I think there’s something to be said for the beauty there. So faith for Gnostics is simply a starting point on our journey while we search for knowledge through experience?
The word “Faith” is tricky because in common language, it tends to be interchangeable with “belief.” While belief can certainly be involved in faith, it has a much deeper meaning than that. Faith implies trust. One of the names of Sophia is
Pistis Sophia, which means Faith(ful) Wisdom – it’s also the title of a Gnostic scripture about the fall and redemption of Pistis Sophia. In Her story, She continuously calls out to the Light to rescue Her after She’s fallen into Error. But She also continously sings praises to the Light, because She has *faith *in It to rescue Her. She knows that no matter how hopeless Her situation seems, the Light will save Her. There’s a beautiful selection of Odes and Repentances attributed to Her in the
Pistis Sophia, which Jesus teaches to His apostles, and they in turn interpret them in light of scripture (often from the Psalms of David and the Odes of Solomon).
So certainly belief is a starting point, because if you don’t believe in anything then what reason would you have to strive for Gnosis at all? But it’s also a constant trust in the Divine that we will be saved – and that, to me, is the foundation of our journey to salvation.
If you don’t mind my asking, what sorts of questions were these?
Some of them were simple questions I had as a child, such as: Why didn’t God want Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge? Now, I grew up in the Church of the Nazarene, but left at the age of 14 to convert to Catholicism. In the Nazarene Church, the answer I was given was pretty much, “Well God had His reasons, and it’s not for us to question them.” But that didn’t satisfy me – I wanted to know what that reason was, and what was so bad about having knowledge of good and evil? And even as a Catholic, there wasn’t really a good answer to this question.
As a Gnostic, the story of Adam and Eve is a story of salvation, and it explains in detail why the demiurge, who is not the true God, didn’t want them to have knowledge. But it also gives me some insight into the orthodox version of the story – If God knows all things, then He knew that Adam and Eve would eat from the Tree of Knowledge before He ever created them. The question from an orthodox perspective would then be, why would He create them in the first place, if He knew he was just going to have to punish them in the end?
I also didn’t understand what made the crucifixion an act of redepmtion. If God is can do anything, why couldn’t He just forgive people without anyone having to die? I think this most likely goes back to the ancient Jewish practice of offering sacrifice for atonenment… making Jesus the ultimate sacrifice. But I personally have never liked religions that require killing something or someone in order to stay in good favor with their god(s). This is basically the same reason I have a problem with circumcision. But even outside of a Judeo-Christian context, I also have a problem with Voodoo because they sacrifice animals. I feel any god that requires murder is not a god I could ever worship in good conscience.
Another question I had was about heaven and hell. At least as a Catholic, there was also purgatory, so there was still hope. But as a Protestant, we didn’t believe in purgatory… You either went to heaven or hell when you died, and that was it. Hell obviously didn’t sound appealing, but to be honest, an eternity in heaven sounded boring. (Remember this was a question I had as a child, so that’s where my mind went, haha!) I actually found the idea of reincarnation more appealing because life was seen as a learning opportunity, and I’d be give multiple chances to improve myself and learn. But even that wasn’t so appealing, because when it comes right down to it, I don’t particularly want to come back here. Yes, there are some wonderful things in the world, but it’s also full of war, destruction, poverty, disease, hate, terror. Why would I want to come back to all that? While I still think reincarnation is beneficial for the soul, I do like the hope that I can eventually escape that.
I also find the orthodox teachings on gender and sexual orientation problematic. I understand where the beliefs are coming from, but they violate my conscience. Hopefully this won’t turn into a debate over the subject, because that’s not the focus of this thread.
Do Gnostics believe in reincarnation? Also, can you elaborate on the bolded part?
I touched on this a bit in my answer above, but this depends on the particular Gnostic you’re talking to. Some believe in reincarnation, some don’t. Personally, I do believe in it, but through Gnosis we *can *be liberated from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Some of the ancient scriptures do seem to suggest reincarnation, while others don’t.
As for existence separate from God, there is a Gnostic concept of the “outer darkness.” Whether that’s an eternal place for the unredeemed, or simply a temporary place, is up for debate. Personally, I believe in universal salvation, and that everyone (including the demiurge himself) will eventually be redeemed. So I see separation from God as largely a state of mind – if someone rejects God, he’s essentially separated himself. However, because we all contain that divine spark within us, we can never truly be separated from Him. We *can *be so bogged down by materialism and our own ego though, that we have effectively become separated from God, if only for the time being.
But it is interesting, since Wisdom is personified as feminine in the Book of Proverbs. I think that line from the Gospel of Philip seeks to maintain the virginity of Mary even more; we often speak of the Holy Spirit as “coming upon” Mary, and that’s when she conceived Jesus, whereas the Gospel of Philip is basically saying “Look, the Holy Spirit didn’t have intercourse with Mary; after all, spirit is a feminine word!”
