In the last twenty years or so, numerous mainstream movies have drawn from the ideas and images of ancient thought to address the collapse of appearance and reality. These films have consistently featured the Gnostic currents that emerged from Plato: not only Gnosticism itself but also Cabbala and alchemy. Despite important differences, these traditions have provided filmmakers with ready-made ruminations on the relationship between surface and depth as well as with engaging plot lines and striking scenes. In films like "The Matrix" (1999) and "The Truman Show" (1998), Gnostic myths have offered speculations on the real as well as conspiracy theories. The Cabbalistic motif of golem-making has provided such movies as "A.I." (2001) and "Blade Runner" (1982) with mediations on the human and with parables of machines yearning for life. Pictures like "Dead Man" (1996) and "Altered States" (1980) have drawn on alchemical symbols to explore the possibilities of transmutation and to feature stories of the dead rising to life. Recent commercial Gnostic films are meditations on the conundrums of the post-modern age and the timeless soul. These pictures constitute archetypal sites for sacred contemplation. They create spaces akin to the caves of Eleusis or Lascaux, chambers where habits are annihilated and the ego is shattered. Maybe this spiritual attraction is the secret reason behind the recent abundance of Gnostic films. If so, then the dream factory is betraying its purpose. It is negating its deceptions and sales in the name of a bewildering reality that cannot be found. "Secret Cinema" explores these possibilities through engaging in three related activities. One, the book establishes the theoretical foundations and implications of the genre of Gnostic cinema. It develops these theoretical elements in the contexts of Gnosticism and the esoteric traditions emerging from it, Cabbala and alchemy. Two, in undertaking this work, Wilson considers several collateral issues. The book discusses the functions of genre, the relationships between cinema and psychology, the connections between the moving image and sacred power, the role of the cinematographic apparatus, and the romance of film. Three, the book is a broad meditation on the seductions of cinema. It is attuned to material attractions of the movies, those gorgeous lights and lurid shadows, but also the film's spiritual invitations, the gaps between the pictures, the empty spaces at the heart of life.

In the last twenty years or so, numerous mainstream movies have drawn from the ideas and images of ancient thought to address the collapse of appearance and reality. These films have consistently featured the Gnostic currents that emerged from Plato: not only Gnosticism itself but also Cabbala and alchemy. Despite important differences, these traditions have provided filmmakers with ready-made ruminations on the relationship between surface and depth as well as with engaging plot lines and striking scenes. In films like "The Matrix" (1999) and "The Truman Show" (1998), Gnostic myths have offered speculations on the real as well as conspiracy theories. The Cabbalistic motif of golem-making has provided such movies as "A.I." (2001) and "Blade Runner" (1982) with mediations on the human and with parables of machines yearning for life. Pictures like "Dead Man" (1996) and "Altered States" (1980) have drawn on alchemical symbols to explore the possibilities of transmutation and to feature stories of the dead rising to life. Recent commercial Gnostic films are meditations on the conundrums of the post-modern age and the timeless soul. These pictures constitute archetypal sites for sacred contemplation. They create spaces akin to the caves of Eleusis or Lascaux, chambers where habits are annihilated and the ego is shattered. Maybe this spiritual attraction is the secret reason behind the recent abundance of Gnostic films. If so, then the dream factory is betraying its purpose. It is negating its deceptions and sales in the name of a bewildering reality that cannot be found. "Secret Cinema" explores these possibilities through engaging in three related activities. One, the book establishes the theoretical foundations and implications of the genre of Gnostic cinema. It develops these theoretical elements in the contexts of Gnosticism and the esoteric traditions emerging from it, Cabbala and alchemy. Two, in undertaking this work, Wilson considers several collateral issues. The book discusses the functions of genre, the relationships between cinema and psychology, the connections between the moving image and sacred power, the role of the cinematographic apparatus, and the romance of film. Three, the book is a broad meditation on the seductions of cinema. It is attuned to material attractions of the movies, those gorgeous lights and lurid shadows, but also the film's spiritual invitations, the gaps between the pictures, the empty spaces at the heart of life.

This ancient Gnostic text can be a companion for your own spiritual quest. The Gospel of Philip is one of the most exciting and accessible of the Gnostic texts found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945. The source of Dan Brown's intriguing speculations about Mary Magdalene in his best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, the Gospel of Philip draws on ancient imagery—the natural world, the relationships between women, men and family, the ancient distinctions between lord and servants, free people and slaves, and pagans, Jews and Christians—to offer us insight into the spiritual interpretation of scripture that is at the foundation of Christianity. The Gospel of Philip: Annotated and Explained unravels the discourses, parables and sayings of this second-century text to explore a spiritual, non-literal interpretation of the Bible. Along with his elegant and accurate new translation from the original Coptic, Andrew Phillip Smith probes the symbolism and metaphors at the heart of the Gospel of Philip to reveal otherwise unrecorded sayings of Jesus, fragments of Gnostic mythology and parallels to the teachings of Jesus and Paul. He also examines the joyful imagery of rebirth, salvation and mystical union in the bridal chamber that was the pursuit of Christian Gnosticism. Now you can experience this ancient Gospel even if you have no previous knowledge of early Christianity or Gnostic thought. This SkyLight Illuminations edition provides important insights into the historical context and major themes of the Gospel of Philip, and gives you a deeper understanding of the Gospel’s overarching message: deciphering our own meaning behind the symbols of this world increases and enriches our understanding of God.

A distinctive Christian heresy? A competitor of burgeoning Christianity? A pre-Christian folk religion traceable to "Oriental syncretism"? How do we account for the disparate ideas, writings, and practices that have been placed under the Gnostic rubric? To do so, Karen King says, we must first disentangle modern historiography from the Christian discourse of orthodoxy and heresy that has pervaded--and distorted--the story.

Exciting discoveries of previously unknown ancient writings--especially the forty-six texts found at Nag Hammadi in 1945--are challenging historians of religion to rethink not only what we mean by Gnosticism but also the standard account of Christian origins. "The Gospel of Mary" and "The Secret Book of John," for example, illustrate the variety of early Christianities and are witness to the struggle of Christians to craft an identity in the midst of the culturally pluralistic Roman Empire. King shows how historians have been misled by ancient Christian polemicists who attacked Gnostic beliefs as a "dark double" against which the new faith could define itself. Having identified past distortions, she is able to offer a new and clarifying definition of Gnosticism. Her book is thus both a thorough and innovative introduction to the twentieth-century study of Gnosticism and a revealing exploration of the concept of heresy as a tool in forming religious identity.

The Macarian writings are among the most important and influential works of the early Christian ascetic and mystical tradition. This book offers an introduction to the work of Macarius-Symeon (commonly referred to as Pseudo-Macarius), outlining the lineaments of his teaching and the historical context of his works. The book goes on to examine and re-evaluate the complex question of his relationship with the Messalian tendency and to explore the nature of his theological and spiritual legacy in the later Christian tradition. In so doing the book also offers substantial treatments of the work of Mark the Monk, Diadochus of Photice, Abba Isaiah, and Maximus Confessor. It stands therefore not only as an exploration of the teaching and legacy of Macarius-Symeon but also as a chapter in the history of the Christian spiritual tradition.

Im Mittelpunkt des Bandes steht die eingehende Kommentierung der ersten beiden Bucher des Adamantius-Dialogs, eines wichtigen antimarkionitischen Textes aus dem 4. Jahrhundert. Grundlage ist eine neue kritische Lesung des Textes der Handschrift codex Venetus gr. 496, da die GCS-Ausgabe von Bakhuyzen (1901) bekanntermassen fehlerhaft ist. Die ausfuhrliche Einleitung behandelt den gesamten Dialog einschliesslich, unter anderem, Text- und Quellenkritik und historischem Hintergrund.

Defining the term Gnosis and its relationship to Gnosticism, this book indicates why Gnosis may be preferable and sketches out the main problems. It then treats the sources, both those in the church fathers and heresiologists, and the more recent Nag Hammadi finds. It goes on to discuss early forms of Gnosis in antiquity, Jewish and Christian (New Testament) and the early Gnostics; the main representatives of Gnosis, especially Valentinus and Marcion; Manichaeism as the culmination and end-point of Gnosis; ancient communities of Gnostics; and finally Gnosis in antiquity and the present.

The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the middle east around the same time as Christianity. What little study of the religion there has been has focused on the ancient Mandaeans and their relation to early Christianity. Buckley examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans, who live mainly in Iran and Iraq but also in New York and San Diego. She provides a comprehensive introduction to the religion and shows how its ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa.

The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity

Gnosticism is a term covering a group of heresies that for a time had great influence within the early church, including: belief in the existence of a hidden or secret revelation available only to the initiated; rejection of the physical world as evil or impure; and stress on the radical individuality of the spiritual self. In this book Philip Lee finds parallels between gnosticism and belief and practice in contemporary North American Proestantism. Sharply attacking conservatives and liberals alike, Lee spares no one in this penetrating and provocative assessment of the current stage of religion and its effects on values and society at large. The book concludes with a call for a return to orthodoxy and a series of prescriptions for reform. Lee will add a short preface for this paperback edition.

The inspiration and insight of these Gnostic writings can become a companion on your own spiritual journey. Just what is a soul, exactly? Where did the idea come from? How do we experience our souls? Two ancient Gnostic texts—The Exegesis on the Soul and The Hymn of the Pearl, both presented here in all-new translations—hold important clues to the development of the soul as a concept and reveal inspiring ways your own soul can remember and return to its unique, divine purpose. The Exegesis on the Soul depicts the soul as a feminine figure who has fallen into the corrupted world and must find her way back to the Divine. It is the story of the soul’s struggle and redemption that will embolden your own spiritual pilgrimage. The Hymn of the Pearl is an allegorical story about a prince sent to retrieve a precious pearl but who soon forgets his purpose and falls asleep. It is a moving tale of the importance of remembering your soul’s identity and calling—and knowing that only you can fulfill your destiny. Accessible facing-page commentary explains the Gnostic writings for you even if you have no previous knowledge of Gnosticism or early Christianity. Additional material draws on ancient religions, Platonism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and modern philosophical and psychological notions of the soul to place the Gnostic teachings in a clear historical context. By following the development of this concept through time, you will more clearly perceive—and respond to—the divine spark found in your own soul.

An Incendiary Wake-Up Call to the World
What if the Old Testament is a work of fiction, Jesus never existed, and Muhammad was a mobster?
What if the Bible and the Qur'an are works of political propaganda created by Taliban-like fundamentalists to justify the sort of religious violence we are witnessing in the world today?
What if there is a big idea that could free us from the us-versus-them world created by religion and make it possible for us to truly love our neighbors--and even our enemies?
What if it is possible to awaken to a profound state of oneness and love, which the Gnostic Christians symbolized by the enigmatic figure of the laughing Jesus?
Discover for Yourself Why the Gnostic Jesus Laughs

This collection of essays was presented to Professor Soren Giversen on his 65th birthday, 9 January 1993. Their common theme is ancient Gnosticism and its importance to the social, cultural and religious development of the Mediterranean world from Hellenistic to Roman times. Our knowledge of Gnosticism has recently been enriched by the discovery of previously unknown Gnostic texts preserved in Coptic manuscripts and published by Soren Giversen and others. These texts form the point of departure for several of the essays; others deal with Marcion, early Christianity and Judaism and their attitude to crucial Gnostic issues.

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. Besides offering new insight into controversies over Paul in the second century, this analysis of gnostic exegesis suggests a new perspective for Pauline study, challenging students and scholars to recognize the presuppositions-hermenuetical and theological-involved in their own reading of Paul's letters. Elaine H. Pagels is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author of The Gnostic Gospels, which won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Johannie Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, and the best-selling Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.

And Moricario said: "Let this work be performed as in a dream." It is said that the eon Moricario was united with a book through music and the sound of a clock. And as the clock gave its final sound, the work was fulfilled. An eternity was comprised between the pages of a tome. This book was then given to a Sethian monk living as a councilor in the House of Abel, and he was the first to read this book to his children and instructing them in its customs and curiosities. This third book is called The Cabinet: Sethian Gnosticism in the post modern world, even though the material presented in this volume is taken from The Moricario.

Noreas bok er en samling av drommer og bilder. Gjennom fire fabler fortelles det om menneskets fall. Et frivillig fall som forer til skapelse, liv og dod. "Begrensningen er ditt eget verk. Slik du skaper ditt eget monstrum, slik vil du bli styrt av det."

Salomos Oder er en poetisk skatt fra tidlig kristen mysterietradisjon. De ble skrevet i tiden mellom Jesu' dod og 300-tallet. Dette verket er i sin poetiske form gjennomtrukket av ekstatisk mystikk og andelig kjaerlighet, og er derfor saeregent for sin samtid. Odenes opphav er imidlertid fortsatt uklar, selv om de kan synes a vaere pavirket av en urkristen tradisjon som gikk under betegnelsen gnostisisme, pa grunn av vektleggingen av den mystiske og andelige erkjennelsen. Verket forsvant imidlertid for middelalderen, og ble regnet som tapt, i likhet med tekstene til mange andre tidlige kristne retninger. Ved en tilfeldighet ble de gjenfunnet, og brakt til England, hvor Rendel Harris oppdaget dem i 1909, uten at noen visste hvilken poetisk skatt de hadde brakt med seg fra Midtosten. Rendel Harris, som oppdaget odene i den usorterte forsendelsen, oversatte Salomos Oder til engelsk. Hundre ar etter presenteres Odene i norsk oversettelse, slik at de kan vaere til glede og inspirasjon for nye lesergrup

"Plato s "Parmenides" and Its Heritage" presents in two volumes ground-breaking results in the history of interpretation of Plato s "Parmenides," the culmination of six years of international collaboration by the SBL Annual Meeting seminar, Rethinking Plato s Parmenides and Its Platonic, Gnostic and Patristic Reception (2001 2007). The theme of Volume 1 is the dissolution of firm boundaries for thinking about the tradition of Parmenides interpretation from the Old Academy through Middle Platonism and Gnosticism. The volume suggests a radically different interpretation of the history of thought from Plato to Proclus than is customary by arguing against Proclus s generally accepted view that there was no metaphysical interpretation of the Parmenides before Plotinus in the third century C.E. Instead, this volume traces such metaphysical interpretations, first, to Speusippus and the early Platonic Academy; second, to the Platonism of the first and second centuries C.E. in figures like Moderatus and Numenius; third, to the emergence of an exegetical tradition that read Aristotle s categories in relation to the Parmenides; and, fourth, to important Middle Platonic figures and texts. The contributors to Volume 1 are Kevin Corrigan, Gerald Bechtle, Luc Brisson, John Dillon, Thomas Szlez k, Zlatko Ple e, Noel Hubler, John D. Turner, Johanna Brankaer, Volker Henning Drecoll, and Alain Lernould.

Who were the Gnostics? And how did the Gnostic movement influence the development of Christianity in antiquity? Is it true that the Church rejected Gnosticism? This book offers an illuminating discussion of recent scholarly debates over the concept of 'Gnosticism' and the nature of early Christian diversity. Acknowledging that the category 'Gnosticism' is flawed and must be reformed, David Brakke argues for a more careful approach to gathering evidence for the ancient Christian movement known as the Gnostic school of thought. He shows how Gnostic myth and ritual addressed basic human concerns about alienation and meaning, offered a message of salvation in Jesus, and provided a way for people to regain knowledge of God, the ultimate source of their being. Rather than depicting the Gnostics as heretics or as the losers in the fight to define Christianity, Brakke argues that the Gnostics participated in an ongoing reinvention of Christianity, in which other Christians not only rejected their ideas but also adapted and transformed them. This book will challenge scholars to think in news ways, but it also provides an accessible introduction to the Gnostics and their fellow early Christians.

As recent domestic and geopolitical events have become increasingly dominated by intolerant forms of religious thought and action, the critical study of religion continues to find itself largely ignored in the public square. Caught between those who assert that its principal purpose is to reflect the perspectives of those who believe and those who assert that its only proper place is to expose these same worldviews as deceptive social and economic mechanisms of power, the discipline has generally failed to find a truly audible voice. Rejecting both of these conservative and liberal modes of knowing as insufficient to the radical subject that is religion, Jeffrey J. Kripal offers in this book another possibility, that of the serpent's gift. Such a gift hisses a form of "gnosis," that is, a deeply critical approach to religion that is at the same time profoundly engaged with the altered states of consciousness and energy that are naively literalized by the proponents of faith and too quickly dismissed by the proponents of pure reason. Kripal does not simply describe such a gnosis. He performs and transmits it through four meditations on the sexualities of Jesus, the mystical humanism of Ludwig Feuerbach, the gnostic potentials of the comparative method, and the American mythologies of the comic book. From the erotics of the gospels to the mutant powers of the superhero, "The Serpent's Gift" promises its readers both an intellectual exile from our present religious and sexual ignorance and a transfigured hope in the spiritual potentials of the human species.