishbane, eds., 'Death, Ecstasy,

and Other Worldly Journeys' (Albany, 1995); " Revelation and Rapture: The

Transformation of the Visionary in the Ascent Apocalypses, " in John J. Collins

and James H. Charlesworth, eds., 'Mysteries and Revelation: Apocalyptic Studies

Since the Uppsala Colloquium', JSP Supplements 9 (Sheffield, 1991); and Peter

Schafer, ed., 'Synpose zur Hekhalot-Literatur' (Texte und Studien zum Antiken

Judentum 2, Tubingen, 1981); 'Mystik und Theologie des rabbinischen Judentums'

(ed., with M. Schluter, New York, 1992); and especially 'The Hidden and Manifest

God: Some Major Themes in Early Jewish Mysticism' (Albany, 1992).

 

[70] Prayer of the Apostle Paul 1:6-9, in NHL 27.

 

[71] Ibid., 1:26-34, in NHL 28; cf. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.

 

[72] Carol Newsom, 'Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice: A Critical Edition'

(Atlanta, 1985).