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{{Useful Notes}}
Due to the influence that Gnosticism has had on popular media and Christianity itself in recent decades, an examination of the basic beliefs of the Gnostic worldview would be helpful.
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* The essential nature of the universe is an illusion, and the essential task of humanity is to both demonstrate love and compassion and strive to escape from materialism. Gnosis is a specialized form of experiential knowledge that comes to a human being when they recognize the universe as being fundamentally similar to a dream, hologram, or illusion.
However, it is important to remember that Gnosticism at no point constituted a monolith of doctrine. Mixing and matching from the above list is encouraged, and [[wikipedia:Theophany|personal revelation]] is held to be the paramount authority rather than a scripture or dogma. Gnosticism was also highly syncretic, tending to merge with any other religion it came into contact with creating a new Gnostic sect of that religion or forming a new religion altogether. It was also highly secretive, being practiced mostly by elites who had the leisure time necessary to contemplate its mysteries. Although it is largely extinct today, remnants of it still leave influences. Much of what we know about the Gnostics if fairly fragmentary, few of their original works survive to this day. Furthermore, much of what we have learned about the Gnostics comes from early Christian writings which often critical of these perceived "heretics."
== Gnostic scripture ==
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This is a sect that grew out of Gnostic beliefs in France. There are two major theories as to where they came from--the first is that Gnosticism spread into France very early on, the second being it was brought back by Crusader knights who were influenced by Sufism and other Holy Land mystical faiths. Either way, Catharism became very influential in southern France and amassed a fair amount of wealth, castles, and prestige. This development eventually came to challenge the Catholic Church, who felt threatened by the purity and poverty vows that many Cathars took. For those who were bugged by how the Catholics didn't burn other similar monasteries and condemn [[Word of God|Jesus]]' encouragement of such, remember in those days the Catholic Church was exceedingly corrupt and irrational, and the Cathar ascetics were making them look rather bad. So, the usual campaign of book burning and priest killing was embarked upon with the usual devastating consequences.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Above Good and Evil]] : The difference between the side is more defined as Chaos (Monad and Eons) Order (Demiurge and Archons)! The Chaotic side is [[Chaotic Good]] (Valentinianism) or [[Chaotic Neutral]](several sects). The Orderly side is [[Lawful Evil]] (most sects) or [[Lawful Neutral]] (as in Valentinianism).
** To quote the Gnostic Gospel of Philip:
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** If you look at the table of Aeons, it looks like a male Aeon and a female Aeon emanates new Aeons every so often.
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: All of the archons' true forms qualify as this.
* [[Epiphanic Prison]]: The material universe. The general gist of it is that the universe wasn't created by God but Her misguided offspring, the Demiurge. Human souls are trapped in the material world and must, through mystical experience, learn the right secrets (hence "gnosis", "knowledge") that will get them past the Archons after they die, so that they can ascend to the higher, spiritual reality where the true God resides and souls originate.
* [[Evil Is Cool]]: The Gnostic sect of the Cainites, who -- you guessed it -- took their name from [[Cain and Abel|the first murderer]]. They believed that since the God of the Bible was evil, everyone who opposed him must be good, so they took up Cain, [[The Emperor|Pharaoh]], the people of [[
** It should be noted that they are [[A Lighter Shade of Black]] in [[Evil Versus Evil]] agianst the Demiurge.
* [[Evil Is Sexy]]: Averted, the Demiurge ([[Big Bad]]) is a lion headed serpent who is also really ugly. Unlike modern Christian interpretations of evil, evil in Gnosticism is usually boneheaded and bureaucratic in nature, more like a supernal Soviet Union than a whorehouse. Its paragons have unattractive names like "Quarrelsomeness" and "Bitter Weeping."
** Also inverted, with [[Beauty Equals Goodness|Sophia]], who is always depicted as beautiful and generally depicted as naked.
* [[Evolutionary Levels]]: In most Gnostic systems, there are three categories of people. First, the Pneumatics, or "Spirit-Men," who will [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]. Then, the Psychics, or "Soul-Men," who won't ascend but maybe still live after death [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|somehow]] (the books [[Continuity Snarl|contradict themselves]] on this matter). Finally, the Hylics, or "Flesh-Men," who are [[Empty Shell|soulless cattle]] who have [[What Measure Is a Non Super|no real life at all]], but are mere puppets of the Demiurge. These are by far the most numerous of the three.
* [[Forbidden Fruit]]: Subverted. Eating the forbidden fruit opened Adam and Eve's eyes to the fact they were prisoners.
* [[Ghost in the Machine]]: The basis for most Westerners having this view of the [[Soul]], as opposed to it being; [[Our Souls Are Different|a) breath, b) your life force, c) your conscience, d) a shield from demons, e) your free will, f) your goodness, g) dependent on your body, h) protection from comas, i) your glamour, j) your ticket to heaven, k) your ticket to surviving death, etc.]] Some of these aspects are compatible with this view and some are incompatible in and of themselves, but taken as stand alone statements they can lead in a different direction.
** Also, this is the reason why most people have a concept of [[Fluffy Cloud Heaven]]. It is based on a concept of the Soul that was popular before this one predominated due to Existentialism.
*** This also needs mention of [[Fire and Brimstone Hell]], a concept more closely associated with traditional religion.
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* [[Jesus Was Way Cool]]: No matter what their interpretation of Yahweh, all branches of Gnosticism present Jesus as an emissary of the good God.
** The one exception to this are the Mandaeans who hold Jesus to be a false messiah who perverted the teachings of the prophet John the Baptist, the main figure of the religion. Interestingly despite the heresy Mandaeism is the sole historic gnostic sect which remains extant.
* [[Karma]]: Goes along with [[Reincarnation]].
* [[Light Is Good]][/][[Light Is Not Good]]: On one side, there's the Aeons, whole live in greater realms of light. On the other, there's the Archons, who are pretty much evil angels, and one of them is a solar deity.
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* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: The Archons, who are the Demiurge's agents and forces of oppression; the most notable appearently correspond to the planets of the solar system, [[Celestial Bureaucracy|forming a group of seven entities alongside the Demiurge]], called the Hebdomad. The Aeons can also be called angels, though they are technically more like gods.
* [[Path of Inspiration]]/[[The Heretic]]: Thought to be this by the early Christian church fathers, as well as most modern-day Christian denominations.
* [[Pieces of God]] :
* [[Perspective Flip]]: The Nag Hammadi neatly presents Yahweh as the opposite of everything he's ever claimed to be. Well, except a jealous, violent dictator.
* [[Platonic Cave]]/[[Ontological Mystery]]: One of the major themes, with the early Gnostics being influenced by Platonism.
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* [[Satan Is Good]]: Since Gnostics seek gnosis, that is, spiritual knowledge, many believe that the tempting serpent in Eden was really the spirit of Jesus (sometimes Sophia or her servant Ophis) trying to redeem humanity with knowledge.
** Gnostics had a complex relationship with the devil. Opinions on the devil, and his relationship to the Demiurge, varied. The Ophites held that he and his demons constantly oppose and thwart the human race, as it was on their account the devil was cast down into this world. According to one variant of the Valentinian system, the Demiurge is besides the maker, out of the appropriate substance, of an order of spiritual beings, the devil, the prince of this world, and his angels. But the devil, as being a spirit of wickedness, is able to recognise the higher spiritual world, of which his maker the Demiurge, who is only animal, has no knowledge. The devil resides in this lower world, of which he is the prince, the Demiurge in the heavens; his mother Sophia in the middle region, above the heavens and below the Pleroma. The Valentinian Heracleon interpreted the devil as the principle of evil, that of hyle (matter). As he writes in his commentary on John 4:21, The mountain represents the Devil, or his world, since the Devil was one part of the whole of matter, but the world is the total mountain of evil, a deserted dwelling place of beasts, to which all who lived before the law and all Gentiles render worship. But Jerusalem represents the creation or the Creator whom the Jews worship. . . . You then who are spiritual should worship neither the creation nor the Craftsman, but the Father of Truth. This vilification of the Creator was held to be inimical to Christianity by the early fathers of the church. In refuting the views of the Gnostics, Irenaeus observed that "Plato is proved to be more religious than these men, for he allowed that the same God was both just and good, having power over all things, and Himself executing judgment."
* [[Save the Villain]]: At least in Valentinian Gnosticism, it's expected that eventually even the most wicked people and deities will be redeemed. Some books, however, do say quite clearly that not all humans even have souls that can be saved.
* [[Secret Identity]]: Several of the female Aeons have a penchant for disguises.
* [[Sex Is Evil]]: Gnostics were a diverse group and had equally diverse opinions on sex. Some were strict ascetics and believed that sex, masturbation, and even wet dreams were vile temptations of the material plane. Others thought sex was a normal part of creation and indeed the world was created through a kind of sexual relationship between dimorphic aeons. And yet more Gnostics were antimonians who believed that all rules were created by an evil God to control his subjects, and so ''every single sin'' must be committed before a human can escape from the prison of the world. Whew!
** Actually, we only know of the anti-nomian sects from Catholic and Orthodox theologians. Whether they existed in fact is up to debate.
** Some Gnostics believed that the material world was a harsh and evil place, and therefore it was sinful to ''have children''.
* [[Shades of Conflict]]: Depending on if you cast the Aeonic side as [[Chaotic Good]] or [[Chaotic Neutral]] and the Archonic side as [[Lawful Evil]] or [[Lawful Neutral]] gives you four possible scenarios, while ignoring the obvious [[Order Versus Chaos]]. [[White and Black Morality]] has Aeons as [[Chaotic Good]] and Archons as [[Lawful Evil]]. [[White and Gray Morality]] has [[Chaotic Good]] Aeons and [[Lawful Neutral]] Archons. [[Gray and Gray Morality]] has [[Chaotic Neutral]] Aeons who are [[A Lighter Shade of Gray]] than the [[Lawful Neutral]] Archons. [[Black and Gray Morality]] has [[Chaotic Neutral]] Aeons and [[Lawful Evil]] Archons.
* [[Stock Super Powers]]: All of the Aeons and quite a few of the humans.
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* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: Heresiologists. The finds at Nag Hammadi showed they got a lot of the cosmology right (though they went out of their way to make it sound stupid).
Many recent works, especially those of a [[Post Modern|postmodernist]] and [[Existentialism|existentialist]] bent, reflect Gnostic influences (whether unconsciously or intentional). Characteristic, though not always, of the Gnostic worldview are vast (and often contradictory) cosmologies, uncertainty, unreliable narrators, and the value of personal interpretation. Protagonists slowly come to the realization that the world is not quite what it seems--they are privy to secret, inside information about reality. Due to the reliance on personal revelation implicit in Gnosticism, it is not surprising when multiple narratives tell the same story without quite lining up. Reason is presented as but one tool that humans can use to understand the world, but logical reasoning is not the whole truth. Examples may range from containing some elements/influences to outright endorsement/promotion. These include:
== [[Anime]] and Manga ==
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' mixes Gnostic elements with Eastern and Jewish Kabbalah influences plus [[Cosmic Horror]]. It's also subverted, considering how unpleasant it is dealing and facing the Truth.
* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''
* ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]''
* ''[[The Big O]]''
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''
* ''[[Texhnolyze]]'': The further into this series you get, the more Gnostic symbolism and saturation shows up, with some of the darker and more paranoid ideas becoming increasingly warped and played with in a highly [[Mind Screw|Mind Screwy]] manner. For example, {{spoiler|the disturbing way in which Doc increasingly mirrors Sophia, or Kano mirrors the demiurge}}. And then of course, there's [[Messianic Archetype|Ran]].
** Who Kano keeps calling "Theoria" for no obvious reason. Naturally, this is yet another Gnostic concept meaningless to a casual viewer.
* In ''[[
* ''[[Venus Versus Virus]]
* ''Dead End'' by Shohei Manabe
* There are some highly suspicious parallels in ''[[Blame]]'' to Gnostic ideology, particularly in the later parts of the series.
* Very surprisingly for a [[Shonen]] manga, but a case could definitely be made for ''[[Soul Eater]]''s inclusion in this list, particularly as of the Book chapters.
* [[Eden: It's an Endless World!]] draws on Gnosticism to an extent, primarily in character names.
* [[Mardock Scramble]]
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* [[Current 93]] makes continual reference to Gnostic texts.
* [[Tori Amos]] references Gnosticism in her album ''The Beekeeper''.
* Arguably some of [[Tool]]'s songs touch on Gnostic themes, "Parabola" being an example, though Maynard's lyrics are open to a great deal of interpretation.
* [[Coph Nia]] actually has a song called "Gnostic Mass", whose lyrics draw heavily on Gnostic beliefs (no surprises there.)
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* ''[[The Truman Show]]''
* ''Stigmata''
* ''[[They Live!]]''
* ''[[The Adjustment Bureau]]''
== Literature ==
* [[Discworld]]
* [[His Dark Materials]] ({{spoiler|the universe is, in a sense, self-aware; the Authority and, later, the Regent are demiurges}})
* [[Naked Lunch]]
* Anything written by [[Philip K. Dick]], who had a keen sense of the existential paranoia implicit in the Gnostic scriptures and a working knowledge of the recently-translated Nag Hammadi codices (and don't forget the ''I Ching''). Particularly of note are VALIS, The Divine Invasion, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, and Radio Free Albumeth. However, perspective readers should be warned about the high [[Mind Screw]] content and the possibility of their brain turning to liquid, pouring out of their ears, and reassembling itself in a smiley face twenty-five kilometres over the peak of Kilimanjaro--and no, that's not a highly confusing metaphor for insanity.
* Anything written by [[Jorge Luis Borges]], [[Carl Jung]], [[William Blake]], [[Umberto Eco]] and [[Hermann Hesse]], whose novel ''Demian'' is what the egg speech in ''[[Utena]]'' was [[Shout-Out|borrowed from]].
* God have mercy on our souls, but [[Dan Brown]] has done as much to raise Gnosticism into the public consciousness as the Wachowski brothers.
** It might be useful to point out that while the Watchowskis have ushered Gnosticism into the public consciousness through the underlying philosophical discussions in their films <ref> with said discussion reaching into the fundamental ideology of Gnosticism and debating the arguments for and against the probable nature of reality, the delineation of the borders of reality, and playing with the idea of the demiurge and assessing sentient beings as contributors to the formation of an imperfect consensus reality</ref>, [[Dan Brown]] has raised awareness of Gnosticism by flinging the term around so liberally in such a vague and arbitrary manner in his books that it drove most of his readers to look it up on [[The Other Wiki]]... where most of them found two things: 1) Gnosticism is incredibly detailed, ancient, and so deep and involving that you can spend days on a [[Wiki Walk]] just scratching the surface, and 2) [[Dan Brown]] has a very bad habit of [[Completely Missing the Point]] when it comes to secular and philosophical ideology.
** Unfortunately, the "gnosticism" presented by Dan Brown in his books tends towards the polar opposite of actual Gnostic beliefs as expressed in their scriptures. He says they believed Jesus was completely human; Gnostics actually tended to think Jesus was completely god without a trace of the human. Dan also thinks the Gnostics respected women; they actually tended more towards the Greek idea that women were an inferior form of life incapable of spiritual understanding.
* Some works of [[Iain Banks]] slide into this area in varying degrees, of note in [[The Culture]] novels are ''Excession'', ''Look To Windward'', and ''[[Use of Weapons]]''. In other books, ''The Algebraist'' is pulled deeply into Gnostic territory with a dark and snarky bent.
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== Live-Action TV ==
* [[Lost]]'s mythology and underlying metaphysics were heavily rooted in Gnosticism, but the show never drew any explicit parallels to it. Which came back to bite the writers, as it's [[Viewers Are Geniuses|kind of necessary]] to understand the [[Trippy Finale Syndrome|finale]], especially the part about personal revelation (i.e. what meaning the characters and the audience bring to events) being more important than authorial dogma (the writers telling everyone what happened and shooting down all but one theory).
== [[Video Games]] ==
* [[Deus Ex: Invisible War|Deus Ex Invisible War]]
* [[Shin Megami Tensei]]-- pick a game, any game, either from the main series or the ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona]]'' spin-offs.
* [[Silent Hill]]-- even the soundtrack lyrics have a Gnostic undertone.
* [[Star Ocean: Till the End of Time]]
* [[Xenogears]]
* [[Xenosaga]]
* [[Xenoblade]]
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Useful Notes]]▼
[[Category:Gnosticism]]
▲[[Category:Useful Notes/Religion]]
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