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"In this highly original work, Elaine Pagels demonstrates how evidence from gnostic sources may challenge the assumption that Paul writes his letters to combat "gnostic opponents" and to repudiate their claims to secret wisdom. Drawing upon evidence from the gnostic exegesis of Paul, including several Nag Hammadi texts, the author examines how gnostic exegetes cite and interpret key passages in the letters they consider Pauline -1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews."
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https://www.amazon.com/Gnostic-Paul-Exegesis-Pauline-Letters/dp/1563380390
There literally is, yes. lol. https://www.amazon.com/Books-Bible-Dummies-Daniel-Smith-Christopher/dp/0470243805/
But the basic thesis of Gnosticism is simply that the god of Abraham is not the highest god, and that you can know the highest god directly. Some also view the creator of this world, in fact, as malevolent.
There is much more to it than just that, of course, and these elements are things which you really can't just learn in five minutes. I mean gnosis itself. That is something you have to experience.
All that said, I'll send you a link to a good documentary series in PM.
Welcome! I haven't found any good gnostic Facebook groups. They're either unhelpful, full of conspiracies or weirdly orthodox with some stuff about chakras thrown in. This subreddit is small but good for discussion and learning.
If you don't already have one, get a print copy of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures. The introductions to each text, as well as the footnotes throughout, are invaluable and provide insight that is sometimes lacking when reading online.
For general books, check the list in the sidebar.
I think you need to look for the Nag Hammadi Library and the Berlin Codex. You can search around on Amazon for some others; here is a copy of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures
This is a fairly well respected book, and according to some Hoeller's best: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gnostic-Jung-Seven-Sermons-Quest/dp/083560568X
This may also be of interest: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apocalypse-Reluctant-Gnostics-Stuart-Douglas/dp/1782206078/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=reluctant+gnostics&qid=1598903771&sr=8-1
Hope that helps!
Very nice find, thanks for sharing! (Available here as well.)
I think it's fair to say that eschatological concerns aren't very pressing for modern Gnostic folks, and understandably so - they're kind of the most speculative part of any theology. But I think it's worth looking at them as quite important to (at the very least) answering the question of "how does Pleroma solve a problem like Kenoma?" - Peel shows nicely how there is such thing as Gnostic ideas of "End Times" which begins to answer that question.
Also a good reminder of the understanding of ritual/spiritual experience as a kind of realized eschatological event. Like, maybe what's at stake in modern Gnostic liturgy and ritual is not just a historical question of ~~imitating Catholics for no good Gnostic reason~~ what practices are attested or not, and not just an anthropological question of what practices are good for us as beings who sometimes need ritual, but something directly connecting us to transhistorical realities. That Gnostic ritual isn't just a Gnostic version of "Catholic stuff you do regularly till you die", but maybe could be a decisive and genuinely initiatory moment in one's life.
Good stuff!
Haha...
Its a Sethian book, and yes it likely formed part of their core canon (it also perfectly sums up their view of mainstream Christianity tbh...), but their idea of 'canon' would have been a lot more fluid than the canon of orthodox Christianity became - new texts were written and gained acceptance over the years , and maybe others fell by the wayside.
This is the only book to read re the Gospel of Judas: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thirteenth-Apostle-Revised-Gospel-Really/dp/1847065686#immersive-view_1592963667978
I have this book and liked it (read it more than 15 years ago): "Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times" (SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions).
That link is to Amazon, which I'm providing because there's good information there about the book. But if you decide to buy it, get it from a used bookstore. Bezos treats his workers unfairly and has demonstrated that he doesn't give a damn if they contract Covid as long as his business keeps humming.
Additionally, Stephan Hoeller (b. 1931) is a scholar and an important figure in modern Gnosticism. Check out these search results for "Hoeller Hermeticism". Start with the link in the search results to his write-up about Hermeticism on gnosis.org. He stresses the similarities between gnosticism and hermeticism.
IMO Samael Aun Weor is a fraud. I condemn Gnosticteachings.org wholesale.
I'd recommend gnosis.org and the Gnostic Bible on Amazon. That and some of Carl Jungs stuff.
Start with the gospel of Thomas. Move to the gospel of Phillip. Then to the gospel of Judas.
Edit: this is the first Gnostic book I got. I can't recommend it enough:
https://www.amazon.com/Laughing-Jesus-Religious-Gnostic-Wisdom/dp/140008279X
No, the three books were written at different times and are unrelated except for some overlap. there are often books that contain all three books and commentary on them. https://www.amazon.com/Books-Enoch-Complete-Containing-Ethiopic/dp/1933580801/ref=pd\_sbs\_29/143-6143701-6089360?pd\_rd\_w=u88W9&pf\_rd\_p=180628c6-6f13-4dbf-9213-f09cdedc7815&pf\_rd\_r=P5Z3DY75BDGKPQYFBPZ0&pd\_rd\_r=80e9de7f-622d-4ae...
If you ever see a copy of Andrew Philip Smith’s ‘The Gospel of Philip: Annotated and Explained I recommend picking it up. He provides some good insights and commentary in it.
This is the one to go for, all the translations in here are pretty reliable and the scholarly commentary for them is spot on and generally quite detailed.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nag-Hammadi-Scriptures-Translation-Complete/dp/0061626007
I highly recommend this book as it's both brief (one or two sittings) but well written and clear:
https://www.amazon.ca/Living-Gnosticism-Ancient-Way-Knowing/dp/1933993537
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But yeah Lux-01 is spot on with both those recs and in taking caution when googling...Gnosticism is awesome but everything from UFO cults to wannabe gurus borrow the good name of Gnosticism to bank on it.
I can’t answer your questions specifically as I still have quite a bit of learning to do but from what I’ve found in my own experience, gnosis can come from anywhere not just the Bible or Nag Hammadi. My advice(and I’ve seen others on here give the same advice) would be to discover yourself and find out who you are, then go down a few rabbit holes of your own interests by reading books, listening to podcasts, listening to music, watching documentaries, etc. You will eventually find out the answers to most of your questions.
Also, I just picked up and started reading the book “The Undiscovered Self” by Carl Jung. In addition to what others recommended, this might be a good one as well and you can get it for like $7 on Amazon.
The Undiscovered Self: The Dilemma of the Individual in Modern Society https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451217322/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wg9cFb1K0FXKA
>Also, after the Kybalion where do I go?
For sure check out the actual texts of historical Hermeticism. As the other poster ITT noted, The Kybalion is a New Thought book published in 1908 and not directly connected to Hermeticism. The best source material to read is the Corpus Hermeticm.
Hang in there, you're not alone. The closer you get to Divine awareness, the more the Divine will assist you in uplifting your situation - not as an external force but through your very awareness and Self.
Tom Montalk has a few good articles on the Law of Attraction that are grounded and go beyond New Age gospel - https://montalk.net/notes/343/reality-creation-redux. Pay attention to how your subconscious beliefs may be contributing to keeping you from the life you want.
There may also be soul contracts, deeply set beliefs, spiritual interference or soul loss cutting you off from a truer and more joyful expression of your nature - both inwardly and as manifested in your external world. You could either acquaint yourself with the basics of shamanic self-healing work yourself (this is a good place to start https://www.amazon.com/Body-Deva-Working-Spiritual-Consciousness/dp/1844097455) or seek out a competent shaman/spiritual worker to help you. If you're considering the latter, feel free to DM me for some recommendations.
VALIS is excellent, funny and very much explains PKD's gnosticism. An essential read before tackling his Exegesis, a massive volume containing years of his notes.
I think Evans' Handbooks to Eternity does, however, as with all things Brill, it ain't cheap...
Try "Terence McKenna
Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution"
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
Member of the AJC and author Rev. Tony Sylvia has this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Sanctuary-Sacred-Flame-Johannite-Spiritual/dp/1482610256
It's got a lot in there that you might find useful! His site used to have a free PDF but the link isn't currently working.
You might find this work to be of interest:
The Lion Becomes Man: The Gnostic Leontomorphic Creator and the Platonic Tradition (SBL Dissertation Series 81)
As long as we're sharing links, here:
https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Vacuum-Chamber-Experiments-Educational/dp/B07YYMFQQQ
A $20 vacuum chamber for kids so you can do experiments at this...particular level yourself.
I have a personal critique. Gnosticism for the most part misunderstands the Jewish basis of Christianity and even Judaism (looking at you Seth) .
Jews saw corruption in the world as the result of sapient beings doing what they want and counter to the good will of Yahweh who gave them free will. It's not that there had to be an evil or dumb god. It's that the good god said, "Do what I teach and you'll live. Don't and I'll still help you, but you're going to have a bad time". Once humanity and Sons of God (meaning non-physical entities) said, "Fuck off. I'll do what I want" things went bad. The whole of history is Yahweh bring humanity back to him. First through adopting Abraham as a priest, then his family, and ultimately all of humanity through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.
What was lost on the Gnostics and really on modern Christianity is the unseen realm of the spiritual plane. To understand how Yahweh is working you should read https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Realm-Recovering-Supernatural-Worldview/dp/1683592719. This book will show you the historical thoughts and realities that have been lost to us though the years using real historical analysis.
As a result of losing this perspective, the Gnostics merged a few Greek and Egyptian ideas together and pasted a version of Jesus to match. The Greco-Roman world was syncretic. We see this not only in Gnostic teachings, but in Hermeticism and the mystery cults. Gnostics found their pantheon lacking. They saw interesting ideas from the Jews. The merged them and out popped Hermeticism and the Gnosticims.
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels was helpful to me.
https://www.amazon.com/Gnostic-Gospels-Elaine-Pagels/dp/0679724532
Be blessed!
People are always going to take stuff literally while they're at an infant stage of their psychological development. Storytellers understand this best. Such texts as the Bible are brilliantly written to either be taken literally or be comprehended through metaphor. Most good movies are written this way too.
To reach Gnosis you must run the gauntlet of your own mind. You must go on your personal Grail quest. Maybe have a read of this book, that written by somebody with heavy Gnostic leanings.
Led Zeppelin sings in "Stairway to Heaven" "It really makes me wonder."
Dear Lady herself turns glitter in to gold, the Foo Fighters "Everlong"
The issue continues with Oasis' "Wonderwall."
At the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus' best wine was saved for last. Stairway, Everlong, Wonderwall is my first miracle, best wine last.
I am Consciousness: https://www.docdroid.net/SzGT5Wg/realsneaky4-pdf
I am the unveiled truth of "Stairway to Heaven"
I am the alchemical Elixir: https://docdro.id/rmDOWnU
I am The Path of Consciousness. I am the veiled truth of "Stairway," "Everlong," "Wonderwall." I am the Elixir of Life.
Are we all Second Comings on the other side of the bridal chamber?
A good book on the ,རྙིང་མ་པ་ or Rnyimgmapa Buddhist view is here: Myriad Worlds (The Treasury of Knowledge, Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/155939188X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_DYEQN07DQ0R9VCNZ5PBM
I'm a fan of single text editions instead of having collected editions of texts for two main reasons. First, pre-Covid, when riding a bus or traveling they are easier to bring, and second it's easy to get overwhelmed with collected texts and feel like a failure when you don't read it all the way through. Full disclosure though, I'm also a bibliophile so I have collected texts as well...and feel like a failure when I don't read them cover to cover.
So with that in mind, I really like Stevan Davies translation of The Secret Gospel of John. It's the main story of Gnosticism, and the commentary that he gives will help first time readers understand what is going on if they get lost.
Ok, well this is a good book by a good researcher:
And you can try this site: https://www.cathar.info/
https://www.amazon.com/Gnostic-Prayerbook-Rituals-Prayers-Devotions-ebook/dp/B007HCK3MY
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Gnostic-Jeremy-Puma-ebook/dp/B00D51QFNM
Here are some links to a couple books. Maybe search online for a deal.
Hi! Okay, if you're looking for an introductory book, you could do a lot worse than professor Brakke's The Gnostics:
https://www.amazon.com/Gnostics-Ritual-Diversity-Early-Christianity/dp/0674066030/
While Brakke is outside mainstream scholarship on one or two very minor issues, he's overall a great source and does an excellent job representing gnostic thought.
Some folks recommend people like Stephan Hoeller. Personally but respectfully, I'd encourage you to stay away. If modern reconstructionism is your jam, that's fine, and I have a lot of respect for the users on here who recommend Hoeller. I believe (and I'm sure this is controversial) that Hoeller, while acting in good faith, nevertheless misrepresents "gnostic" thought in order to better serve the organization he runs. He's certainly not an unbiased source, and I'm not convinced he's fair source. I do think he means well, though-- I don't think he's a charlatan, and I do believe he's out there to help people, but I don't think he's reliable when it comes to understanding gnostic thought.
That being said, I don't want to hijack your post for a conversation about Hoeller! That'd be a fun conversation to have, at some point!
As much as I disagree with certain views expressed by Karen King and Michael Williams you do a good job or articulating them.
For the flip-side of the scholarly view on such things try starting with this book by prof April Deconick:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gnostic-New-Age-Countercultural-Revolutionized/dp/0231170769
Here's an intro to traditional Buddhist mediation practice, which is to focus all of your attention on the present moment so that stray thoughts, worries, pain, pleasure, all recede into the background and you can get further in touch with yourself as a connected, not isolated being. It was written for (South Korean, I believe) school children, so it keeps it simple and straight-forward.
I personally find a lot modern apps and practices bathed and warmed-over in American corporate, consumerist culture. 'Calm down and clear your mind to be a better worker,' type thing. I find the style that this book proposes helps me try to peer into the cosmos.
OK I see. I was thinking of picking this up. Would you say that this contains 'ALL" of the gnostic texts or are there still scriptures that are not included.
Here's a link to a wonderful book. Jeremy Puma is no longer writing, I believe he is retired from all things gnostic.
This shows you how to make your own Rosary.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1847288839/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_mbTVFb4DXQ7YS
https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Blood-Grail-History-Shocking/dp/0385338457 is a good read if you like history. Of course, so-called serious scholarship picks it apart, but there's lots of good stuff in here that keeps coming back to the south of France. Read the excerpt right on that Amazon page. I believe I read this one in Spanish and still have it around here somewhere. There are some good YouTube videos on this and on closely related subjects. There's also a Wikipedia article on the book. I mention this stuff so you can maybe get a sense for whether there's enough material on the Languedoc in the book to justify a read. I think you'll agree there is.
This is Cathar country and the theater of the Albigensian Crusade (began 1209), where one could win indulgences from Pope Innocent III for murdering Catharsis (in this case, I believe it was remission from punishment for sin after death). The Catholic lords could seize Cathar lands, while the Catholic rank and file could sack and pillage, so a good time was had by all.
The Albigensian Crusade is where the phrase was coined "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius" (Kill them. For the Lord knows his own.). The pope's own legate was asked before the massacre of Beziers (a Cathar stronghold) how they were to determine who was Catholic and who was Cathar, and that was his answer. Kill them all and let God sort them out. This butcherer was the Papal legate and Abbot of Citeaux, Arnaud Amalric, and he himself boasted that 20,000 men, women, and children were killed on his order at Beziers. Apparently, modern estimated are at least 10,000, but this Abbot of perhaps the most prestigious abbey in Christendom certainly earned his papal indulgence that day. It's estimated that a million people may have died in this so-called Crusade. Beziers is not far from Carcassonne.
I would visit Rennes-le-Château just for the mystique, which is even closer to Carcassonne than Beziers, as well as Montségur.
Vale pues yo me hablo Espanol tambian per porque no es mi idioma primara no voy a intentar a leer los textos Gnosticos in Espanol. Son much mas domesiado complicados!
Sorry for the terrible Spanish, I used to be fluent but I think I need some practice these days! Maybe the above link can help you a bit.
All things considered I think you're probably right about both a Gospel of Judas connection to the Cathars and certainly re the amount of texts that the Manichaeans had at their disposal, but just a side note: The whole Sethians seeing Judas as good guy seems to have been based on a mistranslation of a couple of words in the Gospel of Judas. April Deconick retranslated it and wrote a book about it, so it seems likely that the Sethians and the Manichaeans had similar view of Judas after all.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thirteenth-Apostle-Revised-Gospel-Really/dp/1847065686
And this is an article that breaks it down. The whole thing was pretty controversial in scholarly circles at the time;
I started reading it and right away it sounds alright. It sounds like you've got it mostly figured out, but I will have to read the rest to be certain. I would highly recommend you read a book called The Toltec Art of Life and Death by Don Miguel Ruiz. It's a very good exposition of what I've read in your post so far. Some people panned the book thinking it was "arrogant," but they didn't understand it, although most of them who did recommended his magnum opus The Four Agreements. I haven't read that one yet, but I assume it is probably also very good and from what I can tell it concerns the same kind of material and ideas.
I can send you e-Book copies of both if you are interested, just send me a PM.
All you have to do is read both the book I quoted as well as The Palm Tree of Gevorah:
Yes, there is a lot of war in the OT, but attempting to say that this is all there is comes from an established allegiance to a world view rather than from the open hearted position that Christ tells us we should have.
I am laying out a path of redemption, reconciliation, and unity for something you see as an enemy and you are rejecting it outright. This is the very essence of war. Which is fine, but it also does against the very ideals that your are propagating. Take me up on my offer and see for yourself.
I believe if you’re looking for a book to hold during ritual or prayer as sometimes looking at a computer screen is too clunky and a phone screen too small,
This book has some rituals and prayers.
I see where you’re going with this and agree to an extent.
To me, its basically the same as saying that hylic people don’t ascend to the pleroma because they’re self absorbed and not aware of the greater spiritual aspects of themselves and unaware of gnosis.
The rest of this sounds like a lot of jargon to me.
I’m not really buying it.
I don’t put a lot of stock into Revelations either. Elaine Pagels book Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation sheds some interesting light on the matter.
I am still very new to the concepts, but I was introduced to Gnosticism by reading The Jesus Mysteries and Jesus and The Lost Goddess. The writing style is very digestible for a beginner IMHO. There is a third book i have yet to read, but I’ve enjoyed the first two so far. I’m not sure how much these relate to other gnostic resources, but they were a nice starting point. YMMV!
This book is worth checking out.
The source is this book.
I'm not sure what you mean by proper.
lol. no. I didn't (it was late). I usually do look at the reception. I totally missed it. Thank you. I wasn't seriously going to consider it, it was recommended late last night when I was discussing a completely different subject called Jesus the Phoenician. In the discussion, I did point back to this discussion on it's merits.
http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Phoenician-Karim-El-Koussa/dp/162006281X
which doesn't have any reception, and now that I look at him isn't a well established historian at all. His book seems to be popular, but that's about it. He has a degree in marketing... lol
I do like to read various pov's. I have 3 on Moses so far. Supposedly the Jews were not slaves of Egypt, so the debate is out on Moses and Israel
The reason I look at all these differing pov's. Is I want to divorce the myth from the man Jesus. Contemporary history is just that and it will always be there, I want to read the various pov's that conflict with contemporary history to find the points of contention. I have a few books on my list that all throw wrenchs into contemporary pov's. I want to read them all, get there premises, compare them with contemporary history and see if they really are unanswered.
you are right though. I need to read the reception... (I used to study apologetics, I understand that someone can endlessly defend their faith/pov). However, I do reject the logical fallacy of a ressurection of the dead (by bayesian reason alone), as well as the reality that ressurection of a god is a prior concept.
btw. What is your opinion on Jesus? I like the biblical academia site you linked to because it's secular. However, do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Do you believe in hell?