So I bought two books on this subject, because it is a Christian path to faith, that was destroyed by the Roman Church, all because they were so fearful of its power. When I see one group pursuing the destruction of another group’s ideas, its really piques my interest, because there must be power held within the doctrine which is making the inquisitors fearful. The Gnostic aspects of Christianity, had to be destroyed because it was the interior, soulful path of self-knowledge. And if the Human has the power to know him|herself through the illumination of the Spirt; we have the power within us to save ourselves. Christ came to teach us the path the God-Consciousness within ourselves. Of course, the monolithic church would hate this message because it robbed their power of salvation.
1John 14: 2 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
So why do you need “the church,” to save you, when Christ taught that through illumination of the Spirit, we would all become as powerful as he was during his ministry? Christ taught that once the comforter came, we would be in every manner, the same as he was; a god-conscious human being.
Were you sleeping in church again?
So most of the written doctrines of Christian Gnosticism were destroyed by the Catholic Church, since they couldn’t have any competition with the State Religion of Rome. So in “Valentinian Gnosticism” by Caleb Hoskins, we have the chance, in a concise volume, to discover the details of what this Christian faith embodied.
And here is what I have found after skimming the contents:
Valentinian Gnosticism reflects in many aspects the “Kingdom of God” texts taught by Jesus, in the New Testament, which I have just explained prior to this post. This adds an air of legitimacy of what was being taught. Hoskin’s book is valuable to me in that it gives the overview that is hard to find elsewhere.
In Chapter Fourteen, there is a discussion on the Fall and Redemption of the soul. From the Jesus teachings on the Kingdom of God, we learn that we only become part of the Kingdom, when we are illuminated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When the Word rests within us.
Other writers have cognized this indwelling as the arrival within the human of Christ-Consciousness or God-consciousness. I bet you thought these were some “New Age” idea, but they were actually taught by the very early gnostic church.
“Hoskins tells us in “Valentinian Gnosticism” that “…the journey of the soul mirrors the cosmic drama of Sophia’s (Wisdom’s) fall and redemption. Just as Sophia descended from the divine Pleroma into the lower realms of imperfection, so too has the human soul fallen into the prison of the material world. However, like Sophia. the soul holds a hidden spark of divinity–a fragment of the eternal realm that longs to return to its true source.”
“This Chapter explores the origin of the soul’s fall, its entrapment in the material world, and the path through its redemption through gnosis.”
It is interesting how the New Testament mirrors this idea in this verse: “Ephesians 4: 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.”
“The Soul’s Descent into the Material Realm: According to Valentinian cosmology, human souls originate in the Pleroma, the realm of pure spirit and divine fullness. However, through a cosmic error — reflecting Sophia’s own fall– these souls became trapped in the material world, which was shaped by the Demiurge, and ignorant creator who does not know the higher God.”
“This descent occurs in several stages:”
- “Separation from the Pleroma – The soul, once unified with divine knowledge, forgets its origins and becomes subject to ignorance.
- Entrapment in the Material Body – The Demiurge, in crafting the physical world, imprisons the soul within flesh, binding it to desires, suffering, mortality.
- The Veil of Forgetfulness – The soul, now encased in matter, becomes blind to its true nature, believing the material world to be its only reality.”
“The Three Types of Souls: In Valentinian thought, not all souls experience the same fate. Humanity is divided into three distinct types, each with a different capacity for salvation:”
- “Pneumatics (Spiritual Souls) – These souls contain a divine spark from the Pleroma. They are destined for full salvation through gnosis and will return to the divine realm.”
- “Psychics (Souls of Faith and Reason) – These sous are ruled by faith and moral effort. While they may not attain full gnosis, they can still achieve a limited form of salvation, residing in the intermediate heavenly realm after death.
- “The Hylics (Material Souls) – These sous are entirely bound to the material world, unable to perceive the divine spark within them. Upon death, they perish with the physical realm, having no connection to the Pleroma.”
“The Path to Redemption: Awakening Through Gnosis. The redemption of the soul is possible only through gnosis–the inner knowledge of one’s divine origin. This knowledge is not intellectual but experiential–a direct awakening of the hidden truth within.”
“The process of redemption unfolds as follows:”
- “Recognition of the Soul’s True Nature – The individua realizes they are not merely a physical being, but a divine spark trapped in matter.”
- “Detachment from the Material World – Understanding that the physical world is a prison of illusion, the soul begins to withdraw from its attachments.”
- “Receiving the Light of Christ – In Valentinian tradition, Christ serves as the revealer of gnosis. His teachings awaken the divine spark guiding the soul toward liberation.”
- “Ascension Through the Celestial Spheres – Upon death, the awakened soul escapes the rule of the Demiurge, ascending though the heavenly realms until it reached the Pleroma.”
So in this tradition there is a strong sense that Christ came as a teacher, to show us the path of liberation through gnosis, which comes through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; Sophia, the Mother.
“A crucial aspect of the soul’s redemption is breaking free from the Demiurge and his archons. These rulers of the lower realms seek to keep souls trapped in ignorance, using false doctrines, earthly distractions, and fear to prevent spiritual awakening.”
“By attaining gnosis, the soul sees through these illusions, recognizing that the Demiurge is not the true God but an imposter. This realization allows the soul to transcend his control, breaking free from the cycle of reincarnation and suffering.”
The more you learn about the Demiurge, the more one Nameless, Name comes to the forefront, since this God embodies all of the attributes of the diabolical demiurge. What is the name of the demiurge that cannot be uttered? YHWH. Yahweh is the demiurge that Christ came to free us from, by his appearing in human form.
The Gnostic system fully explains why the Old Testament is so different from the New. It is because YHWH is a false God, even possibly a lowly Archon, leading humanity astray. Christ came to show us the path of inner illumination, “God Consciousness” of the true God, that when attained through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we come to the foundational knowledge that God is love.
The Demiurge, the Archons, YHWH, the God’s steeped in blood sacrifice are all imposters. My God is love flowing from the center of all being, drawing his children, those with the spark of God, through the indwelling of the Spirit home to him|her.
The Valentinian Gnostics are much closer to the spiritual ideas of the East, in their urging of individuals to find the Gnosis of God within themselves, by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which has similar attributes of a Kundalini Experience.
The Final Return to the Pleroma: Once fully awakened”, (Full of God Consciousness), “the redeemed soul ascends beyond the material and physic realms returning to the pleroma, where it is reunited with its divine source. This is the ultimate goal of the gnostic journey–not mere survival after death, but total reintegration into the divine fullness.”
Its as of the Gnostics Christians are saying that when we are awakened, we are like a drop of water returning to the ocean…which is the Eastern view of the travel of the soul.
“Hoskin’s continues, “The final restoration is the fulfillment of the cosmic order, as all lost sparks of divinity are gathered back into their original unity. In the end, the soul’s fall is not permanent, but a temporary separation that ultimately leads to its return to eternal truth.”
It appears to me, yet I have no way of proving it, that the human souls fell along with Sophia. And since the “Divine Spark” is imitative of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I might posit if I were more comfortable with the material that was destroyed, that the Mother and us share in this cosmic dilemma.
From what I’ve read elsewhere, Sophia is repentant for the flawed world she has created, and because of her love, and empathy, she is acting within the material world to draw all of the lost Sparks home. And a being, transformed by repentance, is the most powerful advocate in any cause; and the cause of the Holy Spirit, the cause of the Mother is insuring our redemption; the redemption of the Spiritual Spark of the Divine within man.
The conclusion that Hosking makes is this, “The fall and redemption,” (and we know from the New Testament that the Holy Spirit is the Seal of Redemption), of the soul is the central drama of Valentinian Gnosticism. The soul, like Sophia,” (specifically, in my opinion it is because the our souls are made of the same substance as Sophia, our Mother), “has strayed from the divine realm and become trapped in the material world. Yet within each soul lies a hidden spark — a trace of the Pleroma that longs to return. Through gnosis, the soul awakens, overcomes the illusion of matter, and ascends back to the divine fullness.”
“This journey from ignorance to knowledge, from bondage to liberation is the essence of the Valentinian path. It is not faith but self-knowledge,” (God-Consciousness gifted to us by the Holy Spirit), “and divine revelation, that leads the soul home.”
If you want to know more, then check out Valentinian Gnosticism by Caleb Hoskins.
