Gnosticism

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Ever since I was about 15-16, I've have gone through periodic stints of religious researching (especially online but have read 1-2 books), particularly in regards to gnosticism. I recently came up with a hypothesis and I was wondering how many people will think I'm nuts? One of the general principles is that their is a male and a female god or that they are two halves of the same being (depends on what your reading). So, since some theories seem to say that the creator God is male and wisdom is female (ironically creation is associated w/ the mother/feminine usually though) that maybe the male/female halves are equal or two separate beings like a pissed off divorced couple? As in the male God said the "you shall have no other gods before me" b/c he was pissed off at his female creator partner... also anyone noticed the difference in God's moods in the Torah/Old Testament vs. the New Testament? (He seems go from pissed off/angsty/moody, to happy/merciful/strangely satisfied to me. )

In the Old Testament creation stories, the word that has been translated in most English bibles as "God" is actually plural.

Not nuts.

Not ready to publish, though.

Bear in mind I am long term academic - where I am coming from.

Option 1: You are maybe just working things out in your head to see some sense in the universe. In which case, keep on working it over, rethinking it every couple months, see how it develops, does it cohere.

Option 2: You are maybe tryhing to see how gnosticism works, in which case I would suggest reading your way into Manichaean and Mandaean writings, with the Nag Hammadi collection. Focus on the acxtual texts or on analyses from before about 1920; I do not trust some of the neoGnostic sources. Gradually you will build a sense.

Whichever - or something else - the reason "Wisdom" gets noted as female is simply that in the main languages of the Gnostic sciptures the WORD for "wisdom" is feminine, Dos not necessarily point to an underlying feminine understanding of Wisdom. Though we do have Athena / Minerva, virgin goddess focussed on wisdom [and a bit severe / austere].

I think I'm mostly option 1 w/ a slight inclination towards option 2. The main gnosticism related book I've read was "The Gospel of Judas Iscariot" by Bart D. Ehrman (which I still think was pretty complicated for a 15 year old). If I were to try and find and read the "Manichaean and Mandaean writings, with the Nag Hammadi collection" that you suggested, how likely is it I could find them online through google or a collegiate database? Also, would I need to know/learn other languages besides English (I know the original texts are definitely not English)? I would guess the original text languages would range from Coptic, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew and other Middle Eastern languages mostly) (and possibly some East Asian, but I'd guess most European languages besides Latin and Greek would be useless).

I would recommend The Gospel According to Thomas... It's probably the most profound of the Gnostic Gospels?

The take I got from long discussions about the Apocryphon of John with my roomate was a bit different. I think we have to go through or past the god of the bible to know the creator entities. He's part of creation, too.

Speaking from experience, plenty of people will think you're nuts anytime you talk about this stuff. But, if you're here, that's probably not an unfamiliar situation.

I liked the Gospel of Thomas. Quick read, but full of subtlety. I'd have to understand them all to recognize the most profound, though, and I won't claim that.

Right - that was pretty much what I thought.

You should find at least a lot of Nag Hammadi on line, and I know there are some Mandean scriptures up, HAVE to me Manicagean.

But if your interest is not thast scholarly, I would say do not go too far that way.

No need for other languages, though [as a language educator and word freak I have to say this, it isd in the CODE] if you WANTED to learn Latin and Greek and Syriac and Coptic and Hebrew, how could it hurt? But even with a scholarly interest you ould go a long way in English or French or German.

Gospel of Thomas, sure. It is pretty simple, very available - my mother loved it. I'm thinking it will not take you that far, though, Some of the Nag Hammadi stuff might be helpful - though that is a library like the Dead Sea Scrolls, so varies a lot.

I think your best bet is a lot of thought, light reading in the texts finding a good study of Gnosticism by someone not TOO scholarly, not passionately dedicated NOR intensely critical. Sorry I can't recommend anything, but it isnot a direction I have gone.

There WAS a decent paperback collection of the Nag Hammadi texts with introduction and comments - my motrher had a copy of that and I have seen in in used bookstores.

Which is why I am advising a lot more thought than reading.

We used to have two - three professed Gnostics around here - where are they when we need them?

I have to admit that I don't really know much about Gnosticism in its organized sense, I remember seeing a video from some self proclaimed gnostic organizations in the UK and they selected very specific books, not really the ones I would have gone after.

That said though many Gnostic writings are fascinating, the Tripartite Tractate has to be one of my favorite and I found for a long time that I could relate a great deal to Valentinean thought. The only thing about it though, if you talk about a male or female god I would think you're talking about the Logos? That's really more a minor entity than 'the' god, or likely even the aeons of aeons for that matter.

For some Gnostic-influenced fiction, read Phillip K. Dick.