The Countercultural Gnostic: Turning the World Upside Down and Inside Out
In: Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic StudiesSearch for other papers by April D. DeConick in
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Because the gnostic heresy is a social construction imposed by the early Catholics on religious people they identified as transgressors of Christianity, scholars are entertaining the idea that ancient gnostics were actually alternative Christians. While gnostics may have been made into heretics by the early Catholics, this does not erase the fact that gnostics were operating in the margins of the conventional religions with a countercultural perspective that upset and overturned everything from traditional theology, cosmogony, cosmology, anthropology, hermeneutics, scripture, religious practices, and lifestyle choices. Making the gnostic into a Christian only imposes another grand narrative on the early Christians, one which domesticates gnostic movements. Granted, the textual evidence for the interface of the gnostic and the Christian is present, but so is the interface of the gnostic and the Greek, the gnostic and the Jew, the gnostic and the Persian, and the gnostic and the Egyptian. And the interface looks to have all the signs of transgression, not conformity. Understanding the gnostic as a spiritual orientation toward a transcendent God beyond the biblical God helps us handle this kind of diversity and transgression. As such, it survives in the artifacts that gnostics and their opponents have left behind, artifacts that help orient religious seekers to make sense of their own moments of ecstasy and revelation.
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1
Cf. Irenaeus, Haer. 1.11.1; 1.29.1; 1.30.15; cf. Tertullian, Val. 11.2.
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4
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.10.1; 1.13.1, 3; 1.15.6; 1.16.3; 1.25.3 (Rousseau and-Doutreleau 1979, 154–159, 188–197, 250–253, 260–265, 284–289; 2.28.7 (Rousseau and -Doutreleau 1982, 336–339); 5.26.2 (Rousseau et al. 1969, 330–338).
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6
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.pref.2 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1979, 20–25); 3.16.8 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1974, 318–320).
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9
Hippolytus, Haer. 1.pre f.5 (Marcovich 1986, 55). Cf. Roig Lanzillotta 2007.
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12
Hippolytus, Haer. 5.11.1 (Marcovich 1986, 173); cf. Roig Lanzillotta 2007.
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13
Tertullian, Presc. 30.1–2. For a more lengthy discussion of Tertullian’s strategies, see Lehtipuu 2014.
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17
Cf. King 2003.
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18
Cf. Markschies 2003, 14.
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19
Layton, 1995.
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20
Harnack 1885 (1961, 227); Nock 1964, 256.
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21
Dillon 1977, 384–396.
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22
See Grant and Freedman 1960, 20.
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23
For instance, see Gärtner 1961, 11–12, 78–80, who aligns his own academic interpretation with Irenaeus’ rhetoric of falsification and violence.
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24
Bock 2006, 24.
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25
Bock 2006, 212, quoting and agreeing with Witherington 2004, 114–115.
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26
Jenkins 2001, 37.
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27
Jenkins 2001, 39.
-
28
Bauer 1934.
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29
Pagels 1979, xxxvi.
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30
Pagels 1979, xxxv.
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31
King 2008. Her essay fits nicely in this edited volume, where many of the papers also push away from the “objectification” of heresy.
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32
King 2008.
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33
King 2003.
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35
For this wonderful image, see Yinger 1982, 42.
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36
Layton 1995. See also M. Smith 1981.
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37
DeConick 2013a. See also DeConick 2016.
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38
For primary references, see DeConick 2013a.
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39
Cf. Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.21–23 (Stählin 1960, 304–316).
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40
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.14, 19 (Stählin 1960, 37–41, 58–62); 2.15 (Stählin 1960, 146–151); 5.4 (Stählin 1960, 338–342).
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41
Williams 1996, 265–66.
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42
Williams 1985.
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46
Cf. BeDuhn 2015.
-
47
Cf. Lupieri 2002, 240–253.
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48
Roszak 1968, 42.
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49
Roszak 1968, 55.
-
50
Roszak 1968, 95–96.
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51
Roszak 1968, 62.
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52
Westhues, 1972, 9–10; Musgrove, 1974, 9; Yinger 1982, 3.
-
53
Keniston 1960, 56; 1968, 259, 340; Yinger 1982, 51–79.
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54
Yinger 1982, 89–95.
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55
Yinger 1982, esp. 95–97; cf. Douglas 1973, 81.
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56
Musgrove 1974, 40–64.
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63
See especially Fauconnier and Turner 2002.
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64
Coulson 2001. They are called idealized cognitive models by Lakoff 1987.
-
65
For more details, see DeConick 2013a.
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66
Cf. Roig Lanzillota 2013.
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68
Cf. Whittaker 1969, 104.
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69
On the seeker mentality, see Roof 1993, 79–83.
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74
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.pref.1, 1.16.3 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1979, 18–21,260–265); Haer. 2.9.2, 2.13.3, 2.26.1, 2.28.7 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1982, 84–87, 114–117, 256–259, 284–289); 4 pref.3–4 (Rousseau et al. 1965, 384–390); Tertullian, Val. 3.1–2 (Kroymann 1954, 754–755).
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75
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.pref.1, 1.4.3, 1.16.3, 1.21.3–4 (Rousseau and Doutreleau 1979, 18–21, 68–69, 260–265, 298–305); Tertullian, Val. 1.1–4 (Kroymann 1954, 753–754); Hippolytus, Haer. 5.1.4, 5.23.2–3 (Marcovich 1986, 141, 198–199).
-
76
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.pref.1, 1.10.3 (Rousseau and Doutreleau 1979, 18–21, 160–167); 2.28.2 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1982, 270–273); Hippolytus, Haer. 6.41.2–5 (Marcovich 1986, 258–259).
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77
Irenaeus, Haer. 2.19.2–4 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1982, 186–191); 4.19.1 (Rousseau et al. 1965, 614–616); 5.19.2 (Rousseau-Doutreleau-Mercier 1969, 250–252); Tertullian, Val. 4.4 (Kroymann 1954, 756–757).
-
78
Irenaeus, Haer. 2.26.3, 2.30.2 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1982, 260–263, 302–305); Hippolytus, Haer. 1.pref.2–3 (Marcovich 1986, 54).
-
79
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.6.3, 1.28.2 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1979, 94–97, 356–357); 2.14.5 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1982, 136–139); Tertullian, Presc. 41.1, 43.3.
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82
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.3.6, 1.9.4, 1.19.1–2, 1.20.2 (Rousseau and Doutreleau 1979, 60–63, 146–151, 284–289, 290–293); 3.6.5; 3.7.1–2. On gnostic use of John, see Irenaeus, Haer. 3.11.1 (Rousseau and Doutreleau 1974, 138–142); 4.41.1–3 (Rousseau et al. 1965, 982–992). On the use and interpretation of John 8:44 in gnostic literature, see DeConick 2013c; 2013d. On gnosticism and John more generally see, Pagels 1973; Hill 2004, 172–293; Turner 2005; Rasimus 2010. On gnostic use of Paul, see Pagels 1975.
-
84
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.20.1 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1979, 288–289); 3.11.9 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1974, 170–176).
-
85
Irenaeus, Haer. 1.4.3, 1.21.3–4 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1979, 68–69, 298–303); 3.15.2 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1974, 278–282); Hippolytus, Haer. 1.pref.2–5 (Marcovich 1986, 54–55).
-
86
Irenaeus, Haer. 4.33.3 (Rousseau et al. 1965, 808–10). Cf. Justin Martyr, 1 Apology 1.26.7; Irenaeus, Haer. 1.21.1–3 (Rousseau-Doutreleau 1979, 294–303); Hippolytus, Haer. 6.41.2–5 (Marcovich 1986, 258–259).
-
91
Tolle 1999, 93.
-
93
Cf. Kaler 2009.
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The Countercultural Gnostic: Turning the World Upside Down and Inside Out
In: Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic StudiesSearch for other papers by April D. DeConick in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Because the gnostic heresy is a social construction imposed by the early Catholics on religious people they identified as transgressors of Christianity, scholars are entertaining the idea that ancient gnostics were actually alternative Christians. While gnostics may have been made into heretics by the early Catholics, this does not erase the fact that gnostics were operating in the margins of the conventional religions with a countercultural perspective that upset and overturned everything from traditional theology, cosmogony, cosmology, anthropology, hermeneutics, scripture, religious practices, and lifestyle choices. Making the gnostic into a Christian only imposes another grand narrative on the early Christians, one which domesticates gnostic movements. Granted, the textual evidence for the interface of the gnostic and the Christian is present, but so is the interface of the gnostic and the Greek, the gnostic and the Jew, the gnostic and the Persian, and the gnostic and the Egyptian. And the interface looks to have all the signs of transgression, not conformity. Understanding the gnostic as a spiritual orientation toward a transcendent God beyond the biblical God helps us handle this kind of diversity and transgression. As such, it survives in the artifacts that gnostics and their opponents have left behind, artifacts that help orient religious seekers to make sense of their own moments of ecstasy and revelation.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1075 | 137 | 14 |
| Full Text Views | 248 | 5 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 137 | 16 | 2 |