What Do I Believe?

I realized that while I have written on parts of my belief, I have never outlined to myself nor others what I believe religiously/philosophically in a concise manner. I hope this journal entry will do this. This is just a summary of my core beliefs. If I were to cover every single thing I believe, this text would be larger than the entire site.

The most general label I use to describe myself is Gnostic, a follower of Gnosticism or Gnostic Christianity. The issue with this is it isn't very informative. "Gnostic" is a very broad range of beliefs, to the point where it can't really even be considered a single religion. This is mostly due to the fact that the term "Gnostic" was not used by early Gnostics themselves. It was an exonym applied to a wide range of unrelated and loosely related heretical Christian movements by Proto-Orthodox Christians. So, to be clear about the whole of my beliefs, I must specify the core tenets of what I believe in.

• I believe that the material universe was created by a flawed, semi-divine being called a Demiurge.(1)
• I believe that the entire material universe and the human body are illusory constructs.(2)
• I believe that humans possess an inherent divinity within themselves, known as the Divine Spark.(3)
• I believe that "above" (not physically) the material realm, there exists a greater divinity known as the Pleroma (Koinē Greek for "fullness") that lacks the flaws of the Demiurge.(4)
• I believe that the Pleroma is totality of all divinity, and is thus God. Because the Pleroma is the totality of all divinity, it also includes the Divine Spark of humanity, meaning humans have God within themselves.(3)(4)
• I believe that the Pleroma is defined by several aspects called Aeons.(4)
• I believe that the Pleroma is omnibenevolent and omniscient, but not omnipotent.(4)
• I believe that the Pleroma and its Aeons were emanated from the Monad. The Monad is the highest reality, an uncreated causal force, and an eternal constant. The Monad is perfect.(5)
• I believe that the Aeon Sophia (Koinē Greek for "wisdom") birthed the Demiurge in an accidental cosmic catastrophe.(6)
• I believe that the Aeon Christ took the form of Jesus of Nazareth and taught humanity valuable wisdom and truth.(7)
• I believe that many of the historical and cosmological myths presented in Gnostic/Christian cosmology and scripture are not literal records of history, but rather symbolic allegories for the workings and interactions of aspects of the higher cosmos and Pleroma.(8)
• I believe that through a spiritual state of awareness called Gnosis (Greek for "knowledge") one's Divine Spark can reunite with the Pleroma after death.(9)
• I believe that Christ's crucifixion and resurrection was a symbolic spiritual act by Christ. Christ willed himself to be crucified and resurrected in the material world, to demonstrate to people that they may be resurrected in the spiritual world (Pleroma) after their death in the material world.(10)
• I believe that if Gnosis is not achieved, one's soul will inhabit another body after death, and be reincarnated.(11)
• I believe that every soul will eventually obtain Gnosis, and be saved.(12)
• I believe that personal experience with the spiritual aspects of life often holds greater weight than the teachings of organized religious institutions.(3)
• I believe that love, knowledge, and understanding are the most important human virtues. By practicing them to the fullest extant, one can achieve Gnosis.

What don't I believe

• I do not believe in any organized canon of the Christian Bible.
• I do not believe any religious text can be deemed infallible, including the canonical and extranonical Christian Bibles.
• I do not believe in any bigoted beliefs found or interpreted in the Christian Bibles.
• I do not believe that large organized religious institutions can be trusted to act for the spiritual or personal benefit of their followers.
• I do not believe in Hell or any form of divine punishment.

Scriptural Citations

1. Several Gnostic texts detail the Demiurge, including the Tripartite Tractate and the Secret Book of John
2. "All changes. The world is an illusion." — Treatise on the Resurrection 8:3
3. "Take care that no one leads you astray, saying: ‘Behold here!’ or ‘Behold there!’ because the Son of Man is inside you; follow him. Those who look for him will find him." — Gospel of Mary 2:3. "But what is within [...] all is the fullness [Pleroma]. — Gospel of Philip 63:3
4. Several Gnostic texts detail the Pleroma. See citation 1.
5. "[The Monad] is absolutely complete and so needs nothing. It is utterly perfect." — Secret Book of John 2:9
6. "Something imperfect came out of [Sophia]. Different in appearance from her." — Secret Book of John 7:6. "[The Demiurge] assumed command. Created realms for himself. With a brilliant flame that continues to exist even now." — Secret Book of John 7:16
7. "The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world." — Gospel of John 1:9
8. "Truth didn’t come into the world naked but in types and images." — Gospel of Philip 61:1
9. "Whoever has knowledge [Gnosis] is from above. If called, that person hears, replies, and turns toward him who called. That person ascends to him and knows how he is called." — Gospel of Truth 6:5-7
10. "What is the resurrection? It is the revelation of those who have risen." — Treatise on the Resurrection 7:2
11. "The soul is [...] bound in chains, and cast into prison [the world] again. Around and around it goes until it manages to become free from forgetfulness through knowledge [Gnosis]." — Secret Book of John 16:18
12. "And so, eventually, [the soul] becomes perfect and is saved." — Secret Book of John 16:19. "Everyone finds a way, and there are many ways, to be released from this element and not to roam aimlessly in error, all with the end of recovering what one was at the beginning." — Treatise on the Resurrection 9:5

18 january 2025