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Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters

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After reading several other book written by Pagels concerning gnosticism and gnostic beliefs, I have to say that this offering is definitely her finest. First, Pagels doesn't polemicize the issue by claiming that Paul was a gnostic or that he was strictly orthodox, but instead shows how 2nd century exegetes, both gnostic and orthodox, understood Paul. Furthermore, one of the great strengths of this work resides in the fact that Pagels allows the gnostic followers to speak for themselves by citing frequently from newly discovered gnostic texts. Instead of telling us what she believes the gnostics considered true she permits the gnostics to tell us themselves.

The book itself is broken is broken up into seven chapters and each chapter deals with an individual Pauline epistle. Interestingly enough, the gnostics, like the orthodox, also accepted Colossians, Ephesians, and Hebrews as Pauline, but they did reject the pastorals epistles. The first two chapters deal with Romans and I Corinthians and are by far the best sections of the book. Instead of interpreting the book literally as their orthodox counterparts did, the gnostics read the epistle to the Romans allegorically. Therefore, what was perceived as a treatise commenting on Jewish/Gentile relations in the church by the orthodox, the gnostics believed the text spoke about pneumatic/psychic relations. They believed Paul used such terminology secretly and that only the initiated believers could understand the real meaning behind the text. Also, of great interest to the gnostics were passages stressing grace and faith in the life of the christian. The gnostics utilized chapters 4 and 9 to stress that they themselves were saved totally by grace and the will of the Father; There was nothing they could do to lose their status because they were children of the Father.

The other interesting chapter delves into I Corinthians and attempts to uncover the gnostic meaning of the text. I thought Pagels brought up some excellent points that really seemed to strengthen the gnostic case. First, chapter 2 was heavily valued by the gnostics because in it Paul talks about wisdom and knowledge and at times seems to buttress the gnostic case. Later in chapter 15, Paul speaks of several things that the gnostics believed were absolutely damning to the orthodox case. Paul says that flesh and blood and cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, and that corruption cannot inherit incorruption. This verse was used to condemn the idea of a physical bodily resurrection since Paul frankly states flesh and blood cannot inherit heaven. Instead, the gnostics believed the resurrection consisted of an awakening from ignorance towards God. Moreover, the idea of baptism for the dead 15:29 is something that has plagued orthodox scholars for over 20 centuries. Yet, the gnostics easily handled this verse by saying that baptism for the dead meant gnostics being baptised in the place of psyhics for their eventual salvation. Since it was the psychics who were dead, ignorant towards God, a pneumatic could be baptized in their stead and effect their awakening and journey into gnosis. The rest of the chapters deal with the other epistles listed earlier, but most of what is discussed are themes that appear in these two chapters.

One thing I noted when reading this book was the striking similarity between some gnostic beliefs and the beliefs held by the Calvinist variety of Christianity. Both groups stress man's deadness towards God and their inability to move towards God, both believe in divine election and reprobation, both believe that God's will is supreme in deciding who will be saved and who will be lost, and both believe in God's absolute sovereingty over His creation. Moreover, both believed that since salvation was effected totally by God and was a result of His election, that a believer with a divine or new nature could not be lost. These two groups even stress the same chapters of Scripture in their debates with their opponents. Chapters such as Romans 9 and Ephesians 1 were favorites of the gnostics in their disputes with the orthodox, and they are not favorites of the Calvinist's in their current disputes with Arminians. I wish I would have read this book earlier when I myself was struggling with the very same issues.

Pagels presents Gnostic Christians' interpretations of Paul's letters almost line by line. Not the easiest book to read, but extremely helpful in understanding the Gnostic elements of early Christianity. Some knowledge of Gnosticism is presupposed, and Gnostic terminology is not always defined. FYI, I've compiled a list of key terms below, with my (admittedly non-expert) definitions.

sarkic - earthly, hidebound, ignorant, uninitiated
hylic - similar to sarkic
psychic - "soulful," partially initiated
pneumatic - "spiritual," fully initiated
aion - one of various levels of reality
archon - one of various powers in the cosmos
pleroma - fulfillment, the higher reality of archetypes (related to Plato's realm of Ideas)
kenoma - the visible or manifest cosmos, "lower" than the pleroma
charisma - gift, or energy, bestowed by pneumatics through oral teaching and personal encounters
sophia - "wisdom," worldly understanding; personified as Lady Wisdom
logos - divine ordering principle of the cosmos; personified as Christ
hypostasis - emanation (appearance) of God, known to psychics
ousia - essence of God, known to pneumatics
gnosis - "knowledge," direct insight into God attained by pneumatics

If all this seems baffling, you might want to read "Jesus and the Lost Goddess," an excellent summary of Gnosticism by Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy.

In this book Elaine Pagels takes a systematic look at how certain Pauline letters were interpreted and cited by gnostic exegetes. These epistles are Romans, l Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Hebrews. Pagels uses several gnostic sources such as Valintinus and many gnostic opponents including Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons. One of the benefits of reading THE GNOSTIC PAUL is that we learn even more about the diversity that flourished in early Christianity during the first three centuries before Constantine. Pagels is very good at peeling away layer after layer in her study of this period in church history.

The author is an excellent writer and the format is easy to follow. The subject matter, however, requires some prior knowledge of Christian gnosticism and a familiarity with the Nag Hammadi documents. For supplementary reading I recommend especially two other books by Elaine Pagels. They are THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS and BEYOND BELIEF: THE SECRET GOSPEL OF THOMAS.

If you are open minded you will like this book. Also if you are open minded you will like An Encounter With A Prophet. If you are closed to new spiritual truths or a firm believer in Christian dogma (the same thing really) avoid both books they will just upset you.

This book is a good choice to begin to learn about the amazing history of the Christian Church.

Especially Gnosticism and the early Christian Church, and especially the creation of the New Testament Bible. For a different review....here is my review of books that build on these interests, especially the "lost" books of the New Testament Bible and the concepts of Gnosticism.

Nearly all knowledgeable Biblical scholars realize there have been a wide range of writings attributed to Jesus and his Apostles..... and that some of these were selected for compilation into the book that became known as the Bible.....and that some books have been removed from some versions of the Bible and others have been re-discovered in modern times.

The attention focused on Gnosticism by Dan Brown's DaVinci Code may be debatable, but the fact is that increased attention on academics tends to be predominately positive, so I welcome those with first-time or renewed interest. At least first-timers to Gnosticism are not pursuing the oh-so-popular legends of the Holy Grail, Bloodline of Christ, and Mary Magdalene.

This is great......I seldom quote other reviewers, but there is one reviewer of Pagels' books who confided that he had been a Jesuit candidate and had been required to study a wide range of texts but was never was told about the Nag Hamadi texts. He said:

"Now I know why. The Gospel of Thomas lays waste to the notion that Jesus was `the only begotten Son of God' and obviates the need for a formalized church when he says, `When your leaders tell you that God is in heaven, say rather, God is within you, and without you.' No wonder they suppressed this stuff! The Roman Catholic Church hasn't maintained itself as the oldest institution in the world by allowing individuals to have a clear channel to see the divinity within all of us: they need to put God in a bottle, label the bottle, put that bottle on an altar, build a church around that altar, put a sign over the door, and create rubricks and rituals to keep out the dis-believing riff-raff. Real `Us' versus `them' stuff, the polar opposite from `God is within You.' `My God is bigger than your God' the church(s)seem to say. And you can only get there through "my" door/denomination. But Jesus according to Thomas had it right: just keep it simple, and discover the indwelling Divinity `within you and without you.'"

Here are quickie reviews of what is being bought these days on the Gnostic Gospels and the lost books of the Bible in general:

The Lost Books of the Bible (0517277956) includes 26 apocryphal books from the first 400 years that were not included in the New Testament.

Marvin Meyers' The Secret Teachings of Jesus : Four Gnostic Gospels (0394744330 ) is a new translation without commentary of The Secret Book of James, The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas, and The Secret Book of John.

James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English : Revised Edition (0060669357) has been around 25 years now and is in 2nd edition. It has introductions to each of the 13 Nag Hammadi Codices and the Papyrus Berioinensis 8502.

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (0140278079) by Geza Vermes has selected works....a complete work is more difficult to achieve than the publisher's marketing concept indicates. His commentary generates strong reactions.

Elaine Pagels has 2 books (The Gnostic Gospels 0679724532 and Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas 0375501568) that have received considerable attention lately. For many, her work is controversial in that it is written for popular consumption and there is a strong modern interpretation. She does attempt to reinterpret ancient gender relationships in the light of modern feminist thinking. While this is a useful (and entertaining) aspect of college women's studies programs, it is not as unethical as some critics claim. As hard as they may try, all historians interpret the past in the context of the present. Obviously there is value in our attempts to re-interpret the past in the light of our own time.

If you want the full scholarly work it is W. Schneemelcher's 2 volume New Testament Apocrypha.

Also, to understand the Cathars......try Barbara Tuckman's Distant Mirror for an incredible historical commentary on how the Christian Church has handled other points of view

this is a pretty extensive look at how the gnostics saw Paul and his works. However, this is not a reconstruction of the historical Paul, as the book itself states, but a study of gnosticism and their interpretation, so it is best read with a copy of Paul's authentic letters and a copy of the Nag Hammedi libary close by. And to correct another reviewer( yes I do read other reviews), St.Valetine and Valentinus are not the same individual, Valentinus lived in the second century and St. Valentine died in the year 269. That aside, this a good book for those who are serios about new testament history, but probably not so good for those who are searching for inspiration or spiritual truth.

Elaine truly brings a new understanding to the writings of the apostle Paul through cross-referencing with Valentinian texts and orthodox apologetic arguments against such texts. All in all, the reader comes away with new insight into Christian Gnosticism and what it means to be "the elect".

A fascinating read that has enriched my life. Buy it and enjoy....

Paul is the author of various epistles to the Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, Ephesians, Romans. Most who studied Paul taught that Paul had much to say about law versus faith. In the Gnostic Paul, Elaine Pagels examines the relationship between various letters written by Paul and the deeper implicition of his writing regarding Jesus Christ. The main question and premise is whether Paul actually supported Gnostic views and wrote in a kind of code that could only be understood by an initiated few.

Pagels uses non-canonical sources including the writings of Valintinus, Basilides, Simon, and Carpocrates together with the orthodox writings of early church leaders like Irenaeus, who preached against 'Gnosicism' to support her theories.

The Gnostic position, according to Pagels, includes the belief that God did not become man in the form of Jesus Christ. Further, that Jesus did not take on a material form which was crucified, died, and buried and then arose from the dead. The Gnostics regard bodily or material things with indifference. As a result they interpret Paul's discussion of the 'resurrection' not as a material event but as a spiritual event.

The Gnostics suggest that when Paul spoke of the death of the body and resurrection, he meant the death of the psychic body and it's replacement with spiritual understanding transmitted through grace.

Pagels states Gnostic writers translated I Corinthians 13:13 as being about "Faith (Earth), Hope (Water), Love (Wind), and Gnosis (Light)". She suggests Gnostics believed that only through light does one mature spiritually.

Paul says Jesus was spiritually born though the grace of God. As such Jesus is raised from the deadness of this life to spiritual life. Ultimately meaning the resurrection of the dead is the recognition of the truth spoken by those who have light.

In conclusion, Pagels suggests the historical theologian cannot discern Paul's intent. Whether it was orthodox or gnostic is open to debate, but there is a good deal of evidence to support the notion that Paul understood the Gnostic point of view.

In the search for understanding, Pagels book offers insight, not all of which I agree with, but insight nevertheless. The book, though complex, is informative.

I'm surprised this book does not summarize the distinctions it constantly makes between the two main conceptions of Christianity according to the Valentinians' reading of Paul.

This book has a lot to offer for the Christ-myth theory. The book explains the Valentinian gnostic reading of Paul's early epistles. "Jews" means literalists, the uninitiated, lower Christians. "Greeks" means spiritualists, the initiated, higher Christians. Paul encouraged the higher Christians to feel united or married with the lower Christians.

The book would greatly benefit from a 2-column listing of the ideas the Valentinians associated with the higher and lower Christians. As a philosopher and theorist of ego death who is looking for a rational reading of the Christian scriptures, I agree with everything that falls into the group of ideas the Valentinians associated with higher Christians, and I disagree with all the ideas that fall into the group of ideas the Valentinians associated with lower Christians.

The two sets of doctrines -- the book The Gnostic Paul divides the religious ideas as follows, from the Valentinian reading of Paul's early writings:

HIGHER, ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY
"Greeks"
The religion of Heresy
Early Paul
The Truth, wisdom, enlightenment
The initiated, adults
A secret mystery is revealed to some apostles, but not to other apostles
The sacrament of apolytrosis (apo- can mean after-, post-, and separate redemption) in addition to common eucharist
Redemption
Spiritual freedom from moral codes -- but metaphysical determinism/fatedness, predestined election
Reject idea of responsible moral agency and idea of our culpability of sin/guilt
The apple was a gift of gnosis
All blame is placed on the Ground, not us
No death on the Cross (it was mythic and could be seen as a pseudo-death)
Sacrifice is mythic, mental, conceptual, a mental experience
No bodily resurrection
Mythic Christ
Belief in higher and lower Christians (with a principled respect for the lower)
No point in moral-reward heaven or moral-punishment hell
We are spirits, controlled by God

LOWER, EXOTERIC CHRISTIANITY
"Jews"
The Orthodox religion
Peter, The Church Fathers and their forged later Paul
The Lie, error, darkness, foolishness
The uninitiated, children
No secret mystery; all apostles have authority through simple ordinary seeing of miraculous resurrection
The common eucharist, only
Salvation, baptism
Spiritual enslavement to morality -- with delusion of free will and choosing faith oneself
Belief in responsible moral agency and our culpability for sin/guilt
All blame is placed on us
The apple was bad
Jesus died on the Cross
Sacrifice is bodily, bloody, magically effective, physical
Bodily resurrection
Supernaturalist Jesus
Disbelief in higher level of Christianity -- to obtain unity and harmony of the Church
Moral-reward heaven and moral-punishment hell exist, for the responsible agent/soul
We are souls, controlled by ourselves

Each point I listed above should have page references to Pagel's book to prove that the ideas break out this way in her book.

An important reason why Christ-myth scholars should read this book is that Pagels shows how to read the scriptures in a 2-valued ambiguous way, where the meaning deliberately toggles between two distinct readings. It's not just that Paul was misinterpreted; Pagel's treatment seems to indicate that Paul deliberately wrote in an encoded, ambiguous way that flips between the two conceptual systems. If people were confused, it is because Paul meant for them to be confused and carefully chose his words so that they could support both readings: literal and spiritual. The epistles were written as encoded mysteries and should be read as such.

The most remarkable thing presented repeatedly in this book is the idea that the Pauline writings intentionally withheld the higher view from the uninitiated. Pagels never ventures to explain why. Perhaps the Valentinians wanted to protect and preserve the delusion of the ego just as we protect children. This problem extends beyond the Christian mystery-religion; the Greek mystery religions forbade, by punishment of death, publically revealing the things shown in the mysteries. There were political reasons to veil a deterministic belief system, because cosmic determinism has been used to justify an oppressive status quo ("I was meant, fated, and divinely ordained by Necessity to dominate you") rather than democracy. So the Pauline writings were deliberately written in a way that would be read in a supernatural, Literalist way but could be read as a non-supernatural, mystery-religion, mystic allegory.

What did Paul the author of various letters (epistles) to the Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, Ephesians, Romans and other inhabitants of the ancient world really think about Jesus Christ? Folks who have studied Paul's writings in various church-education programs have been taught that Paul had much to say about the 'law' versus 'faith', but was he writing in a kind of code that only an initiated few (an 'elect') could understand?

Using unorthodox(non-canonical) sources such as the writings of Valintinus, Basilides, Simon, and Carpocrates as well as the orthodox writings of early church "leaders" like Irenaeus, who preached against 'Gnosicism' Elaine Pagels demonstrates how Paul appears to have written "dual" passages that can be viewed as supportive of the Gnostic position. What is the Gnostic position? According to my reading of Pagels text, Gnosticism seems to have included the belief that God did not become man in the form of Jesus Christ, i.e. he did not take on a material form which was crucified, died, and buried and then arose from the dead. The Gnostics or 'pneumatike physis' have been exposed to a 'pneumatic charisma' (Romans 1:11) that leads them to regard bodily or material things with indifference. As a result they interpret Paul's discussion of the 'resurrection' not as a material event but as a pneumatic or spiritual event. The idea that God took on a material form and was 'killed' and then resurrected from the dead is absurd according to the Gnostics. They suggest that when Paul spoke of the death of the body and resurrection, he meant the death of the psychic body (physei) and it's replacement with pneumatic or spiritual understanding transmitted through grace (charis). Pagels says Gnostic writers translated I Corinthians 13:13 as about "faith (earth), hope(water), love(wind) and gnosis (light)"and suggests they believed that only through gnosis does one mature spiritually.

Paul says he was spiritually born though the grace of God (charis). As such he is 'raised from the deadness of this life to spiritual life', i.e. "the resurrection of the dead is the recognition of the truth spoken by those who have gnosis."

Pagels' book is relatively complex, but may prove illuminating for those interested in a different understanding or non-orthodox interpretation of text that is often taken quite literally. In the end, Pagels suggests that the historical theologian cannot discern Paul's intent, be it orthodox or gnostic, although there appears to be a good deal of evidence to support the notion that Paul understood the Gnostic point of view.