The Gnostic Challenge to Orthodoxy

a theological essay by Sheila T. Harty

he Gnostic literature, suppressed and lost 1,600 years ago, then discovered buried like treasure in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, is as compelling as a good conspiracy theory. The actual writing even reads like codeand thats after the Coptic has been translated into English! Coptic is Egyptian with Greek letters. I dont read Coptic or Greek. Theologian Elaine Pagels at Princeton University reads both. Pagels reportsas would anyone who reads these textsthat they sound Zen. 1 You know, as in enigma and paradox! An American who studied with a Zen master told Pagels: If I had known the Gospel of Thomas, I wouldnt have had to become a Buddhist. 2 Heres an example of Gnostic catechism: If they ask you, What is the sign of your Father in you? Say to them, It is movement and repose. 3 The cryptic phrasing in most Gnostic texts only makes this conspiracy theory more intriguing. Were these texts purposefully written in an obscure style to evade understanding? Was this a challenge for initiates, a shibboleth for adherents, or a defense against opponents? Whichever, esoteric meaning hides suggestively beneath the text. The word gnosis means knowledge, although the Greek language distinguishes between scientific and reflective knowledge. 4 The use of gnosis by 1st and 2nd century Christian Gnostics was the reflective kind of knowledge, better translated as insight or intuition. A key component of Gnosticism was secret knowledge privy only to an elite who had advanced philosophical understanding. 5 Gnosis was particularly knowledge of ourselves. 6 One famous Gnostic 7 described how the person gifted with a mature spiritual nature would find ecclesiastical teaching unnourishing and inadequate to quench spiritual thirst. 8 The Gnostics told such seekers of enlightenment that they were among the elect who are impelled by the spirit to seek the deeper things of God. 9 Generally, what we call Gnosticism was a kind of dualistic, transcendent nihilism characterized by alienation from the material world and by spiritual redemption through self-enlightenment. Its dualism expressed itself in acknowledging the feminine element of the divine 10 and in perceiving spirit trapped in malignant matter. Its transcendence expressed itself in revolt against the creator God of the Old Testament 11
1

Last page of Gospel of Thomas

as cryptic and compelling as Zen koans. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York NY: Random House, 1979), pg. xv, quoting Gilles Quispel, Professor of History of Religion, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. 2 Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (New York NY: Random House, 2003), pg. 74, quoting Richard Baker from Boston who entered a Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, Japan, as a student of the Zen master Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. 3 Gospel of Thomas, James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library in English, Revised (New York NY: Harper & Row, 1988), pg. 132. 4 Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pg. xix. 5 Karen L. King, What is Gnosticism? (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2003), pg. 165, quoting Clement of Alexandria. 6 Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew (New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2003), pg. 114. 7 Heracleon, student of Valentinus, who was the most notable of the Christian Gnostics, a sophisticated theologian, and a poet. 8 Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters (Harrisburg PA: Trinity Press International, 1992), pg. 158. 9 Ibid., pg. 159. 10 Referring to God as Father and Mother and to the Holy Spirit as feminine. Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pg. 49. 11 Pheme Perkins, Gnosticism and the New Testament (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press, 1993), pg. 30, quoting Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity (Boston MA: Beacon Press, 1963).

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and belief in a higher supreme God. Its nihilism expressed itself through an ascetic renunciation of family, wealth, society, and bodily passions.12 One scholar sees in Gnosticism an Orientalizing of Christianity, 13 another its Hellenizing. 14 Other scholars liken Gnosticism to modern existentialism. 15 Still, most definitively, Gnosticism was syncretic. 16 Thats because there was no religion in antiquity called Gnosticism. 17 The word gnosis had wide use in the ancient world; the word gnostic, infrequent use, and gnosticism, none at all. 18 Modern scholars use the term Gnosticism as shorthand for categorizing diverse religious movements throughout the Hellenistic world that did not evolve into orthodox Christianity. The usage is similar to how the word pagan identified anyone not Jewish or Christian. 19 Gnosticism, then, includes Muslim Gnostics, Jewish Gnostics, Pagan Gnostics, Graeco-Roman Gnostics, as well as Christian Gnostics. 20

THE DISCOVERY IN NAG HAMMADI, EGYPT

n 1945, a wealth of Gnostic literature was among 13 papyrus manuscripts found in a mountain cave near Nag Hammadi, 300 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. This discovery equalsif not surpassesthat of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Qumran caves of Jordan in 1947. The Dead Sea Scrolls revealed a previously unsuspected diversity within 1st century Judaism represented by the Essenes, an ascetic community that set itself apart from official Judaism. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts reveals a similar stance by Christian Gnostics apart from what became official Christianity. 21 Why the Nag Hammadi manuscripts are not as well known as the Dead Sea scrolls is a sad story of scholarly competitiveness, government obfuscation, and greedy antiquity dealers. 22

By the early 1960s, impatient scholars who after two decades still had no access to the Nag Hammadi discoveries asked UNESCO 23 to intervene by appropriating the manuscripts for the public domain. Professor James Robinson, Director of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity in Egypt and the only American on the UNESCO committee, privately circulated copies to scholars around the world in order to breach the monopoly. 24 Most of the texts were finally translated and published between 1972 and 1977. Robinsons edition of The Nag Hammadi Library in English was published in 1978. Unfortunately, I was already out of graduate school in theology, so I never even read this treasure trove until recently. These 13 manuscripts bound 45 separate titles. Although copied in Coptic, the texts were originally composed in Greek. 25 Some of these Gnostic texts were never known before; others were known but no copies existed. Christian forgery has a long and distinguished history, 26 but we know that these manuscripts are not forgeries by evidence from other discoveries of biblical archeology. Among the Nag Hammadi manuscripts, some were found prior and some were found since. 27 To trump that, a brief section of Platos Republic is among the Nag Hammadi corpus.

12 13

Ibid., pp. 70 and 157. King, What is Gnosticism?, pg. 95, quoting Wilhelm Bousset, Kyrios Christos: A History of the Belief in Christ from the Beginning of Christianity to Irenaeus, translated by John E. Steely (Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 1970), pg. 21. 14 Ibid., pg. 65, citing Adolf Von Harnack, History of Dogma, I (New York NY: Dover Publications, 1961), pp. 227-228. 15 Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer, ed., The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts of Mystical Wisdom from the Ancient and Medieval World (Boston MA: Shambala, 2003), pp. 11, quoting Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion. 16 King, What is Gnosticism?, pp. 222. 17 Ibid., pg. 2. 18 Barnstone and Meyer, The Gnostic Bible, pg. 9. 19 King, What is Gnosticism?, pp. 7-19 and pg. 48. 20 Barnstone and Meyer, Op. Cit., pg. 2. 21 Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library, pg. 7. 22 Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pp. xxiv-xxvii. 23 The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. 24 Pagels, Op. Cit. 25 Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library, pg. 12. 26 Bart Ehrman, Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament (New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2003), pg. 3. 27 For example, four Gnostic texts (parts of the Gospel of Mary, the Apocryphon of John, the Sophia of Jesus Christ, and the Act of Peter) were discovered in 1896; fragments of the Gospel of Thomas were discovered in 1890; and fragments of the Gospel

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Many Nag Hammadi texts are pseudonymous, which means they ascribe authorship to some past saint or disciple in order to claim credibility. Consequently, these manuscripts are sometimes called pseudepigrapha, a Greek term meaning written under a false name. 28 But that term would also apply to the New Testament gospels, as biblical scholars know that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not the authors of the gospels attributed to them. Consequently, the Nag Hammadi manuscripts are often called apocrypha, a Greek term for hidden books. 29 However, another and perhaps simpler term is noncanonical, because these Gnostic texts were excluded from the orthodox Christian canon. Besides the more well known Gospel of Thomas, there were also the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Peter, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Proto-Gospel of James, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of the Egyptians, and the Gospel of Truth. The word gospel, however, is used loosely. 30 Sometimes its in the title, sometimes in the text, or sometimes appended. Even so, these Gnostic gospels are not all biographies of Jesus. Some texts are poetry and hymns, apocalyptic writings, exposition of religious ideas, polemical attacks on opposing ideas, metaphysical reflections on the meaning of existence or the origin of the universe, secret revelations of Jesus to select disciples, or, like the Gospel of Thomas, collected sayings of Jesus. Other titles include the Apocryphon of James, the Apocryphon of John, the Apocalypse of Paul, and the Acts of Peter. Theres more. The Dialogue of the Savior, the Treatise on the Resurrection, the Exegesis of the Soul, the Sophia of Jesus Christ, the Testimony of Truth, and a poem called Thunder, Perfect Mind. The Nag Hammadi Library is truly a remarkable find. Their dating, however, is still in dispute. 31 The papyrus sheets and leather bindings can be dated to the 4 century; whereas, the texts can be dated earlierfrom the 1st to the 2nd centuries. 32 The New Testament scholar Helmut Koester of Harvard Divinity School writes that evidence shows that the rise of Gnosticism must be dated earlier than the 2nd century. 33 He thinks that the Gospel of Thomas was probably 1st century and that some of the Gnostic texts likely predate the beginnings of Christianity.
th

Nevertheless, as the Nag Hammadi Library was a bound and hidden collection, the identity and motivation of the copiers may be more telling than the actual authors. The codices were discovered hidden in earthenware jars, as were the Dead Sea Scrolls, which is what Jeremiah 32:14 recommended for the preservation of evidence. 34 Their leather covers, although not ornate, reflect some artistic care. Some covers include simple tooling of crosses or the acrostic fish symbol for Jesus Christ. 35 Some of the leather covers also were reinforced with cartonnage for a hardback effect with an overlapping leather flap and a leather thong attached to hold the codex closed. 36 The papyrus sheets were written on both sidesan improvement over scrolls. The unusually long length of the papyrus sheets reflects a technological feat for that time, 37 indicating the importance of these manuscripts for those who produced and hid them.

of Mary were also later found in Egypt. Karen L. King, The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle (Sonoma CA: Polebridge Press, 2003), pg. 7-11, and What is Gnosticism?, pg. 80. 28 Ehrman, Lost Scriptures, pg. 4. 29 Ibid. 30 Helmut Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development (Harrisburg PA: Trinity Press International, 1990), pp. 43-48. 31 King, What is Gnosticism?, pg. 228. 32 50 CE to 150 CE. Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pp. xvi-xvii. 33 Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels, pp. 83-84. 34 Jeremiah 32:14: Take these deeds, the sealed deed of purchase and its open copy, and put them in an erathenware pot, so that they may be preserved for a long time. The Jerusalem Bible (Garden City NY: Doubleday, 1970), pg. 1119. Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library, pg. 21. 35 Ibid., pg. 18. 36 Ibid., pg. 14. 37 Ibid., pg. 11.

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RADICAL CULT OR PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGIANS

ndeniably, these Gnostic authors were Christian. 38 They considered themselves the faithful core; as surely as other Christians considered them heretics. But against what? Only a different theological view. No consensus existed back then. Jesus and his followers may have existed in the 1st century, but Christianity didnt. These early followers of Jesus had no canon or creed. Each Christian community differed in some respects from every other Christian community. By the 2nd century, each had its own preferred gospel of Jesus: Mark in Rome, Matthew in Antioch, Luke in Caesarea, John in Ephesus, Philip in Syria, Thomas and Mary in Egypt. What became Christianity was forged from the 2nd to the 4th century. 39 What the discovery of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts reveals is that primitive Christianity was not itself a unified movement. 40 The only commonalities were baptism with water and a commemorative meal of bread and wine. The latter was a familiar ritual in the Graeco-Roman world among pagan mystery religions. 41 Other rituals evolved among the Christians gathered together as they shared what they had heard about what Jesus said, did, or taught. The freedom and diversity among early Christian communities changed when an institutional structure emerged with a hierarchy of deacon, priest, and bishop. Thus began the power structure for control of content. The Gnostic texts reflect a challenge to an emerging orthodoxy from the 1st through the 3rd century, providing evidence of conflicting perspectives on what the Christian message was. The Gnostic Gospels fill in omissions within the master story as receivedsignificant omissions, such as the intimate relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus (the Gospel of Philip) as well as the contentious relationship between Mary Magdalene and Peter (The Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary). The Gnostic texts also give entirely different interpretations of what became basic Christian belief: virgin birth, sin, resurrection, etc. By the 3rd century, Gnostic Christians and their teachings were denounced as heretical by several prominent bishops who feared the loss of unity among dispersed communities. Before the Nag Hammadi discovery, most of what had been known about the Gnostics was what these early Church Fathers wrote in their polemics against the Gnostic heresy. 42 By the 4th century, Athanasius, 43 Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, and other 44 Church Fathers, were campaigning tirelessly against the sects we now call Gnostic. The Church Fathers called them heretics. To enforce an orthodoxy, Athanasius compiled the first known list of the 27 books of the New Testament and urged all Christians, especially monks, to reject all other books. 45 Pagels theorizes that some monks at the Pachomian 46 monastery just three miles from Nag Hammadi decided to defy Athanasius order and instead preserve their library by burying more than 50 books where they were found 1,600 years later. 47 Clearly, the Gnostics were too radical for the evolving orthodoxy that became normative Christianity. 48 Specifically, the Gnostics interpreted as metaphor much of what was written or told about

38 39

Ibid., pg. 3. Karen L. King, The Gospel of Mary, pg. 156. 40 Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library, pg. 6. 41 The Persian sun god Mithras and the Greek god of wine Dionysius. Pagels, Beyond Belief, pg. 19. 42 Bishop Ireneas wrote a five-volume treatise entitled, The Destruction and Overthrow of Falsely So-Called Knowledge. Ehrman, Lost Christianities, pg. 121, and also King, What is Gnosticism?, pg. 20. 43 The same Athanasius who campaigned for the trinity against Arius, which culminated in the Nicene Creed. 44 Most notably, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, but also Tertullian of Carthage, Clement and Origen of Alexandria, and Hippolytus of Rome. King, What is Gnosticism?, pg. 20. 45 Pagels, Beyond Belief, pp. 176-177. 46 The Christian monk Pachomius founded many monasteries in the 4th century. Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library, pg. 16-22. 47 Pagels, Op. Cit. 48 Robinson, Op. Cit., pg. 2.

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what Jesus did or said. They denied any ultimate authority to the literal words of gospels then circulating and sought to uncover the true meaning embedded allegorically within them. 49

HOW UNORTHODOX WAS GNOSTICISM?

he stylistic oddity of these Gnostic textsthat is, their Zen-like enigmamay be because many of these diverse Gnostic communities tended toward mysticism and studied sacred texts from Egyptian, Islamic, Judaic, Zoroastrian, and Buddhist traditions. 50 Trade routes between the GraecoRoman world and the Far East opened at the time Gnosticism was flourishing. 51 The Acts of Thomas, written in 200 CE, claimed that Thomas evangelized India. 52 Buddhists missionaries were also known in Alexandria, Egypt. Hippolytus of Rome, one of the polemicists against Gnosticism among the early Church Fathers, wrote about Indian Brahmins in Rome in the early 3rd century and included their teachings among sources of heresy. There is...among the Indians a heresy of those who philosophize among the Brahmins... They say that God is light, not like the light one sees, or like the sun nor fire, but to them God is discourse, not that which finds expression in articulate sounds, but that of knowledge (gnosis) through which the secret mysteries of nature are perceived by the wise. 53 Despite these provocative influences to Gnostic thinking, much similarity exists between the Gnostic Gospels and the New Testament gospels. For example, the Gnostic Gospels reference the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament as well as the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the letters of Paul. References are also made to Jesus Christ throughout and to familiar disciples, such as Peter, Andrew, Levi, James, and Thomas, and to the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene. However, dissimilarities also exist. As Pagels points out: The living Jesus of these texts speaks of illusion and enlightenment not of sin and repentance like the Jesus of the New Testament. Instead of coming to save us from sin, the Gnostic Jesus comes as a guide to open access to spiritual understanding. 54 The most radical elements within the Gnostic texts are where basic Christian beliefs are criticized or rejected, such as the virgin birth or the heritage of sin. The Gospel of Mary states succinctly The Savior said: There is no sin. (7:13) The Gospel of Philip is similarly succinct on the virgin birth: Some said: Mary conceived by the holy spirit. They are in error. They do not know what they are saying. (55:23-24) Philip explains that the virgin birth is not something that happened once to Jesus but something that may happen to anyone who is baptized and so born again through the Holy Spirit, who is the virgin who came down. 55 Thus, as Jesus was first born to Joseph and Mary but later born again at his baptism, the Gnostic meaning of the virgin birth is that we too are first born physically and then may be born again spiritually. 56
49

Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament (New York NY: Oxford University Press, 1993), pg. 164. 50 Barnstone and Meyer, The Gnostic Bible, pg. 2. 51 From 80 to 200 ce. Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pg. xxi, referencing Edward Conze, Buddhism and Gnosis (Leiden: Brill, 1967). 52 Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels, pg. 78, referencing A.F.J. Klijn, The Acts of Thomas: Introduction, Text, Commentary (Leiden NL: Brill, 1962), pp. 27-29, and Pagels, Beyond Belief, pg. 39, referencing Paul-Hubert Poirer, The Writings Ascribed to Thomas and the Thomas Tradition, The Nag Hammadi Library After Fifty Years (New York NY: Brill Academic Publishers, 1997), pp. 381-400. 53 Ibid., quoting Hippolytus, Refutationis Omnium Haeresium, 1.24. 54 Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pg. xx. 55 Pagels, Beyond Belief, pg. 131, quoting the Gospel of Philip 71:6.. 56 Ibid., pg. 131.

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Other dissimilarities are when the Gnostic texts develop familiar New Testament stories toward entirely different meanings, such as the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. The early Church Fathers were particularly irked when these Christian Gnostics espoused the same beliefs, even quoting shared authorities in support, but with infuriatingly different interpretations. For example:

The Resurrection

he resurrection of the dying savior is a motif borrowed from the pagan mystery religions adapted by Christianity. 57 The Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary both argue that Jesus resurrection, like his virgin birth, is not something that occurred in the past but is something that happens to each person who undergoes spiritual transformation. 58 Those who say that the Lord died first and then rose up are in error for he rose up first and then died. If one does not first attain the resurrection, he will not die... 59

Philip quotes Pauls Letter to the Corinthians in support of this interpretation. Paul wrote: flesh and blood shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 60 Thus, those who receive baptism of the Holy Spirit are not only born again but also raised from the dead. Philip explains that the metaphoric use of flesh had been misconstrued to mean rise in the flesh that is, physical resurrection. In support, he pointed out the obviously metaphoric words of Jesus at the last supper: eat my flesh and drink my blood 61

The Crucifixion

nostics did not hold the orthodox belief that Jesus died for our sins and, consequently, that his death is the key to salvation. The true Christ is beyond pain, suffering, and death. 62 During the crucifixion scene in the Gospel of Peter, Jesus is silent as if he had no pain. 63 Peter speaks of his confusion when witnessing the crucifixion: What do I see, O Lord, that it is you yourself whom they take... Who is this one above the cross who is glad and laughing? 64

The Gnostics claim that Jesus and the Christ were two distinct beings. 65 The Christ entered into Jesus at his baptism and left him before the crucifixion. 66 The Gospel of Peter has a passion narrative like the Synoptic gospels but here the Savior says to Peter: 67 He whom you see on the cross glad and laughing is the living Jesus. But he into whose hands and feet they drive nails is his fleshly part, which is the substitute... 68 But he who stands near him is the living Savior, the primal part in him whom they seized and he has been released. He stands joyfully looking at those who did him violence. Therefore, he laughs at their lack of perception, knowing that they are born blind. 69 The Apocalypse of Peter and the Testimony of Truth also oppose the centrality of a theology of the cross. 70 The saving nature of the cross is tied directly to an assumption of sin and consequent need for
57

The Eleusian mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. Marvin Meyer, Secret Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Harrisburg PA: Trinity Press International, 2003), pg. 8 and 88. 58 King, The Gospel of Mary, pg. 171. 59 The Gospel of Philip 56:16-19. 60 I Corinthians 15-50. 61 John 6:53. 62 Ehrman, Lost Christianities, pp. 186-187. 63 The Gospel of Peter 1:10. 64 Ibid., 81:6-13. 65 Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, pg. 164. 66 Ibid., pg. 124. 67 Koester, Ancient Christian Gospel, pg. 230. 68 The Gospel of Peter 81:16-23. 69 Ibid., 82:2783:5.

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redemption; neither were beliefs of Gnostic Christians. 71 In fact, one incident 72 with the cross is stark evidence that Gnostics interpreted the crucifixion metaphorically. An animated cross follows the resurrected Jesus as he leaves the tomb. A voice from heaven asks the cross: Have you preached to those who are sleeping? The cross answers: Yes.

Eve in the Garden

nostics had a completely different Garden of Eden story. The Apocryphon (or Secret Book) of John 73 interprets the origin of Eve from Adams side as the awakening of his spiritual capacity. In a creative act, the Mother-Father God felt compassion for Adam and sends him a helper, luminous Epinoia, Greek for creative consciousness. She is the correction of a deficiency 74 and restores him to his fullness. 75 She is the one to awaken his thinking. 76 Eve symbolizes the gift of spiritual understanding. 77 And he Adam saw the woman beside him and, in that moment, the luminous Epinoia appeared and she lifted the veil which lay over his mind. 78 In addition to the Apocryphon of John, three other Gnostic texts 79 have a radically different Garden of Eden story told from the serpents point of view: 80 The serpent, who in the ancient world represented the principle of divine wisdom, criticizes the creator God for jealously forbidding Adam and Eve from eating of the Tree of Knowledge and then expelling them from paradise for doing so. Indeed, the serpents promise comes true: their eyes were open and death was not imminent. 81

Baptism
lthough Christian Gnostics performed baptisms, they discriminated between a first baptism for common Christians and a second baptism for the spiritual elite. 82 Baptized Christians who were newcomers to Gnostic communities received a catechetical grilling to determine who had the capacity to understand higher truths. Those who could, after a long period of preparation, received a second baptism or apolutrosis, which means redemption or dismissing a ransom paid. 83 The Gospel of Philip explains: If one go down into the water and come up without having received anything and says, I am a Christian, he has borrowed the name at interest. But if he receive the holy spirit, he has the name as a gift. He who has received a gift does not have to give it back, but of him who has borrowed it at interest, payment is demanded. 84 The Testimony of Truth boldly pointed out: ...the Son of Man did not baptize his disciples. 85
70 71

King, The Gospel of Mary, pg. 167. Ibid., pp. 167-168. 72 The Gospel of Peter 1:39-42. Ehrman, Lost Scriptures, pg. 31-32, and Koester, Ancient Christian Gospel, pp. 218 and 230. Helmut Koester compared the crucifixion event in all gospel narratives (canonical and noncanonical). His linguistic analysis and text-critical exegesis determined that the Gospel of Peter preserved the original narrative version of the tradition, not the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. 73 The Apocryphon of John (20:15-25). 74 Ibid., 20:28. 75 Ibid., 20:21. 76 Ibid., 21:16. 77 Pagels, Beyond Belief, pg. 164. 78 The Apocryphon of John, 23:4-8. 79 The Testimony of Truth, the Hypostasis of the Archons, and On the Origin of the World. 80 Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pg. xvii. 81 Ibid., pg. 30. 82 Pagels, Beyond Belief, pp. 136-137. 83 Ibid., pg. 138. 84 The Gospel of Philip 64:22-25. 85 Testimony of Truth 69:8-16.

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God Is Within You

inally, a basic belief of Christian Gnosticism is that God is within you. That is, a concentrated inwardness was a means to merge ones own spark of the divine with the All. 86 As Jesus promises in the Gospel of Thomas: He who will drink from my mouth will become as I am. I myself shall become that person, and the mysteries will be revealed to him. 87 The Gospel of Mary reinforces this perspective when Jesus says to his disciples: Beware that no one lead you astray, saying Lo here! or Lo there! For the Son of Man is within you. Follow after him. 88

Such enlightenment took Western Christian theology much longer to discern. In the Apocalypse of Peter, Jesus says: They will cleave to the name of a dead man, thinking they will become pure. 89 In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says: I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended. 90 Jesus cautions the disciples not to follow a leader, but to look inside themselves for the kingdom. If you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty... 91 As religious mystics, Gnostics proclaimed self-knowledge as the means of salvation, which allowed them to know God directly without any need for mediation by religious authorities. 92 Surely, the Gnostics were the first theologians. 93 They initiated debate over what would later become the central problems of Christianity resulting from dogmatic literalism. In contrast, Gnostics interpreted words and events in the life of Jesus as metaphors for deeper spiritual meaning. Gnostic ideas fascinated Carl Jung who thought that they expressed the other side of the mind the spontaneous, unconscious thoughts that any orthodoxy requires its adherents to repress. 94 Pagels astutely points out the practical effects and, therefore, the motives of the early Church Fathers in insisting upon these literal interpretations: they served an essential political function to legitimize authority. 95 Power over content. No wonder Gnostic texts were in code.
Copyright, Sheila Harty, 2011
Sheila Harty is a published and award-winning writer with a BA and MA in Theology. Her major was in Catholicism, her minor in Islam, and her thesis in scriptural Judaism. Harty employed her theology degrees in the political arena as applied ethics, working for 20 years in Washington DC as a public interest policy advocate, including ten years with Ralph Nader. On sabbatical from Nader, she taught Business Ethics at University College Cork, Ireland. In DC, she also worked for U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, the World Bank, the United Nations University, the Congressional Budget Office, and the American Assn for the Advancement of Science. She was a consultant with the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations in Geneva, the National Adult Education Assn in Dublin, and the International Organization of Consumers Unions in The Hague. Her first book, Hucksters in the Classroom, won the 1980 George Orwell Award for Honesty & Clarity in Public Language. She moved to St. Augustine, Florida, in 1996 to care for her aging parents, where she also works as a freelance writer and editor. She can be reached by e-mail at s h e i l a h a r t y @ c o m c a s t . n e t . Her website is h t t p : w w w . s h e i l a - t - h a r t y . c o m

86 87

Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library, pg. 4. The Gospel of Thomas 108. 88 The Gospel of Mary 8:16-20. 89 Apocalypse of Peter 74:13. 90 The Gospel of Thomas 13e. 91 Ibid., 3e. 92 Barnstone and Meyer, The Gnostic Bible, pg. 1. 93 Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, pg. 96, quoting Adolf von Harnack, historian of Christianity. 94 Ibid., pg. xxxv. 95 Ibid., pg. 6.

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