01:15 Introduction
   
Gene: Hello Dave.
   
David: Hello Gene.
   
Gene: Ready to go God-ing… again?
   
David: Oh yeah. Always. But, before we do, I want to remind everyone that Show Notes, Chapter Markers, and Transcripts for all of our episode are available on our web site, WayOfTheHermit.com. I also wanted to announce that the 2024 Symposium on Masonic Esoterika, is scheduled for October 19 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Symposium is jointly sponsored by the Tennessee Scottish Rite and the Tennessee Lodge of Research.
   
Gene: Our good friends George Ladd and Joe Kindoll are speaking in the morning session, along with Mike Neulander, and in the afternoon the speakers are, Brothers Shaun Bradshaw and Ben Wallace, the authors of “A Path to Providence: The Creation of the Middle Chamber Program,” who we had on the show at the beginning of this season.
   
David: And, coincidently, the website for the symposium here in Tennessee, is also called, MiddleChamber.org. So, registration is open at the time of this recording, and I have linked to the symposium website in the Show Notes. So, in the last episode we talked about the history and availability of Gnostic texts up to the discovery at Nag Hammadi.
   
Gene: And that discovery was made by two Egyptian boys, who upon opening a clay jar, found 13 leather-bound papyrus codices, which had been “bottled up” for over a thousand years, and released their spiritual influence back into the world.
   
02:43 Gnostic Christianity
   
David: So, that’s where we ended our last episode. The title of this episode is “Gnostic Christianity”, so the first thing we need to do, is nail down both of those terms, and say what we mean by Gnostic and by Christianity.
   
Gene: Well, last time, we defined Gnosticism, at least the way we’re using that term, as the core doctrine of all religions, basically the mystically oriented strand of all religions. And being quote-unquote “mystically oriented” means, that they believed there was a “hidden” or “esoteric meaning,” of some kind, behind their sacred writings.
   
David: And, we discussed that, these hidden meanings, veiled in symbols and allegories, are meant to symbolize elements of human life and the structure of the psyche. Those are the spiritual truths that the stories point to. Truths that are shared by all people, no matter what culture they are born into.
   
Gene: So, according to this definition, Sufism is a form of Gnostic Islam, Kabbalah is a form of Gnostic Judaism, and most of the Nag Hammadi texts are Gnostic Christianity, but not the Christianity that we know today.
   
David: Exactly. Which brings us to the term “Christianity.” Christianity, as it has come down to us, is the combination East and West - the philosophy of the Near East, in Judaism,  the Old Testament, combined with the Western, or Greek philosophical and religious thought, of the New Testament.
   
Gene: I’ve got a quote from “Morals and Dogma,” from the Knight of the East and West degree, that says - “At the time when John the Baptist made his appearance in the desert, near the shores of the Dead Sea, all the old philosophical and religious systems were approximating toward each other…  the intermingling of different nations, which resulted from the wars of Alexander in three-quarters of the globe, the doctrines of Greece, of Egypt, of Persia, and of India, met and intermingled everywhere. All the barriers that had formerly kept the nations apart, were thrown down; and while the People of the West readily connected their faith with those of the East, those of the Orient hastened to learn the traditions of Rome and the legends of Athens.”
   
David: And the place that served as the “bridge” between the East and West, was Alexandria, Egypt. The time Pike is referring to is after the destruction of the first Temple of Solomon, and the Babylonian captivity. It’s the time of the Jewish diaspora. During this time, Alexandria was a hub, for commerce and for education.
   
Gene: The Great Library was there, and also the Mouseion, the ancient research institute.
   
05:28 The Septuagint
   
David: So, Alexandria was a philosophical and intellectual melting pot, where the philosophies of the East and the West intermingled. And, with Greek being the common language, one of the products that emerged from this fusion of philosophies was the Septaugint, the earliest known Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The Torah, the five books of Moses, was translated some time in the 3rd century BC, and the rest of what became the Old Testament, was translated in the 2nd century BC.
   
Gene: And, according to legend, it was translated by 72 Jewish scholars, 6 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, at the request of Pharaoh Ptolemy II. Which is where the name “Septaugint” comes from, the Latin word for “seventy”. And although that account is probably exaggerated for effect, it was likely created by a group of Jewish scholars in Alexandria over an extended period of time, rather than as a result of a single event, by a specific group of translators.
   
David: You know, I’m just realizing the importance of the Septuagint, in the development of Christianity. It forms a bridge to the Jewish religious texts, which are the foundation that the New Testament is built on.
   
Gene: Yeah, I’m just seeing that, too. You could even say that the Septuagint was the seed of Christianity, because it made it possible to combine the Jewish legends with Greek mythology and other traditions like Platonism and Stoicism.
   
07:04 Philo of Alexandria
   
David: Which brings us around, once again, to Philo of Alexandria, who lived during the first century of the common era. Here’s another quote from “Morals and Dogma” that we’ve used before, but it bears repeating, now that we have more context. It says: “Philo represents the apex of Jewish-Hellenistic syncretism. His work attempts to combine Plato and Moses into one philosophical system. Philo's allegorical interpretation of scripture… interprets the characters of the Bible as aspects of the human being, and the stories of the Bible as episodes from universal human experience.”
   
Gene: That’s the definition of Christian Gnosticism, right there.
   
David: Well… but, what do you think is meant by “Bible” there?
   
Gene: Well, the Bible wasn’t really canonized until what, the late 4th, early 5th century?
   
David: Yeah, but I mean, Philo lived from 30 BC to around 50 AD. The New Testament didn’t exist… at all.
   
Gene: Oh yeah… that’s right. Paul’s writings, some of his letters, are considered the earliest New Testament writings, and they’re dated a little after the time that Philo was alive, with the Gospels written a couple of decades, or so, after that. Which, it goes without saying, were not eye-witness accounts, by any means.
   
David: No. But another implication is that Philo’s writings actually influenced the writers of the New Testament, not the other way around.
   
Gene:  Interesting.
   
David: And one of the places that this is apparent, is the conception of the Logos in the Gospel of John. It’s an exposition of Philo’s synthesis of the Greek philosophical tradition of the Logos, with the Jewish conception of God’s word or utterance, as both part of the divine essence, and his manifestation through sound and vibration.
   
Gene: Like the Hindu Om.
   
David: Yeah.
   
Gene: Another example of East meets West.
   
David: It is. And also, if you think about it, it’s the foundation of the whole doctrine of Christ as the Son of God, one with God in essence, but in manifested form.
   
Gene: Wow. Yeah. So, right there is the whole Christian theology, before it gets literalized.
   
David: Philo referred to the literal meaning of scriptures as the "body,” and the allegorical meaning of the text, as its "soul."
   
Gene: So, in reading scriptures allegorically, you’re trying to resurrect the esoteric meaning within your self, and bring it to life again.
   
09:34 Gnostic Sects
   
David: Yes. That’s good. So, Philo’s work formed a bridge between Jewish, Greek, and emerging Christian conceptions, and set the stage for the emergence of Christian Gnosticism in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries, which built upon Philo's foundation. And the five Christian Gnostic groups that we’re going to talk a little bit about, are the Sethians, the Valentinians, the Basilideans, the Ophites and the Carpocratians. Gene do you want to start us off?
   
Gene: Sure. Well, as you said, all of the groups were formed around the 2nd century, and all in Alexandria. The Valentinians, the Basilideans, and the Carpocratians are named after their founders - Valentinus, Basilides and Carpocrates. The Sethians are named after the primary figure in their myths, Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve. And the Ophite’s name derives from the Greek “ophis”, meaning “serpent”, with their interpretation of the serpent’s role in the Biblical creation story, being a defining element of their philosophy.
   
David: And of those five groups, there are only surviving documents for two - the Sethians and the Valentinians. The only information on the others is from the church’s heresiologists.
   
Gene: Is that really a thing?
   
David: What? Heresiology? Yeah.
   
Gene: That’s weird but cool, I guess. That there would be a whole field devoted to that.
   
David: How else could would the mind police hunt you down? They made a science out of it.
   
Gene: Right. But, anyway - as you said, the Nag Hammadi texts have writings associated with the Sethians and the Valentinians. But, many of these groups shared writings. Like, for example, “Plato’s Republic” and some of the Corpus Hermeticum, was in the texts.
   
David: And, also the boundaries between the groups, from what I’ve read, was pretty fluid, with them borrowing concepts and expanding on them, as they were able to.
   
Gene: That’s all part of the core Gnostic philosophy that we’ve talked about, of not accepting a fixed doctrine or canon, but creating one through your own experience. So, there usually isn’t a fixed line of saying that a Gnostic text belongs to just one particular group.
   
11:54 Nag Hammadi Texts
   
David: Right. But, with that being said, the Nag Hammadi discovery contained over 50 texts. Of these, some were associated with the Sethians and the Valentians. There were some Hermetic texts, as you mentioned, and others that aren’t easily classified. And a few that are associated with other traditions, like the “Gospel of Thomas.”
   
Gene: Some of the primary texts found there that are associated with the Sethians are “The Apocryphon of John,” “The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit” (also known as the Gospel of the Egyptians), “The Three Steles of Seth” and possibly “The Thunder: Perfect Mind.”
   
David: Which some people may know, has associations with the final scrying session of John Dee and Edward Kelly.
   
Gene: That’s right. And, some of the primary texts of the Valentinians, found at Nag Hammadi, include “The Gospel of Truth,” “The Gospel of Philip,” and “The Tripartite Tractate.”
   
12:50 Gnostic Concepts
   
David: And we are going to be discussing those source documents in detail, in later episodes. But to prepare for those discussions, we need to talk first about, the main concepts and figures that make up those narratives. So, what I’d like for us to do, is to tell a generalized narrative, the basic Christian Gnostic myth, as well as its main characters, from the Sethian and Valentinian traditions.
   
Gene: OK. Basically, they both call the ultimate unity, the “Pleroma,” or divine fullness. Creation and life is a result of emanations from the Pleroma, which they call “Aeons”. The first emanation is “Nous” or “Divine Mind”. Barbelo, the “divine mother” or “womb of creation” is also sometimes associated associated with Nous.
   
David: Another figure common to both traditions, is the last emanation, Sophia, meaning Wisdom. Her fall is associated with the creation of the material world, which is ruled by her son, the Demiurge.
   
Gene: Who is also known in the Sethian tradition as Ialdabaoth, where he’s seen as insane or malevolent. Whereas in the Valentinian tradition, he’s viewed more sympathetically, as just ignorant of the higher realms.
   
David: Yeah. It’s in the Ophite tradition that the Demiurge is explicitly associated with the god of the Old Testament. But anyway, in the two main traditions we’re discussing, the material world is ruled by the Demiuge’s minions, the Archons, who play a bigger role in the Sethian stories. The Archons, are associated with the qualities and powers of being alive and human, which, in the stories, have to be shed to become god-like and immortal. So the Archons also act as our jailers.
   
Gene: And they’re associated with the planetary powers that have to be transcended to return to the divine source the Pleroma. To facilitate this return, Christ, the Christos, is sent as an Aeon to bring Gnosis to humanity, allowing them to escape the “Black Iron Prison” of the Archons, and redeem Sophia.
   
David: And, in the Sethian texts, the Christos is sometimes identified with Seth.
   
Gene: So, there you have it. Clear as mud!
   
David: Yeah… yeah. “That’s cool and all… but what does it mean?” Right?
   
Gene: Exactly.
   
15:14 Seven Sermons to the Dead
   
David: It’s funny, but I believe that they mean exactly what they say. They describe how the world is created, sustained and potentially, transcended.
   
Gene: Meaning, your inner world, your microcosm. You have to always remember to look for the esoteric or spiritual meaning. And also remember, that it’s usually not talking about literal events, it’s symbols and allegories.
   
David: Right. We’ve talked about the psychologist, Carl Jung a few times. And about his studies, and writings on Christian Gnosticism.
   
Gene: We have.
   
David: Well, Jung credited all of his later work and conceptions, like archetypes and individuation, to a series of experiences he had between 1913 and 1916, which he called his “confrontation with the subconscious.” He documented his experiences in what he called his “Black Books.” Then, he transferred and expanded on these writings in “The Red Book,” which was published after his death. But, he summarized the core concepts in a little book called “The Seven Sermons to the Dead,” which was privately published and circulated during his lifetime. And, what is most interesting to our discussion is that he attributed the authorship of that book to Basilides, and the place of the writing of his book to Alexandria, where he says “East meets West.”
   
Gene: That’s very cool. Especially, now that we’ve talked about the significance of Alexandria. So, “The Seven Sermons of the Dead” was written before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts. So, Jung only had the heresiologist’s word to go on… right?
   
David: Right. And, G.R.S. Mead’s translations.
   
17:04 Gnostic Psychology
   
Gene: True. I’ve got a quote from Stephen Hoeller’s book “Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing,” that we’ve used before, but it fits here.
   
David: Go ahead.
   
Gene: It says - “Jung was instrumental in calling attention to the Nag Hammadi library of Gnostic writings in the 1950's because he perceived the outstanding psychological relevance of Gnostic insights". Jung's reflections had long been immersed in the thought of the ancient Gnostics to such an extent that he considered them the virtual discoverers of 'depth psychology'... In the light of such recognitions one may ask: "Is Gnosticism a religion or a psychology?" The answer is that it may very well be both.”
   
David: Yeah. That’s a great quote. You know, as we try to work through the esoteric meaning and significance of the Gnostic scriptures from Nag Hammadi, Jung has already walked some of that path. I mean he didn’t have access to those texts until near the end of his life, but he laid out a basic roadmap from the sources he had available to him. Jung saw in the Christian Gnostic writings, a blueprint of the inner workings of the mind and consciousness. He saw the Gnostic Pleroma as representing the totality of the psyche, including both conscious and unconscious elements.
   
Gene: And, the Demiurge, Jung thought symbolized the ego, ignorant of the deeper layers of the psyche, and the higher self, being a “jealous god” and believing that there are “no other gods before it”.
   
David: And, like the Demiurge, the ego can be seen as trapping us in a limited view of reality. The minions of the Demiurge, the Archons, are then seen as the representations of the archetypal forces and complexes of the psyche, that if not brought under control, can disrupt or even overtake it.
   
Gene: And finally, Jung saw the Gnostic conception of the “sacred marriage,” as representative of the process of individuation, the union of opposites within the self, the integration of the conscious and unconscious elements of the psyche.
   
David: So, basically, those concepts from Jung are our starting points for digging out the esoteric meanings of the Gnostic texts.
   
19:28  Gnostic Jung
   
Gene: And, we probably should mention that Jung received quite a bit of criticism for his stance on Gnosticism. He basically said, that he felt that the Gnostics were doing deep psychological work and analysis, they just lacked modern terminology to describe it.
   
David: Yes, that’s true. Some of the criticism was that he was projecting his own theories, or even his own psychology, onto Gnostic myths.
   
Gene: And another criticism was that he was anachronistically applying modern psychological concepts to ancient thinkers, who had fundamentally different worldviews and cognitive frameworks. Which they claimed make direct psychological comparisons problematic.
   
David: Well, that’s true. But the way we think is always changing. I saw a little girl the other day walk up to a paper notepad and swipe her finger up on the page. She was expecting it to light up, ring bells, flash lights and play cartoons. But, I would never have done that when I was a kid. My mind didn’t work that way.
   
Gene: But, you know, the people who lived in times before computers and television, before radio, before the printing press even, let’s go back to the time we’re talking about 2000 years ago. What was the entertainment? Direct interactions with people and stories, told from mouth to ear.
   
David: Either that or you were alone in your own head.
   
Gene: Exactly. And also, way more connected to actual living in the world. So, who do you think is more qualified to describe what’s going on inside their minds, those people, or people today, whose thoughts and attention are so fragmented. You know, I heard the other day that the average human attention span is less than a goldfish!
   
David: Yeah, I’ve heard that. And instead of talking with each other, we watch or listen to media of people talking. Or, even when I’m with people anymore, they’re only half-way there, or less, because they can’t stop looking at their phones!
   
Gene: Everyone living vicariously. Or just zoning out and disassociating. But anyway, I’ve ranted long enough. My point is just that people today are fragmented. We live fragmented lives, and it’s because our thoughts are so scattered across so many things. But, in terms of really quote-unquote “knowing yourself”, I think the ancient Gnostics, and just the ancients generally, who were thinkers, could more easily examine their minds, than we can today.
   
David: Yeah, it’s a modern bias. It’s arrogant to believe that we’re smarter, or know more about life and the mind now, than people from 2000 years ago. More facts certainly, but more wisdom?
   
Gene: Well, I mean, just look at the news, or even better Tik-Tok. Then tell me if you think that we’re smarter or wiser?
   
David: Indeed. Anything else?
   
Gene: No, I’m done.
   
19:46 Conclusions
    
David: Alright. For those that want to dig deeper into the topics we’ve discussed, like the various Gnostic groups, their history and mythologies, I’ve included a link to a “Deep Dive” page in the podcast Show Notes, so that you can do your own exploration. So, Gene, what are your final thoughts?
    
Gene: Just, that I always learn so much by doing these podcasts. Like about Alexandria being the bridge, so to speak, between East and West. And it being the cradle of Christianity and Christian Gnosticism. I feel like I’m watching a giant puzzle slowly locking into place. 
    
David: We’re finding more meaning in, because we can now see how the pieces fit into a larger picture.
    
Gene: Exactly.
    
David: That’s something I’ve been thinking about this time. That you have to have a bigger context, a story, in order to have meaning. You know, most people have become disillusioned with spirituality and religion.
    
Gene: That’s true. And we’ve talked about some of the reasons behind that.
    
David: We have. But ultimately, we want our lives to have meaning. And that requires us to see our life as part of a bigger picture. As you said earlier, we’re fragmented, and becoming more and more cut off from the world, living vicariously. Life becomes meaningless. You know, a lot of people right now are scared about the rise of artificial intelligence, I’m afraid of this… of a world where nothing is held sacred. A world filled with people, disconnected from life and the world.
    
Gene: Yes, that is scary.
    
David: It really is. You know, the word “religion”, at least one of the etymologies of that word, is “to reconnect.” And I know the word “god” has baggage for a lot of people, but you know the cliche that we have a “god-shaped hole” in our heart?
    
Gene: Oh yeah, I think of that one all the time.
    
David: Well, if you think of god, divorced from any cultural baggage, as the totality of existence, the ultimate unity, then re-connecting with that, would be seeing your life, within the context of that totality, that story. It’s the ultimate meaning. The answer to the most fundamental existential question - what is the meaning and purpose of life. I mean, that’s what I think Gnosis entails, anyway.
    
Gene: And, I’d like to think that we’re doing our part to help make that so, for ourselves and maybe for others, too.
    
David: I hope so, too. Anything else?
    
Gene: Nope. That’s all I’ve got.
    
David: Alright. Gene, what are we doing next time?
    
Gene: In the next episode, we begin our discussion of Sethian Gnosticism with “The Apocryphon of John,” as we walk, the Way of the Hermit.