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Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes: The Initiatory Teachings of the Last Supper

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What was it about Gnostic Christian sects which so obsessed the early church fathers? That a three hundred year reign of persecution eventually drove the Gnostics out of existence is beyond doubt. The sentiments of the early fathers are recorded in such voluminous tracts as the ten-volume "Refutation of all Heresies" by Bishop Hippolytus. But what did the Gnostics really teach? Here Mark Gaffney supplies us with a partial answer. Gaffney takes a close look at one Gnostic sect in particular, the Naassenes, and comes up with the conclusion that they had full knowledge of spiritual practices now normally associated only with eastern religions. Sadly, all we know about the Naassenes comes to us from one of their chief persecutors-the aforementioned heretic hunter, Bishop Hippolytus. But amazingly the latter devotes a full five chapters to the group, even going so far as to quote extensively from a now-lost Naassene text which modern scholars have come to denote as "The Naassene Sermon." Gaffney calls the bishop's achievement in preserving the text "remarkable." Yet he adds with irony, "his acerbic attempts to discredit Naassene belief are plainly refuted by the very material he compiled and recorded." While the book includes the sermon in its entirety in an appendix, Gaffney's analysis of it in the preceding fourteen chapters provides invaluable insights. Among these are that the Naassenes were aware of such Hindu concepts as the chakra centers of the body, and may have even practiced a form of Kundalini yoga, even if they didn't call it by that name.

The fascinating question, which Gaffney explores, is: did the Naassenes receive these teachings directly from Jesus, or at any rate from James the Just, the brother of Jesus? That at any rate is what the Naassenes claimed, and Gaffney seems willing to grant that the claim may be bonafide. The book indeed presents "powerful evidence that the Gnostic element was present in Christianity from the beginning", and did not originate in the second century as scholarship has previously supposed. Clues of this abound-even in the Bible itself. This is not to say that all Gnostic sects thought alike. Gnosticism was varied. Some Gnostic groups held beliefs which could be described as dubious at best. But Gaffney asserts that the Naassenes had a "direct knowledge of sacred anatomy." This knowledge, or "gnosis," lay in stark contrast to orthodox Christianity, which "created an overly rigid mentality" among its adherents. Gaffney posits that what has been passed down to us as a result of the persecution of groups like the Naassenes is a soul-less, spiritually dead form of Christianity. This, he says, has led to a tragic "spiritual decline of the West"-tragic not only for the West, it may be added, but for the world as a whole. Indeed it could perhaps fairly be said that the legacy of Bishop Hippolytus lives on in the legions of so-called "values voters" who returned George Bush to a second term in office despite the unleashing of cataclysmic destruction in a country and against a people who had never done us any harm.

This book is about a gnostic sermon from early Christianity. The sermon was totally preserved, ironically, by a heresiologist name Hippolytus seeking to refute gnostic heresy.

The author attempts to interpret the symbology of the sermon by drawing from Old Testament scripture, pagan literature, gnostic writings and even Eastern religion. What the reader ends up getting is a very broad view of humankind's effort to "know" the Divine. Such "gnosis" is available to every person as taught by Jesus (and many other mystics both East and West) at the Last Supper. Anyone can have a direct experience of the Divine Mystery and do so without a mediator such as the church or priest/bishop. This is in keeping with the spirit of gnosticism.

Any discussion of the Last Supper always involves a discussion of the Grail. The Grail represents the Divine Presence in matter. This is the teaching of immanence. If indeed Divinity is present in matter, then the Divine is accessible for all. Rather than emphasizing the great gulf between humans and God (which is what orthodoxy teaches), gnosticism emphasizes the closeness of God. The kingdom of heaven is within you. The message and mission of Jesus is to make us conscious of the Divine within each of us. And the cup as receptacle reminds us that we are receptacles of the Divine.

I wouldn't recommend this book as a first book on gnosticism. I would recommend reading first "Jesus and the Lost Goddess" by Freke and Gandy, as well as "The Gnostic Gospels" by Pagels and "Gnosticism" by Hoeller.

I give it four stars instead of five because the author had several opportunities to delve into the meaning of immanence and its implications for us, but left it a bit short. If indeed the Divine is present in matter there are enormous implications for us as individuals, and for the organized church. An extended commentary on this would have been a great addition to this book. Nevertheless, I recommend this book as a great addition to your gnostic library.

I was hesitant at first to start reading through the book. I often start out reading books on good topics with wonderful titles and a rivetting back cover only to find that was all the book had going for it. I am happy to say that was not the case this time out. Mr. Gaffney did a great job researching and writing this book on a subject the Church would rather people not know of.

The sheer amount of history you will learn about early Christianity is astonishing, and it is all (repeat, all) well more than adequately footnoted, indexed and appendixed. Also, the comparisons and contrasts between early Christianity and other of its contemporary religions and its predecessors is very nicely handled. This is a must-read for those who genuinely want to get to the nitty-gritty of their Church and how it has evolved over the past few thousand years.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

Many times, as we garner truths from our life experiences, we stack one of these truths upon another, never bothering to check and see if any of these beliefs are in conflict with each other. When a book comes along that helps us to examine these conflicts, a great service is done in assisting each of us to awaken a bit more. Mark Gaffney, in Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes, has written such a book. After much research, study and insights gained, Mark shares with us The Initiatory teachings of The Last Supper:
"I have never met a priest, nor encountered a scholar who suspects a deeper lesson had been conveyed on that final evening. It was only after I began to study the Naassene Sermon that it dawned on me that the main purpose of that ancient document was to announce a great mystery. It hints that when Jesus said, `This is my body' he was not transforming anything. No, he was making a much more profound statement. He was acknowledging a deep spiritual truth. He was saying, `I am this bread,' in other words, `I and this bread are one. The God who dwells within me is also present in this bread! And why? Because matter and spirit are co-extensive.' Jesus might just as well have said, `The God who dwells within me also dwells within the fibers of this cotton napkin, and within all of you.' Or he might simply have said, `I am that.' "

I enjoyed this book, but it is not, as one reviewer points out, a systematic interpretation of the history or "theology" of the Naasene sect. Maybe that's not possible given the nature of the problematic sources.

What gives this book considerable power is the author's focus on gnostic ideas of God's immanence. One example is his material on the spiritual nature of the "narrow gate".which is instructive, and seems plausible as one of the meanings of this important teaching of Jesus.

The personal nature of the author's views may undermine the credibility of his argument for some. But I found it stimulating. Connections among a variety of near eastern spiritual traditions, however problematic from a rigorous historical standpoint, , are fascinating to contemplate. And I don't have a problem (as at least one other review has) with trying to understand commonalities with non-Christian spiritual practices. Our hard and fast distinctions are not always helpful as we try to understand some of the esoteric aspects of the early Jesus movement(s).

I would recommend this book if you have a basic understanding of early Christian origins.

O Blasphemy! O Heresy!: Stashed Inside a Clay Jar

I recently finished re-reading this remarkable book [Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes: The Initiatory Teachings of the Last Supper http://www.amazon.com/Gnostic-Secrets-Naassenes-Initiatory-Teachings/dp/089281697X ], one that gave me confirmation, a sense of understanding and joy, a sense of hope and peace and tranquility. It's a well-researched piece of religious and historical detective work and interpretation, and it's the kind of thing that won't sit well in a lot of corners. The tranquility won't come from the reading, but the reading confirmed what I know.

I'd ordered the book when I encountered mention of it at the end of an article by the same author. That article itself is considered by many to be blasphemous, heretical, outrageous in its conception. It too is well-researched and well-argued. The article ... take a deep breath, now.... is "Will America Face the Truth About 9/11?" and it can be found here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17162.htm [See also http://the911mysteryplane.com/ ]

The book was of interest because it addressed a topic I'd tracked for years. I'd first encountered, in an Alan Watts book, a quote from an obscure bit of text found as the result of an accidental bit of archaeology.

Gaffney: "The new teaching of immanence... is affirmed in Luke 10:10--12, in which Jesus tells his disciples, "The Kingdom of God is very near." Just how near is clarified in Luke 17:21, in which Jesus says, "for you must know, the Kingdom of God is within you." This interpretation finds support in the Gnostic dialogue of the Savior, from the Nag Hammadi library, which quotes Jesus: "For I [say] to you truly, the living God [dwells] in you [and he who opened] in Him."

From the Gospel of Thomas:

When you make the two one,
and when you make the inner as the outer
and the outer as the inner
and the above as the below...
then you shall enter [the Kingdom]....

I am the Light that is above them all,
I am the All.
The All came forth from Me
and the All attained to Me.
Cleave a [piece of] wood, I am there;
Lift up a stone and you will find Me there.

These quotes from the Gospel of Thomas spoke to me more powerfully than anything I'd ever read. I'd been reading bits and pieces of Eastern philosophy and when this reference to words of Jesus I'd never seen before , words that resonated with Eastern spirituality, entered my consciousness, I sat bolt upright.

Perhaps it was because of some of the peak experiences I'd had. Perhaps it was because of readings in Taoism or the Watts books. Watts noted the similarity to this quote from the Vedas:

I am That,
Thou art That,
All this is That,
and That alone is.

As time went on, I further explored the source of the quote, the gnostic gospels, bits of antiquity found in the Mideast stored away in secrecy against the millennia. I found Elaine Pagels' book, which brought me these further scents of a trail towards a central and essential truth:

If you bring forth what is within you,
what you bring forth will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is within you,
what you do not bring forth will destroy you.

- - attributed to Jesus in the Gnostic Gospel According to Thomas

and this:

"The kingdom of the Father will not come by expectation; the kingdom of the Father is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it."

So when I'd discovered this book, I knew I had to read it.

Says Gaffney: "The Nassenes obviously believed that Jesus had come into the world to remedy this condition of unknowing. He was the fulfillment of Judaism, yes, but he was also the fulfillment of the ancient Mystery traditions. This probably accounts for the sect's radical syncretism. Jesus did not come to found a new religion: Christianity. He came to revive religion itself. He came to breathe life into the dead symbols, to instruct humans in the true meaning of scripture, and to reveal to a worthy few the deepest mystery of all: the great and hidden truth of gnosis."

The book may not sit easily with you. It may upset your applecart. It may, like Jesus upsetting the money-changers' tables in the temple, challenge much of what you believe, and much of what what you've been told.

If you aren't familiar with the subject at all, Gaffney explains that gnostic beliefs and practices were officially declared to be heretical by the Church. He also explains why.

You will understand why what we now know as the Nag Hammadi Library (first published in 1977) was secreted away in pottery jars in caves.

You will understand why the "secrets", long understood by other cultures, weren't attractive to the bishops and the emperors.

Gaffney's Gnostic Secrets presents "powerful evidence that the Gnostic element was present in Christianity from the beginning, and was, in fact, the very heart of the teachings of Jesus"... "an inclination--mystical, existential, and experiential--that was present to some degree in nearly all of the ancient religions" ... "an elevated spiritual experience".

Says Gaffney: "I am not referring to a momentary epiphany or a flash of insight (satori); I mean the ultimate experience. In the following pages we will present this evidence and go even further by showing the precise points of correspondence between Gnostic Christianity and the spiritual traditions of India and Tibet-- thus mapping out the common ground between East and West."

Gaffney says: "It's understandable that many Americans deeply resist the scenario I have just described. Most have a difficult time wrapping their mind around something so big, so shocking..."

That was from his article on 9/11... But it could have been said about his Gnostic Secrets....

The truths are hidden from us by the decrees and persecutions of those in power. The truth is that we can come to our own complete understanding by ourselves.

The Bishop of Hippolytus, the great protector against heresies, who wrote "The Refutation of All Heresies" in the third century of the Common Era, renounced those who followed "the silly and crazy notion of fools" - notions and 'conspiracy theories' that suggested that the secret teachings of the Last Supper were about practices by which one could see and encounter "the omnipresence of the primal essence in matter", by which one could experience immanence, a phenomenon for which there is some early support in modern-day neuroscience, the generation of "waking delta", gamma and ultra-gamma brain-wave states through deep meditation, yoga and - -avert your eyes now --- tantric sex.

"By insisting that the Father is a God of love, not of wrath inventions, Jesus broke sharply with the past and even turned tradition on its head.

But there was more: Jesus left his disciples with the solemn promise that the Spirit would be made available for the purpose of teaching them all things (John 14:26, 16:13). Henceforth, by means of the Spirit, a man or a woman could no the father through the Son (John 14:6 -- 7). Ordinary people could duplicate Jesus' achievement, and in large numbers become the Sons of men. Thus, direct knowledge of the Godhead was made available to the many. It was a revolution in the art of the possible. But no sooner did Jesus set all this in motion than the institutional Church turns turned its back on an even suppressed the wisdom teachings, thus aborting the incipient spiritual revolution."...

The discussion of the father begins with a cryptic passage, involving the obscure term Amigdalus (Refutation 5.9.1), meaning "almond." In our time the word is used in medical anatomy, and refers to a part of the human brain [which is involved in our emotional self-control and our fight-or-flight or stress response]. The Sermon informs us that the Amigdalus is the Father of the universe, "... having in himself the perfect fruit, as it were, throbbing and moving in his debt...". The text, minus the interpolated comments of Hippolytus, continues:

The Spirit... is there where... the father is named, and the Son is there born from this Father. This... is the many-named thousand-eyed Incomprehensible One, of whom every nature -- each, differently -- is desirous. This... is the Word of God, which is a word of revelation of the Great Power. Wherefore it will be sealed, and hid, and concealed, lying in the habitation where lies the basis of for the root of the Universe: aeons, powers, intelligences, gods, angels, delegated spirits, entities, non-entities, generables, ingeneralables, incomprehensibles, years, months, days, [and the] indivisible point from which what is the least begins to increase gradually. That which is... nothing and which consists of nothing, in as much as it is indivisible -- a point -- will become through its own reflective power an incomprehensible magnitude. This... is the kingdom of heaven, the grain of mustard seed, the point which is indivisible within the body. And... nobody knows this point save the spiritual only. (Reputation 5.9.4-6)

Here we have a description of gnosis. Notice, the text mentions the "indivisible point," which we have already identified as bindu. The text also mentions the mustard seed (Mark 4: 31--32, Matthew 13:31--32, Luke 13:18-19), though in a context that pushes the concept far beyond anything in the New Testament. Suddenly we are on the ground uncharted by orthodox Christianity."

One of the best books on the origin of the orthodox view of Christianity, by comparing it to this one gnostic sect. Primarily good at pointing out the differences between the concept of Jesus as God, and Jesus, the one who shows us how to be like him -an enlightened being with knowldege of who we and God are.
Very excellent background on the politics of having the Levites and their priesthood be the ones who decided what would be orthodox teachings and the exclusion of the Ashoreth cult.
I liked the book. :)
JoAnna Cham

I tried to write to Mark regarding his comments about science but his email address is no longer valid so I thought I would paste it on my review to express my sentiments regarding his view.


I am just completing your book Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes and wonder
if you have ever read Edgar Cayce's readings on the Essenes and biblical
history? Also you seem to point out the limits of science: " The
achievements of science cannot explain-in fact,do not begin to explain-the
deeper mystery of our existence." You then used the Chalmers quote. Perhaps
you would be more enlightened if you read the latest findings in quantum physics
and the parallels to Eastern philosophy or watch: What the Bleep Do We Know?
and perhaps read: THE FIELD by Lynn Mctaggart. Finally I would suggest you read Nanci Danison's BACKWARDS.

Science does not yet have all of the answers and indeed Max Planck stated we may never have a definitive answer but new knowledge can add or subtract from what we believe to be true.

I found that the book lacked an organized approach to the subject and I finally quit reading it even though the subject itself is very close to my heart and I was quite anxious to learn more about it.

It's nice to see that Mark Gaffney's book has received multiple rave reviews from all the New Age critics and pundits. But for those of us who are looking for genuine historical insights into the ancient Naassenes, this book simply does not deliver. For this reason I award only 2 stars.

I think this book has more to do with projecting Eastern/New Age ideas into the Naassene symbols as opposed to uncovering any historical facts about the Naassene sect and its place in history.

The fundamental lack of objectivity can be seen in this quote from the back cover:

"Contrary to the denouncements of the Church...the Naassenes were not a heretical derivative of Christianity but instead were purveyors of Christ's authentic message."

Before one even opens this book, the reader is confronted with this unqualified declaration that the Naassenes were the "purveyors of Christ's authentic message"!

Great! But where is the proof? Gaffney offers no historical evidence in support of his declaration. His premise remains as nothing more than an inductive leap. Certainly I'd like to believe along with Mark that the Naassenes spring from the original Christians, but I need to see some evidence.

Gaffney cites the Church Fathers as the source of his knowledge about the Naassenes. Most prominent is Hippolytus, who preserved a lengthy but obscure document known as the "Naassene Sermon."

There are numerous problems with the Church Fathers' accounts of the Naassenes -which is that they don't agree with each other on all the details. Hippolytus claims that the Nassenes were the founders of the Gnostic heresy; but he is alone in making this claim (Refutation., 6:1). All of the other Fathers claim that the Gnostic heresy was founded by Simon Magus. And then there is Origen, who in contrast with Hippolytus says that the Naassenes ("Ophites") were an "insignificant sect" (Against Celsus, 6:24). Hence the Church Fathers do not agree on the Naassenes in terms of their role in history and their significance. And again, there is simply no evidence anywhere to show that the Naassene tradition represents the original Christian status quo.

As for the Naassene Sermon, I think it is a difficult task for anyone to extract the meaning and context of the material that Hippolytus has preserved. How do we know that Hippolytus hasn't left important elements out? What if it was not Hippolytus' intent to preserve the true message and context of the Sermon, but to record only those salacious passages which tend to validate the charge that the Naassenes have mixed Christianity with paganism?

I wish that Gaffney was more concerned with uncovering the real history of the Naassenes rather than projecting his own Eastern/New Age ideas into the "Sermon."

Having given this book 2 stars I would like to mention the one thing that I like about the book.

I thought that the Introduction was well-written and was focused on two highly relevant issues. The first is that orthodox tradition continues to provide an antiquated and inadequate explanation of the Christian message. Gaffney is right, and more people are becoming disillusioned with the orthodox churches. As more historical information becomes available people are beginning to realize that the old 'formulas' just don't work. Gaffney suggests that Gnosticism provides an avenue for Christianity's renewal and restoration. Here, I agree.

The problem of course is that the balance of this book is a completely obscure New Age essay that the average disgruntled and seeking Christian is not going to understand. Again, the problem is that Gaffney's book isn't really about explaining the historical relevance of Gnosticism for Christianity, its about projecting New Age and Eastern ideas into ancient Gnostic symbols.

I also appreciated Gaffney's complaints in the introduction about the bias of scholars toward Gnosticism. I agree with him. Personally, I believe that Gnostic theology is derived from certain theological paradoxes found in the New Testament. But because most scholars insist on regarding the Gnostic movement as a parasitic error, no adequate research has been done in order to explain why the Gnostics read the New Testament the way they did -or why the Church Fathers had such a difficult time using the New Testament to refute Gnostic doctrine. (An exception here is Elaine Pagels' book "The Gnostic Paul.")

Now if you are someone who is looking for a New Age exposition of Naassene symbols then I recommend this book. In this case I would offer three stars but no more, because Gaffney has failed in my opinion to identify the audience to whom this book is written. His introduction indicates that his audience is disgruntled Christians, but otherwise you need to have a background in New Age doctrine and Eastern traditions in order to understand what Mark is trying to say in the balance of the book.

This book is in fact addressed to other New Age readers, not the average seeking Christian.