Teo Degas' Books & Decks

Companion Book

My Main Takings from the Course

I have learned many things about Gnosticism and Early Christianity in this book. However, a few points have a special relevance for me, and they are the points that make me wonder, ponder and reflect. The eye-openers. These are my personal nuggets from the book:
~~ Gnosticism is a clear example of the many factions, chaos, and ways of dealing with Jesus' message in the first centuries of Christianity. Nothing was set on stone, so all Christians had to make sense of the differences between the God depicted in the Old Testament and the message brought by Jesus. Those first centuries saw different approaches, some of them considered heretic, but they were never so, they were mostly not dominant because even among mainstream Christianity, if such thing existed, nothing was set on stone either. Gnosticism sheds light on the richness and confusion with which early Christians looked at the world of Spirit.
~~ I found amazing how contemporary and relevant the Gospel of St Thomas is for modern spirituality and how, despite being discarded as being an  apocrypha, the message is perhaps the closest to that of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is here and now, inside you, the inner and outer are a reflection of each other. So very Jungian, as well!  It has made it to my must-read text. I wonder why never made it to the New Testament. 

~~ I find really surprising the influence of Plato in many of the Gnostic myth, but with a layer of spirituality added onto it. 

~~ Despite what many Gnostic aficionados say, the role of women in Gnosticism was not that different from the role that  women had in Early Christianity. Yes, there are more women or female figures in the Gnostic writings, even the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, but women were considered derivative imperfect souls and copies of their male counterparts, from whom they need permission to act in the world. 

~~ The Gospels weren't written by the apostles and are not contemporaneous of Jesus. I think that needs to be reminded. It is OK to believe, to believe in Jesus and to be Christian, but one should be aware of what one is swearing on.

~~ Mythical narratives need to make sense; otherwise, the faithful will adjust the narrative until it does. The example of the nativity scene Brakke gives is brilliant! Early Christians didn't have the set of dogmas or unquestionable "truths" we now have, as most of them are a historical construction,  but we all want to make sense of religious texts, understand their lack of congruencies or things that seem not to depict God in ways that are unflattering. The Gnostics, perhaps more than anybody else, were able to address those hot-potato points and deal with them in very creative ways. 
~~  Early Christians seemed to be more interested than contemporary Christians in understanding what they believed. These Christians sought direct knowledge of God not just to feel him in their hearts or to follow Jesus' teachings. They had a faith that was less blind, and part of spirituality was "to know" not just to believe, to interpret and not just to be lectured. Those Christians who declared the Gnostics heretics, tried to do the same and provided explanations to address the same quest for knowledge of God, the connection between the Old and New Testament, and offered stories about salvation that would resonate with Christians that also  seemed to seek answers not just dogma.  
~~ Gnosctic, Valentiniana, Mandeans, Manichaeans, the Kabbalah, Hermetism and Neoplatonism, among many other creeds and philosophies examined in this course, which go from Early Christianity to the modern day, show that humans have always had a need to approach God and the Spirit in ways that aren't simplistic or literal, that humans need of myths and symbols to go deeper into the understanding of the world and Spirit to give meaning to their lives.
~~ Believers, or some ranks amongst them, have always aimed to make sense of the Biblical Genesis, almost a need to know how the world and the Universe came to be, and the position of humans and the human soul in it. Have you ever wondered why Einstein is so "revered"?
 ~~ Coptic Christianity is such an important part of Early Christianity that this should be more commonly acknowledged and frequently taught in school. All the Coptic texts Coptic Christianity of the past are an heritage of Humanity, at least of Christian Humanity, aid we should aim to protect modern Copts, their churches and their Museums from the abuses and destruction they are suffering in modern Egypt.