It’s a great day when one comes across such a compelling, insightful, concise, and articulate teacher of philosophy and religious history. I finally can begin wrapping my head around Gnosticism. John Vervaeke, Wes Cecil and now Mr. Darkwaterhermit! Thank you for all your work, Sir
It is so interesting that there are striking parallels between Gnosticism and Hinduism. Brahma, the creator god, created the Universe, but before doing so he was tainted by lusting after his daughter. And thus, everything in the material world is tainted. Shiva and Vishnu are the other 2 members that along with Brahma make up the Hindu triumvirate. However, Shiva and Vishnu are strictly in the domain of spirit/non-material. And so, every Hindu (every human really), because they are a direct product of Brahma, must help Brahma return to the non-material domain/become untainted, so he can be alongside Shiva and Vishnu once more. They do this by rejecting the material world and remembering their spirit nature. So we have strong parallels with Gnosticism. Brahma is definitely a demiurge type of concept. In addition, a core concept in Hinduism is of Maya: the teaching that the physical world is an illusion and an obstacle to enlightenment (moksha). That are true selves was not of Maya, but of the higher spirit realm.
@@darkwaterhermitdo you have a whole lecture series on thos topic? I'm fascinated by the early churches and how different they are from Christianity today. This video was so illuminating. I've come back to it a couple of months later as it's stayed with me. So much information in such a short space.
Good lecture! Though I think one has to be a little careful in stating that anyone who denies Jesus came in the flesh is a heretic (11:45). Because that is not necessarily what Paul is saying by that statement. Because the gospel of Paul is all about “the mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory. ” (Col 1:27) “Or do you not understand this about yourself, that Jesus Christ is in you?” (2 Cor 13:5) So the real test is whether we deny the Presence of Christ having come in OUR FLESH. For we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (the Anointing / the Christ). (1 Cor 3:16) The Dwelling Place of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:22) Mystically, such is the whole idea behind the Eucharist. We are what we eat…the Body of Christ! (1 Cor 12:12)
Really interesting from depth and clarity, thank you for even attempting to learn this. People most often appear to structure these in terms of power hierarchies - is it necessary also to delineate ethical hierarchies running alongside to balance power and virtue? Also does this mean animals have no soul?
Amazing! Except for that rude woman in the background who constantly chirps and then, at the end, really yawns so loud I'm surprised the poor speaker didn't kick her out of his class. Thank you for this wonderful lecture
This seems like a classic example of giving Christian Gnosticism a fair enough explanation, so a blatant straw-man critique(to me) slips by unnoticed… The Gnostics, at least according to the Nag Hammadi Library, did not believe Christ was ‘possessed’ by the Monad(God). Jesus was understood as an ‘emanation’ of the Monad, an ‘Aeon’. Think of how one zygote divides and creates twins…Something akin to that. It was also far from unanimous that Christ was a ‘phantom’, and a great deal of Gnostic sects maintained that: ‘Jesus is identified…as an embodiment of the supreme being who became incarnate to bring gnosis to the earth.’ Also, the idea that the Gnostics thought material bodies were evil, end of, is such a misrepresentation of what they thought. They believed bodies were prisons that entrapped a person’s divine essence. It’s was an observation, not a moral condemnation. Just as an actual prison is no more evil than an inanimate knife, or gun. It’s the creator of the prison that’s immoral, the Demiurge, not the prison itself. Based on the Latin slides, I’ll assume it’s a Catholic-centric lecture. Why is it every time a Catholic figure discusses Christian Gnosticism do they set up a radically simplistic, unrepresentative uber-dualist straw-man? Because it makes it easier to discredit Gnostic teachings, maybe? It’s worth noting that concepts such as ‘heresy’, and ‘orthodoxy’, did not exist in Christianity until the Church invented them. Specifically to counter the threat to religious hegemony that came from the spread of Gnostic teachings, with their lack of need for a religious middle-man. To reinforce this point, the Church saw enough value in Gnostic teachings to eventually adopt them for the cloistered priest-class, whilst simultaneously ‘crusading’ the proponents of those ideas out of existence. Vow of Celibacy: A Gnostic idea first.
Interestingly enough, some of the Gnostics took a "tantric" turn, viewing sexuality as a way to free themselves from the powers and principalities. I think the Gospel Of Philip in particular underlines the importance of sacramental marriage and the "wedding chamber" as a vehicle of spiritual liberation. Of course, it's hard to know to what degree it's supposed to be understood literally or poetically.
False. A true gnostic knows the true meaning of sex which is inner and not outer. A true gnostic will completely stop having physical sex, even to completely deny the so called family which is the biggest trap of the spirit
Yahweh in Gnostic texts is only one of the hypostases of Yaldabaoth, this is his "bot", figuratively speaking. The attitude to the serpent among the Gnostics was also different, judging by the texts from Nag Hammadi. The radical dualism of most versions of Gnosticism is very similar to the views of the Neo-Pythagorean Numenius of Apomea.
Super interesting! First time I’ve seen a video from you. I have a question to this scripture. “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” Matthew 5:28-30 Are you saying that this desire is or isn’t being acted upon? Jesus to me sort of gives you the reality that because it starts in the mind and goes to the heart, if this isn’t dealt with then it will seep out into your members, exactly where Paul was in Romans 7. I’m not sure if I’m asking a good question or not? Haha. God bless!
Not really. Mention of Abraxas comes from Basilides which believed that there where 365 planes of existence below the pleroma each with their own archon. Yaldabaoth is the archon of the lowest plane (our plane) while Abraxas is the archon of the highest plane. Abraxas is referred to as the “Great Archon”. But they are both different from the “unknowable father” (God of the pleroma).
jennifer haslinger i teach at San Diego Christian College and will be teaching 8 week online versions of both Metaphysics and Philosophy of Origins and Ethics in the Fall. Or you can watch the entire course playlists on my RUclips channel for free. Glad you enjoyed this one. Classes start Monday but you could still enroll.
Your genealogical chronology is questionable. Ammonius Saccus died in the mid 3rd century and Gnostics had been around from the second half of the 1st. Doubtless there was mutual influence/conflict later, but you give the impression that the originating Gnostics were dependant on Neoplatonism.
@@darkwaterhermit Probably Weir Lake, really a large pond below South Lake, which is about 20 miles above Bishop. Those alpine areas high up in the Sierras are magically beautiful.
Evil does not necessarily mean bad. The Lord says I form the light and created darkness. I created good and evil. (paraphrased). Evil is merely a state. I could say a base state. Dead material that needs to go through the process of alchemy.
The body is an aspect of the soul (subconscious, registered memory of physical experiances) but the spirit is the perfect self that was trapped to create the soul. The body is designed to die but the soul needs to be crucified back to the spirit (gnosis) if we are ever to leave the material realm.
To me, this is litterally like studying MInecraft to understand how to build things in the real world. It is spending hours of your life studying the thoughts of ancient greeks, who understood nothing of the world, and trying to find out how they got everything wrong.
That is so narrow minded. Besides, the New Testament was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy. In 2 Peter the Greek word Tartarus is used. John 1 calls Jesus the Logos, or the Word. Jews were using Greek philosophy to convince the Greek pagans to accept our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You don't wanna read Greek philosophy? That's fine. But you don't have to be so dismissive about it.
Europeans will always love and create multiple Gods like they made a God out of Jesus which is unique in human history. That's why Jesus will return. He'll return because of these so called Christians.
How does that make any sense.... I've tripped many times and never spoke to Jesus during a mushroom trip. I was then saved much later on. Jesus was obviously a person he spoke and had a human body. Read the bible. Mushrooms don't teach real spiritual information... They just make you feel connected and spiritual etc.
@@EmmaGodLovesTruth95 "But now a great thing in the street Seems any human nod, Where shift in strange democracy The million masks of God." Mushrooms might reveal that you are born of God just as well. Or they might not.
@LibertarianGalt It’s more likely that the modern names for various mushroom species came from historical people.. if it’s true that some of these names are connected, I’ve never heard of that. My perspective is; the txts that were made into the bible are some of our oldest written history… and modern names for mushrooms probably came about after the dead sea scrolls. Also, not sure what you mean by common themes in religion, they have in common that they are about unseen forces and worshipping or loving a higher power, Other than that, the main religions are pretty different. If other religions have a Christ figure, it is because He is the template.. He is a real person and people all over the world heard about Him during and after he was on earth as a man. Im pretty sure paganism and then Judaism were the first spiritual practices. Paganism is just what happens when fallen angels and their offspring purposefully confuse people. I used to be into that stuff... and my previous pagan beliefs were why I chose to seek spiritual connection using psychedelic mushrooms.
It’s a great day when one comes across such a compelling, insightful, concise, and articulate teacher of philosophy and religious history. I finally can begin wrapping my head around Gnosticism.
John Vervaeke, Wes Cecil and now Mr. Darkwaterhermit! Thank you for all your work, Sir
That was really kind. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I have full courses on my playlists
My university teacher couldn't explain this subject in 2 hours but this man did in 14 minutes!! Incredible.
For Real
Very concisely taught, no waffling. Nice!
This was such a a good summary of this topic thank you for this
It is so interesting that there are striking parallels between Gnosticism and Hinduism. Brahma, the creator god, created the Universe, but before doing so he was tainted by lusting after his daughter. And thus, everything in the material world is tainted. Shiva and Vishnu are the other 2 members that along with Brahma make up the Hindu triumvirate. However, Shiva and Vishnu are strictly in the domain of spirit/non-material.
And so, every Hindu (every human really), because they are a direct product of Brahma, must help Brahma return to the non-material domain/become untainted, so he can be alongside Shiva and Vishnu once more. They do this by rejecting the material world and remembering their spirit nature. So we have strong parallels with Gnosticism. Brahma is definitely a demiurge type of concept.
In addition, a core concept in Hinduism is of Maya: the teaching that the physical world is an illusion and an obstacle to enlightenment (moksha). That are true selves was not of Maya, but of the higher spirit realm.
Holy shit! That was an amazing 15 mins! Unbelievably enriching and concise. The Gnostics were/are fascinating. I could listen to this man all day!!
Thank you, that was quite the compliment. Glad you enjoyed it.
@@darkwaterhermitdo you have a whole lecture series on thos topic?
I'm fascinated by the early churches and how different they are from Christianity today. This video was so illuminating.
I've come back to it a couple of months later as it's stayed with me. So much information in such a short space.
@@commissar5851 I do have entire courses in my playlists, but I don't think I have one on church history specifically
This was a great concise summary of complex concepts !
Good lecture! Though I think one has to be a little careful in stating that anyone who denies Jesus came in the flesh is a heretic (11:45). Because that is not necessarily what Paul is saying by that statement. Because the gospel of Paul is all about “the mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory. ” (Col 1:27)
“Or do you not understand this about yourself, that Jesus Christ is in you?” (2 Cor 13:5)
So the real test is whether we deny the Presence of Christ having come in OUR FLESH. For we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (the Anointing / the Christ). (1 Cor 3:16) The Dwelling Place of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:22)
Mystically, such is the whole idea behind the Eucharist. We are what we eat…the Body of Christ! (1 Cor 12:12)
Really interesting from depth and clarity, thank you for even attempting to learn this. People most often appear to structure these in terms of power hierarchies - is it necessary also to delineate ethical hierarchies running alongside to balance power and virtue? Also does this mean animals have no soul?
Amazing! Except for that rude woman in the background who constantly chirps and then, at the end, really yawns so loud I'm surprised the poor speaker didn't kick her out of his class.
Thank you for this wonderful lecture
Would it be college without attention seeking, obnoxious young women?
@@1600-i6p best comment here
Hello, can you help me and suggest some books on philosophy and religion?
Thanks
So the Question is how Did the Demiurge get into and know the mind of God???
by emanation
I wish I had teachers like you in my lifetime
This seems like a classic example of giving Christian Gnosticism a fair enough explanation, so a blatant straw-man critique(to me) slips by unnoticed…
The Gnostics, at least according to the Nag Hammadi Library, did not believe Christ was ‘possessed’ by the Monad(God). Jesus was understood as an ‘emanation’ of the Monad, an ‘Aeon’. Think of how one zygote divides and creates twins…Something akin to that.
It was also far from unanimous that Christ was a ‘phantom’, and a great deal of Gnostic sects maintained that: ‘Jesus is identified…as an embodiment of the supreme being who became incarnate to bring gnosis to the earth.’
Also, the idea that the Gnostics thought material bodies were evil, end of, is such a misrepresentation of what they thought. They believed bodies were prisons that entrapped a person’s divine essence. It’s was an observation, not a moral condemnation. Just as an actual prison is no more evil than an inanimate knife, or gun. It’s the creator of the prison that’s immoral, the Demiurge, not the prison itself.
Based on the Latin slides, I’ll assume it’s a Catholic-centric lecture.
Why is it every time a Catholic figure discusses Christian Gnosticism do they set up a radically simplistic, unrepresentative uber-dualist straw-man? Because it makes it easier to discredit Gnostic teachings, maybe?
It’s worth noting that concepts such as ‘heresy’, and ‘orthodoxy’, did not exist in Christianity until the Church invented them. Specifically to counter the threat to religious hegemony that came from the spread of Gnostic teachings, with their lack of need for a religious middle-man. To reinforce this point, the Church saw enough value in Gnostic teachings to eventually adopt them for the cloistered priest-class, whilst simultaneously ‘crusading’ the proponents of those ideas out of existence. Vow of Celibacy: A Gnostic idea first.
This was totally amazing I had just come to Know About NeoPlatonism
SQS channel helped me understand gnosis more
seriously awesome class! Thanks for posting!
Great summary
Have you looked at Christopher Jon Bjerknes work? Very interesting
“Pretty trippy” stellar info!
that one student who cant stop talking
❤️🙏🏼
Interestingly enough, some of the Gnostics took a "tantric" turn, viewing sexuality as a way to free themselves from the powers and principalities. I think the Gospel Of Philip in particular underlines the importance of sacramental marriage and the "wedding chamber" as a vehicle of spiritual liberation. Of course, it's hard to know to what degree it's supposed to be understood literally or poetically.
False. A true gnostic knows the true meaning of sex which is inner and not outer. A true gnostic will completely stop having physical sex, even to completely deny the so called family which is the biggest trap of the spirit
@@user-ov8qv3hp9d I think this might be a matter of descriptive versus prescriptive statements.
Yahweh in Gnostic texts is only one of the hypostases of Yaldabaoth, this is his "bot", figuratively speaking.
The attitude to the serpent among the Gnostics was also different, judging by the texts from Nag Hammadi.
The radical dualism of most versions of Gnosticism is very similar to the views of the Neo-Pythagorean Numenius of Apomea.
Right, I think there's a text that essentially treats different Old Testament names for "God" as distinct entities.
Super interesting! First time I’ve seen a video from you. I have a question to this scripture.
“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”
Matthew 5:28-30
Are you saying that this desire is or isn’t being acted upon? Jesus to me sort of gives you the reality that because it starts in the mind and goes to the heart, if this isn’t dealt with then it will seep out into your members, exactly where Paul was in Romans 7. I’m not sure if I’m asking a good question or not? Haha. God bless!
In the version I read, God was known as Abraxis and the demiurge was Yaldebauth
Thats from the Apocryphon of John, I believe and is part of one of the many iterations of Gnosticism; what is today called Sethian Gnosticism
Not really. Mention of Abraxas comes from Basilides which believed that there where 365 planes of existence below the pleroma each with their own archon.
Yaldabaoth is the archon of the lowest plane (our plane) while Abraxas is the archon of the highest plane. Abraxas is referred to as the “Great Archon”. But they are both different from the “unknowable father” (God of the pleroma).
I think John Lamb Lash would disagree with a lot of what you're saying
Fun Fact: Nag Hammadi Library? There's an app for that.
how cool is that, thanks for letting me know
Not on iPhone
bummer
Spirit could be seen as parasite, the real seat of evil, the drive behind the body
Great explanation.
How do I take your class?!
jennifer haslinger i teach at San Diego Christian College and will be teaching 8 week online versions of both Metaphysics and Philosophy of Origins and Ethics in the Fall. Or you can watch the entire course playlists on my RUclips channel for free. Glad you enjoyed this one. Classes start Monday but you could still enroll.
Thank you so much. I can’t stop watching this class. You’re a wonderful teacher :)
yo chappie im the One thats going to take us back to the source i think we should talk
What does it mean to return to God or unite with God ? Does it mean we become God in a pantheistic sense ?
return to the source its a timeless place where anything is possible god is not a being its a place i call it the construct
Theosis
That was what ahkenaten did with the sundisk. In the early monotheism. The sun is shining for us but we worship man made gods
Your genealogical chronology is questionable. Ammonius Saccus died in the mid 3rd century and Gnostics had been around from the second half of the 1st. Doubtless there was mutual influence/conflict later, but you give the impression that the originating Gnostics were dependant on Neoplatonism.
Good correction, and I have a question. Is that Lundy Lake on your youtube home page ?
@@darkwaterhermit Probably Weir Lake, really a large pond below South Lake, which is about 20 miles above Bishop. Those alpine areas high up in the Sierras are magically beautiful.
I am beginning to strongly suspect Jesus was influenced by both western and eastern philosophies heavily.
Evil does not necessarily mean bad. The Lord says I form the light and created darkness. I created good and evil. (paraphrased). Evil is merely a state. I could say a base state. Dead material that needs to go through the process of alchemy.
gato villano, the evil cat 😂
Do you mean animals have no spirit?
I am not teaching my views but it is my understanding that Neoplatonists do not believe anything below humans have souls or spirits. I certainly do 😎
The myth of er opens a new can of worms
The body is an aspect of the soul (subconscious, registered memory of physical experiances) but the spirit is the perfect self that was trapped to create the soul. The body is designed to die but the soul needs to be crucified back to the spirit (gnosis) if we are ever to leave the material realm.
True gnosis naturally leads to antinatalism
To me, this is litterally like studying MInecraft to understand how to build things in the real world.
It is spending hours of your life studying the thoughts of ancient greeks, who understood nothing of the world, and trying to find out how they got everything wrong.
That is so narrow minded. Besides, the New Testament was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy. In 2 Peter the Greek word Tartarus is used. John 1 calls Jesus the Logos, or the Word.
Jews were using Greek philosophy to convince the Greek pagans to accept our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
You don't wanna read Greek philosophy? That's fine. But you don't have to be so dismissive about it.
Europeans will always love and create multiple Gods like they made a God out of Jesus which is unique in human history. That's why Jesus will return. He'll return because of these so called Christians.
neat
0p
00
Any thoughts on the theory that Jesus was a psychedelic mushroom?
How does that make any sense.... I've tripped many times and never spoke to Jesus during a mushroom trip. I was then saved much later on. Jesus was obviously a person he spoke and had a human body. Read the bible. Mushrooms don't teach real spiritual information... They just make you feel connected and spiritual etc.
@@EmmaGodLovesTruth95
"But now a great thing in the street
Seems any human nod,
Where shift in strange democracy
The million masks of God."
Mushrooms might reveal that you are born of God just as well. Or they might not.
@LibertarianGalt It’s more likely that the modern names for various mushroom species came from historical people.. if it’s true that some of these names are connected, I’ve never heard of that. My perspective is; the txts that were made into the bible are some of our oldest written history… and modern names for mushrooms probably came about after the dead sea scrolls.
Also, not sure what you mean by common themes in religion, they have in common that they are about unseen forces and worshipping or loving a higher power, Other than that, the main religions are pretty different. If other religions have a Christ figure, it is because He is the template.. He is a real person and people all over the world heard about Him during and after he was on earth as a man. Im pretty sure paganism and then Judaism were the first spiritual practices. Paganism is just what happens when fallen angels and their offspring purposefully confuse people. I used to be into that stuff... and my previous pagan beliefs were why I chose to seek spiritual connection using psychedelic mushrooms.