GNOSTICISM
THE TRUE GOD OF JESUS THE CHRIST
Never did Jesus proclaim that the Abrahamic "god" is his God. In fact, he identified the "God" of the Jewish priests as Satan.
When the Apostles prayed to the "God" of Israel, Jesus laughed at them, mocking them for their ignorance.
Jesus called his (spiritual) Father the True God. So, who is the True God that Jesus so often mention in his teachings?
The Monad
The supreme being is known as the Monad, the One, the Absolute, Aiōn Teleos (the Perfect Aeon, αἰών τέλεος), Bythos (Depth or Profundity, Βυθός), Proarchē (Before the Beginning, προαρχή), Hē Archē (The Beginning, ἡ ἀρχή), the Ineffable Parent, and/or the primal Father. The Monad is the high source of the Pleroma, the region of light.
The Apocryphon of John, gives the following description:
The Monad is a monarchy with nothing above it. It is he who exists as God and Father of everything, the invisible One who is above everything, who exists as incorruption, which is in the pure light into which no eye can look. "He is the invisible Spirit, of whom it is not right to think of him as a god, or something similar. For he is more than a god, since there is nothing above him, for no one lords it over him. For he does not exist in something inferior to him, since everything exists in him. For it is he who establishes himself. He is eternal, since he does not need anything. For he is total perfection.
The Pleroma
The heavenly Pleroma is the center of divine life, a region of light "above" (the term is not to be understood spatially) our world, occupied by spiritual beings known as Aeons.
The Aeons
From this primordial source, a series of Emanations, or Aeons, emerged. These Aeons manifest in male-female pairs called Syzygies, collectively form the Pleroma, or 'Fullness' of the divine. This concept emphasizes that the Aeons are not separate from the divine but are symbolic representations of its attributes.
The Aeons descends through a series of stages, gradations, worlds, or hypostases, becoming progressively more material and embodied. In time it will turn around to return to the One (Epistrophe), retracing its steps through spiritual knowledge and contemplation.
Barbelo The Aeon
Barbelo refers to the first emanation of the Monad. Barbelo is often depicted as a supreme female principle, the single passive antecedent of creation in its manifold. This figure is also variously referred to as Anthropos the 'Mother-Father' (hinting at her apparent androgyny), 'The Triple Androgynous Name', or 'The Eternal Aeon'.
Sophia The Aeon
The name Sophia (Greek for "wisdom") refers to the final emanation of God, the youngest of the Aeons.
Sophia is identified with as the Anima-Mundi or "world-soul", as in an attempt to to emanate without her co-partner Syzygy, Sophia unintentionally created the Demiurge.
In an attempt to redeem herself, the Aeon Sophia secretly breathed the the Pneuma (Divine Spark, also known as the Divine Breath, Spirit, or Soul) into Man, thus giving mankind the opportunity to regain their spiritual status if they choose to strive towards enlightenment.
Afterwhich , Adam & Eve had their 3rd child, Seth, who was the true firstborn of Adam with Eve. As Seth was the offspring of Adam after receiving the Pneuma, It is for this reason that Gnostics are also called Sethians.
The Nous
The concept of nous is a deep and complex one, with its roots primarily in ancient philosophy, particularly in Greek thought. The term has a variety of meanings depending on the context, but in general, nous refers to mind, intellect, understanding, or reason. Let's break it down in a few different contexts to give a fuller picture of its significance.
The first philosopher to use the term "nous" in a more structured sense was Anaximander, one of the early pre-Socratic thinkers. For him, nous was a principle of order, something that guided the cosmos, much like a kind of divine intelligence. The notion was still quite abstract, but it pointed to something like an organizing force behind the universe.
In Plato’s work, nous takes on a more developed role, particularly in his metaphysical system. Plato believed that there was a realm of ideal forms, or perfect, unchanging entities that could only be apprehended by the intellect or nous. In his view, nous was the part of the soul that could access these forms, as opposed to the more sensory, empirical side of the soul, which is tied to the physical world. The nous in Plato is tied to reason and knowledge, which allows the philosopher to glimpse the truth beyond mere appearances.
For Aristotle, nous is a central concept in his philosophy, particularly in his work on the soul and epistemology (the study of knowledge). Aristotle distinguished between different types of knowledge, and nous is often linked to intuitive knowledge—the immediate grasp of truths that don't require deduction. It’s the ability to understand things in their essence, without needing to reason through them step by step. For instance, understanding that “all bachelors are unmarried” is something that one grasps intuitively, rather than through a process of logical reasoning. Aristotle also tied nous to the human ability to contemplate universal principles. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle speaks about the highest form of human life as one of contemplation, which is an activity of the nous. In this sense, the nous is what allows humans to engage in the highest form of thought and approach the most important truths.
The Neoplatonist philosopher Plotinus significantly developed the idea of nous. For him, nous was the second principle in his metaphysical hierarchy (after the One, which represents the ultimate, ineffable source of all existence). Nous is the realm of perfect intelligence and is the source of all forms and the archetypal order of the universe. In this view, nous is not just human intellect but a cosmic principle that emanates from the One and gives order to the universe.
Epinoia
Epinoia: Thought, Intention, Purpose
"Epinoia" is an ancient Greek term that generally refers to "understanding," "insight," or "mental perception." The word is derived from the Greek roots epi- (meaning "upon" or "in addition to") and noia (meaning "thought" or "mind"). It conveys a deeper, more intuitive type of knowledge or insight, often beyond mere intellectual understanding.
It's worth noting that epinoia isn't just synonymous with ordinary thinking or reason (nous), nor is it merely intellectual. It can be seen as a more holistic or profound kind of knowing, often associated with personal transformation or enlightenment, not just conceptual knowledge. It’s also distinct from other types of knowledge such as gnosis (which tends to imply direct, experiential, and sometimes esoteric knowledge of spiritual truths) or sophia (wisdom in the more general, philosophical sense).
In Gnostic texts, especially those from the early Christian and Hellenistic periods, epinoia was associated with a form of divine knowledge or enlightenment. For Gnostics, it represented the higher, mystical knowledge that could lead to salvation. Epinoia in this context isn't just abstract understanding, but a transformative realization that the soul could achieve through inner illumination or through direct connection with divine knowledge.
Some philosophers in the ancient world, including figures like Plato, used terms like epinoia to indicate the deeper, more intuitive grasp of reality, contrasted with dianoia (discursive thought or reasoning). Epinoia represents an almost instinctual wisdom or understanding of the world that goes beyond logical or structured reasoning.
In modern psychological or psychoanalytic interpretations, epinoia could be thought of as a form of inner realization or clarity, an insight that brings understanding at a level that may not be purely cognitive but involves emotional or existential dimensions. It is not just thinking about something, but truly "seeing" or "knowing" it at a deeper level.
In some Christian theological discussions, epinoia has been used to indicate a deeper spiritual insight that surpasses the ordinary understanding of doctrines or theological teachings. This type of insight isn't merely intellectual; it also involves an intimate or revelatory understanding that connects the individual more closely with God or the divine truth.