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Jennifer A. Jones
Dr. Farthing
September , 00
The 145 discovery at Nag Hammadi of thirteen papyrus scrolls uncovered new insights and excited historians and theologians around the globe. Until this time, little was known about the mysterious religion of Gnosticism. It evolved into one of the main belief systems of the 1st century and helped shape modern religious traditions, including Orthodox Christianity. The Nag Hammadi finds revealed many things about this religion, including a better understanding of the basic belief system, their view on women, and the divergence from prevalent Orthodox Christian ideas. Elaine Pagels book The Gnostic Gospels clearly outlines excellent information on these views and understandings of Gnosticism.
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The Gnostic belief system sounds absurd to the modern Christian ear. From the early pages of the introduction to the last few sentences of the conclusion, Pagels delineates major differences in the practices of Orthodox Christians and Gnostics. Gnosticism is a philosophical and religious movement whose name is derived from the Greek word gnosis (knowledge.) The very implication of this name sheds light on one of the main characteristics of the Gnostic beliefs. To these people, self-knowledge was knowledge of God; meaning the self and the divine are inseparable. Knowledge to them was not an intellectual exercise or a vague understanding of spirituality, but instead, knowledge had a liberating function that severed an individual from the confines of this world. Contrary to the Orthodox belief that one attains salvation through the acceptance of Jesus Christ, Gnostics felt that salvation is achieved through learning secret knowledge of their spiritual essence. Upon this discovery, an individual has the opportunity to escape from the prison of their body after death. The Orthodox Christians of this era viewed this belief as heresy, and aimed to annihilate all of the written records of this faith. The efforts of the majority to destroy every trace of heretical blasphemy proved so successful that, until the discoveries at Nag Hammadi, nearly all of our information concerning alternative forms of early Christianity came from the massive orthodox attacks upon them.1
Gnostic Christians also trusted that Jesus Christ was nothing near what the Orthodox Christians claimed he was. The role of the Savior in Gnostic belief is unclear, but they seem to have thought of him as a liberator rather than the way to salvation. The Gnostics felt that Christ's purpose was to increase knowledge that would release people from the evil, inferior Creator (Demiurge). This Demiurge was looked at as only the image of God, and until one attained gnosis, the individual thought that this false God was the true Maker. The "living Jesus" of the Gnostic 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, he comes as a guide who opens access to spiritual understanding. But when the Gnostic disciple attains enlightenment, Jesus no longer serves as his spiritual master. The two halves have now become equal, even identical. Some Gnostics endorsed Docetism, an idea that the body of Jesus appeared to be fully human, but was not.4 They felt that Christ was pure spirit and only had a ghostlike body, thus denying that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Orthodox Christians believed that Jesus is Lord and the Son of God, and that He remains forever distinct from the rest of humanity whom He came to save. These views were once again seen as heretical and blasphemous to the Orthodox Christians. Gnosticism was a serious threat at this point to Christianity, and leaders of the church vehemently opposed it, thus helping Christianity grow stronger through the fear of harsher punishments for heretics.
In the Christian faith, the designated structure of the church was a main aspect of the religious process. There was a hierachtical rank of authority, beginning with bishops, priests, deacons and finally the congregation lay persons. The bishop was designated the authority of the church and acted as the sole ruler and disciplinarian over the laity.5 Apparently this organization was not supported by the Gnostic Christians. Instead of ranking their members into classes, they operated on the idea of equality. All of the people, whether male or female, were allowed to participate and even lead the worship services. These decisions were made through the drawing of lots, and anyone may be a priest or bishop at any given ceremony.6 This practice is very similar to the way that some modern pagan movements, such as Wicca, chose their ceremonial leaders. This act was and is viewed by both of these groups as a way to eliminate permanent positions of power in the church. Each member was given just as much authority as the next, and this may have contributed to the Gnostics position on women in their church and society.
The role of women in the Gnostic faith was quite different from the Orthodox belief. Firstly, there were two very distinct depictions of the sexuality of the beings at the creation time in the Orthodox and Gnostic parties. Many Gnostics gave the first being both masculine and feminine characteristics and appearance, backing their beliefs with reference to the creation account of Genesis 1. This attitude of egalitarianism is carried over into the structures of their communities and social practices. On the other hand, Orthodox Christians consider God to have only masculine properties. They customarily look to Genesis to affirm their theory. The Gnostic teaching of Genesis 1 suggests the idea of a sexless creation, while Genesis , used by the Orthodox faith, clearly illustrates that Eve was created from the rib of Adam. This idea of male superiority is also seen in the societies and clerical structures of the early Christian churches. While the Gnostics felt that women had a voice in religious affairs, as seen through the writings of The Gospel of Mary, Christian women were not allowed to write or teach the gospels, as seen in Timothy 1 where it clearly states "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent." Although these beliefs were the basic structure of these two groups beliefs, exceptions to these patterns do occur. Not all Gnostics were undivided in affirming women- nor were the Orthodox unanimous in demeaning them.7
Beyond the equality of men and women in the Gnostic society, feminine characteristics were also applied to their God. Pagels makes numerous references to the Mother Goddess. She explains the Gnostic description of God as Father, Mother and Son, and relates this to the aspect of the Holy Trinity8. The Mother in this Trinity is the Holy Spirit. Christianity assumes the Trinitarian terms of the three divine "Persons," two- the Father and the Son- described in masculine terms, and the third- the Spirit- suggests the genderlessness of the Greek neuter term for spirit, pneuma. The portrayal of the Holy Spirit as mother may contribute to the difference in treatment of women between the Gnostics and Christians.
Christianity as we know it today may not have survived without the pressure and competition of the Gnostic groups in the first few centuries. The place of women, the authenticity of Jesus Christ and the sexuality of God are a few of the major doctrines that strike me as the most affected. As millions of Christians practice their faith today with a grateful heart for their religion, they must remember that the Christians changed many of their doctrines and practices because of the fierce battle against the heretics of the early Gnostic church. Pagels book has opened my eyes to this aspect of the religion that I have believed in my whole life. Although the survival of Christianity is often attributed to the use of military and political powers of the early churches, I think that it has been well worth the struggle.
Response to Elaine Pagels The Gnostic Gospels
Pagels book really exposed me to a side of Christianity that I have never even heard of. Through the reading of each chapter, I found myself with numerous questions that left me questioning and thinking of things that had never crossed my mind. Although we read a little in our textbooks about Gnosticism, I think that Pagels book far exceeded any expectations and thoughts on Gnosticism that I may have previously had from other exposure to the other writings. I have read several articles and forewards to books by Pagels and enjoy her writing style and composition. This is an excellent book for this course and for anyone else that is in religious studies.
1. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York Vintage Press, 17) pg. xxiv.
. Ibid. pg. 7.
. Ibid. pg. xx.
4. Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (San Francisco Harper Collins Publishers, 184) pg. 60.
5. Pagels, pg. 40.
6. Ibid. pg 6.
7. Ibid. pg 66.
8. Ibid. pg. 5.
. Ibid. pg. 4.
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