Third, we are told that sophia, the wisdom of god, seeks to know god objectively. There are four surviving coptic manuscripts of this text. Gnostic cosmology and the apocryphon of john lecture. The sophia of jesus christ and eugnostos the blessed. Once coupled with sophia, this seems like a false dichotomy, and a world of eternal possibility opens up when there is balance in the mind of god and man. The gnostics identified him with the god of the old testament. Saint john vs the archheretic gnostics of crete, is a little known biblical battle that is one of the most important. The story of sophia s fall which was part of the gnostic creation myth is told slightly differently in the many gnostic texts that discuss it, but the various versions of the. The apocryphon of john, christian gnostic creation myth. Included are translations of the short and long version of the text based on the waldsein and wisse edition, an indepth analysis. Codex askewianus contains pistis sophia and codex brucianus contains the book of jeu. The fact it was written at the same time as matthew, mark, luke, and john, and refers. Perhaps johns gospel draws the strongest connection between the two. New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing quest books, 2002 buy the book there has long been need for a comprehensive introductory guide to the gnostic tradition.
This site includes the entire hammadi library, as well as a large collection of other primary gnostic scriptures and documents. Essay from the seekers handbook the complete guide to spiritual pathfinding, 1991, by john lash. At the onset it should be made clear that gnosticism is a personal experience of religion. The antinomian side of gnosticism is not so directly referred to in the first epistle of john as docetism is.
The gnostic valentinians referred to the fundamental principles of consciousness, the primeval father and mother, as bythos and sege abyss and silence in greek. Apparently, john used the language of gnosticism to show that jesus was the true religion of all gentiles. As one becomes more familiar with the gnostic creation myth and the gnostic belief that the world was created by an ignorant, false god, one will also be able to better appreciate the myth of sophia. If there is a single basic gnostic text, the secret book of john is it.
This is an extensive and scholarly but still very readable study of the text and the cultural milieu that both influenced, and in turn was influenced by, the apocryphon iohannis. The author describes this having occurred after jesus. The gospel of john and the gnostic myth of redemption. In the gnostic myth of how the world works, sophia, the feminine personification of wisdom, lives happily with spirits of light especially her twin brother, in the unified limitless potential of her fathers radiance, created by the twin powers of depth and silence. In gnosticism, the fall didnt occur through adam and eve it happened before the worlds creation, through a mistake made by a heavenly being called sophia whose name is greek for wisdom 1. It has always seemed to me that the secret book of john evolved to be more difficult to read than it. The spiritual meaning behind the story of sophia aeon. In the path there are many gradations of gnosis along the way and supernal or messianic consciousness is not an end but rather a new beginning.
The marriage of greek and jewish themes in the apocryphon of john. Pistis sophia is an important gnostic text discovered in 1773, possibly written. It came to pass, when jesus had risen from the dead, that he passed eleven years discoursing with his disciples, and instructing them only up to the regions of the first commandment and up to the regions of the first mystery, that within the veil, within. Shes so dizzy with love for the creative source that when she sees a brilliant shimmering. The text in question is a secondcentury sethian gnostic christian text. The apocryphon of john is commonly referenced by two other names. A third work from this period, codex berolinensis, was found elsewhere and published in 1955.
Background and structure the tradition of the church has for while proclaimed john, the son of zebedee and gentleman of the gentleman, who was also at his jesus breast, the author of the gospel. A dictionary of christian biography, literature, sects and doctrines, volume iv, london. In one of the recent threads it was brought up about how 1st john was really written to combat the gnostic heresy of the time. The secret book of john the first time i read the nag hammadi library i was immediately drawn to the saga of the heroine and antiheroine that is the character of sophia. Another scripture from the same collection, the hypostasis of the archons, informs us that not only eve but also the serpent was inspired and guided by the divine sophia. Since it was known to the church father irenaeus, it must have been written before around 180 ce. The gnostic valentinus paired the primal father, the word, with mother of the all, who was grace, silence, womb. Drawing connections to christianity, buddhism, hinduism, kabbalistic judaism, and sufism, davies focuses on the mythology and psychology of the. Gnosticism is difficult to define because it comes in so many flavors and interpretations. Originally carrying a meaning of cleverness, skill, the later meaning of the term, close to the meaning of phronesis wisdom, intelligence, was significantly shaped by the term philosophy love of wisdom as used by plato. I was thinking yesterday of the possibility of an influence on gnosticism from the book of st. The term gnosis means an experience of knowledge and religion from the latin religio means to bind back to the point of origin and hence gnosticism is an experience of the real.
The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john or the secret revelation of john, is a secondcentury sethian gnostic christian text of secret teachings. They all live in the spiritual land beyond the earth called the pleroma. Apocryphon comes from, apokryphos, hidden, obscure, from apo away and kryptein to hide. The title of this scripture in greek is apocryphon ioannis. This is the meaning of gnosis and gnosticism from the sophian perspective true gnosis is a state of supernal or messianic consciousness and gnosticism is a path to true gnosis. The prophetic record of human destiny and evolution by zinovia dus. And what do you get if you follow his son, jesus christ. In the apocryphon or secret book of john1 we more than. The pistis sophia contains all the words of the adorable savior of the world. Pistis sophia and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. The gnostic myths of sophia also have important gender implications. The secret book of john and the secret revelation of john, depending upon how the word apocryphon is translated.
Sophia is a major theme, along with knowledge gnosis, coptic sooun, among many of. New light on the ancient tradition of inner knowing kindle locations 550553. This website is dedicated to the teachings and practices of a living tradition of gnostic christianity a western path to enlightenment. Sophia is cast into the chaos from an undivided nothingness the secret book of john, on the origin of the world. It is a framework from which to explain the nature of god, creation, good and evil, man, and the purpose of life. The gospel of john, written before the major gnostic writings recovered so far, clearly refutes the dualistic teachings that were giving strength to the gnostic philosophies of the time by pointing to jesus being human and yet god, thereby arguing against the spiritualism and the perverted symbology promoted by gnostics at that time. Although in many gnostic texts and systems sophia is a major female divinity, in pistis sophia she originates and dwells outside of the divine realm. Gnostic interpreters the apocryphon of john in the. There were found twelve books bound in leatherplus eight pages of a thirteenth book. In gnosticism, the gospel story of jesus is itself allegorical. It has no traditional introduction from whom, to whom.
Welcome to the online community of ecclesia pistis sophia the sophian gnostic tradition. This book is currently under revision for republication late in 2001. Early christian church fathers such as origen, tertullian, justin martyr and eusebius of caesarea condemned gnostic teachers and beliefs as heretical. Gnosticism is a 17thcentury term expanding the definition of irenaeus groups to include other syncretic and mystery. Sophia, yaltaboath was grotesque, yaltaboath was creator of material world. Presented here are the books of the sophia of jesus christ also called the wisdom. The gnostic valentinians referred to the fundamental principles of consciousness, the primeval father and mother, as bythos. The book of 1 john is not a personal letter nor a letter written to one church as much as it is an impassioned office memo from headquarters corporate letter. The apocryphon of john, female voice, audio book duration.
It helps to remember that many things were going on during the rise of christianity in the 2 nd to 4 th centuries. Gnostic scholar and author, john lash, joins thc to lay out the myth of sophia and explain the true origin story of the archons. See other catholic courses titles see other michael waldstein, ph. Gnosticism pronounced nos tuh siz um was a secondcentury religious movement claiming that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge. John then explains how the archons achieved a very substantial neurohack into humanity, spawning the three major religions and cementing us squarely within their sophia defying control matrix. The gnostic scriptures portray him as ignorant, malicious, and utterly inferior to the true god who sent christ to earth to save mankind from the demiurges evil world the demiurge is given many names in the gnostic. Best known among the nag hammadi documents is the gospel of thomas. Thus, all the esotericchristic instructions that jesus christ gave to his disciples on the mount of the olives and other holy places is written within this book. Christ persuades yaldabaoth to breathe sophias spirit into adam. In 1 john, the prophet explains how important is to believe in god. Under her according to valentinus stand the worldcreative. The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john or the secret revelation of john, is a secondcentury sethian gnostic.
John milton famously wrote in paradise lost that lucifer claimed, better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. Gnosticism in 1 john and 2 john most of the christians already know the famous passage talking about the false teachers and deceivers. Every story she appeared in was different but oddly familiar. The second recommended book is karen kings the secret revelation of john. The following essay is taken from the revised version. The story of sophias fall which was part of the gnostic creation myth is told slightly differently in the many gnostic texts that discuss it, but the various versions of the. The gnostic goddess, female power, and the fallen sophia 2010 max dashu 3 throughout gnostic scriptures, we find strong echoes of hebrew traditions of khokhmah, wisdom. The secret book of john apocryphon of john the gnosis archive. Who are the deceivers 1 john is written against, mentioned. The demiurge greek demiurgos, 1 craftsman 2 is the being who created the world in gnosticism.
Gnostic goddess, female power, and the fallen sophia. The apocryphon of john, christian gnostic creation myth animation. Jesus hitherto instructeth his disciples only up to the regions of the first mystery. It contains a gospel of mary magdalene, a sophia of jesus, acts of peter, and an apocryphon of john. Gnostics tended to focus exclusively on the inner life of the spirit, which they clearly differentiated. It describes jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge to john the apostle. Originally carrying a meaning of cleverness, skill, the later meaning of the term, close to the meaning of phronesis. By itself, it is not a separate denomination or religion but a religious philosophy. Gnosticism international standard bible encyclopedia. Lietaert peerbolte, the wisdom of solomon and the gnostic sophia. The secret book of john, the apocryphon of john, or the secret revelation of john all have accuracy, but knowing the roots of the name leads to a clearer understanding. A battle of gnosis, that some christians might consider a war of christ vs the antichrist, angel vs demon, or good vs evil.