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Most Christians have attributed significant importance to sacraments and rituals; however, groups of Christians have prioritized or even defined them differently. One of the most esoteric and fascinating sacraments from some of the earliest forms of Christianity is the Bridal Chamber, which was observed by several groups but in particular the Valentinians.
In the scriptures found at Nag Hammadi, a work called the Authoritative Discourse ends with a beautiful poem which sounds almost a bit like hymn. This hymn describes the reward awaiting a “rational soul” which has achieved gnosis, a goal of many Christians who were called “Gnostic”.
What is the Hymn of the Bridal Chamber, and how should we interpret it? Click below to learn more!
Continue reading “Uncover the Beautiful Gnostic Bridal Chamber Hymn”This post is the second post in a series on the “Gnostic Paul”– that is, Paul perceived by certain Gnostic thinkers– on Galatians. For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here.
In this series of posts, we have been exploring the version of Paul presented by Elaine Pagels in her book The Gnostic Paul. Dr. Pagels reconstructs– using a combination of academic research and original texts– how “gnostic” thinkers (even though that word is loaded) may have perceived the apostle Paul. We’ll refer to this Paul as the “Gnostic Paul”, to indicate that this is not intended to be a discussion of historicity, but rather how certain early Christians perceived Paul. 
Specifically, we’ve been diving into Galatians. We’ve already covered, in Part 1, how the Gnostic Paul saw himself as a pneumatic- a distinct kind of Christian from the apostles– and the conflict this created when Peter (a “psychic” Christian) expected Paul to hold himself to standards that Peter wasn’t willing to be held to.
Part 2 dove into the specifics of the Gnostic Paul’s tirade. Paul argued that pneumatic Christians were justified through God but psychic Christians were justified through the Demiurge. This has really practical applications.
Here in Part 3, we’re going to pick up in Galatians 3 (and moving into Galatians 4), unpacking the next stage of his argument: Gnostic atonement theory, being an heir to God or to the Demiurge. Ready to dive in? Click below to continue reading!
You didn’t expect to see a blog post about baby Jesus’ bathwater, did you? Well just like how the internet is full of strange people, so too is non-canonical Christianity. Did you hear about the internet personality who was selling her dirty water from her baths for $30 a jar and apparently made an absurd amount of money? I can’t even begin to wrap my head around that. She certainly wasn’t the first person to do this, and unfortunately is unlikely to be the last.
Did you know, though, that a non-canonical gospel called “The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy of the Savior” or the “Syriac Infancy Gospel” has a similar story? Believe it or not, Jesus’ bathwater is not only considered quite valuable, but even has restorative properties! While some non-canonical gospels are quite serious, others are full of stories and anecdotes that– at least to us modern readers– can be quite humorous. Want to learn more? Click below to continue reading!
This post is the second post in a series on the “Gnostic Paul”– that is, Paul perceived by certain Gnostic thinkers– on Galatians. For Part 1, click here. For the next part, Part 3, click here.
In last week’s post, we talked about the version of Paul presented by Elaine Pagels, in her book The Gnostic Paul. In her book, she reconstructs– using a combination of academic research and original texts– how “gnostic” thinkers (even though that word is loaded) may have perceived the apostle Paul. We’ll refer to this Paul as the “Gnostic Paul”, to indicate that this is not intended to be a discussion of historicity, but rather how certain early Christians perceived Paul.
Last time, we concluded with the tension faced by the Gnostic Paul in Galatians: the “psychic” Christians, led by apostles such as James, Peter, and John were in conflict with the pneumatic apostle Paul and others such as Barnabas. The psychic Christians– those operating at the level of psyche, at the level of the Demiurge– ended up giving Paul and Barnabas permission to preach to the pneumatic (spirit-filled and serving the true God), though asked them not to preach this to psychic Christians.
Paul and Barnabas agreed, and Galatians 2 records them being willing to act as psychic Christians when around other psychics to keep the peace. However, Peter then acts hypocritically– he starts violating the cease-fire. In this post, we’re going to explore more about what the Gnostic Paul thought Peter was doing, and his argument for why it’s a problem; the topic of “justification” is at the root of the issue!
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