Gnosticism - Beginning the Search into early forms of Christianity
I am reading two books by Elaine Pagels at the moment: one is "The Gnostic Gospels" (first edition came out in 1979) and the other is entitled "Beyond Belief" (2003). Both books are well written and scholarly at the same time. I've studied the religion of my family, Catholicism, but never in a "mythological" or imaginal way. The view that I am getting from Pagels' books is that Christianity from the first to the fourth century was just as diverse as it is today, if not more, and completely disorganized. In fact, when we study the gnostic texts, Christianity resembles mystical traditions of the East. Pagels quotes another scholar who compares the gnostic sayings of Jesus with Buddhist koans:
Jesus said, ‘If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you” (Gnostic Gospels xv).
When I read this quote it reminded me of C.G. Jung's view of working with the shadow. He mentioned that whatever is hiding in the unconscious will be projected on the world as fate. [I believe his exact quote is, "That which we do not bring to consciousness appears in our lives as fate."]
Another aspect of the gnostic gospels that I found interesting was the notion of God as mother and father:
This is a poem spoken in the voice of a feminine divine power in another text mysteriously entitled "Thunder, Perfect Mind"--
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin...
I am the barren one,
and many are her sones...
I am the silence that is incomprehensible...
I am the utterance of my name. (Gnostic Gospels xvii)
The idea of a feminine deity equal with God is not something we find in Orthodox Christianty in modern times. The Virgin Mary is glorified but not given equal billing with God or her son Jesus, the Christ. I have also begun to read about Mary Magdelene, who I find really intriguing. Since the publishing of Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Codes," the not-so-virgin Mary has come back into the spotlight. However, many of Brown's assertions of historical fact surrounding Mary Magdalene are truly mythic. Not that I mind the mythic, being a myth scholar, but I don't think it is ethical to say something is factual when it is not.
As I'm still taking notes on both books and thinking them through, I will have to record more reflections in January.
Please feel free to post any additional thoughts about these books, the author Elaine Pagels or the subject of gnosticism. I would enjoy reading other perspectives and responses to this subject.
Jesus said, ‘If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you” (Gnostic Gospels xv).
When I read this quote it reminded me of C.G. Jung's view of working with the shadow. He mentioned that whatever is hiding in the unconscious will be projected on the world as fate. [I believe his exact quote is, "That which we do not bring to consciousness appears in our lives as fate."]
Another aspect of the gnostic gospels that I found interesting was the notion of God as mother and father:
This is a poem spoken in the voice of a feminine divine power in another text mysteriously entitled "Thunder, Perfect Mind"--
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin...
I am the barren one,
and many are her sones...
I am the silence that is incomprehensible...
I am the utterance of my name. (Gnostic Gospels xvii)
The idea of a feminine deity equal with God is not something we find in Orthodox Christianty in modern times. The Virgin Mary is glorified but not given equal billing with God or her son Jesus, the Christ. I have also begun to read about Mary Magdelene, who I find really intriguing. Since the publishing of Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Codes," the not-so-virgin Mary has come back into the spotlight. However, many of Brown's assertions of historical fact surrounding Mary Magdalene are truly mythic. Not that I mind the mythic, being a myth scholar, but I don't think it is ethical to say something is factual when it is not.
As I'm still taking notes on both books and thinking them through, I will have to record more reflections in January.
Please feel free to post any additional thoughts about these books, the author Elaine Pagels or the subject of gnosticism. I would enjoy reading other perspectives and responses to this subject.
