The Genesis Factor - various authors

7/28/2019 The Genesis Factor - various authors

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The Genesis Factor

y Stephan A. Hoeller

he fol lowing article was published in Quest, September 1997. It is presented here with permission of the author .

tp://www.gnosis.org

OME YEARS AGO, Elaine H. Pagels, the noted religious historian, had the importance of the Book o

enesis brought to her attention in a most unusual manner. She was in Khartoum, in the African Sudan,

olding a discussion with the then foreign minister of that country, who had written a book on the myth

is people. A prominent member of the Dinka tribe, her host told her how the creation myth of his peop

elates to the whole social, political, and religious culture in that part of the Sudan.

hortly after this conversation, Pagels was reading a Timemagazine in which several letters to the editor

ook issue with a particular article on changing social mores in America. To her surprise, four of the six

tters mentioned the story of Adam and Eve--how God created the first human pair "in the beginning,"

hat kind of behavior was therefore right or wrong for men and women today. Stimulated by her

onversation in Africa, she quickly recognized that many people, even those who do not literally believeill return to the archaic story of creation as a frame of reference when faced with challenges to their

aditional values.

agels realized that, like creation stories of other cultures, the Genesis story addresses profound and bas

uestions. Americans and Dinka tribesmen are not so different after all; both look to their creation storie

hen attempting to answer such questions as, what is the purpose of human beings on earth? How do w

iffer from each other and from animals? Why do we suffer? Why do we die?

ecent events on the intellectual scene have served to affirm these insights. Autumn of 1996 brought a

onsiderable revival of interest in Genesis. Foreshadowed by a series of semi-informal conversations atManhattan's Jewish Theological Seminary, led by Rabbi Burton Visotzky, the major event of this reviva

ecame a much publicized television series entitled "A Living Conversation," devoted entirely to the Bo

f Genesis. Hosted by Bill Moyers, himself an ordained Southern Baptist minister who had later shifted

legiance to the more liberal United Church of Christ, the series raised high expectations in many quart

number of recent books have also dealt with the Genesis story.

obert Alter, one of the most recent translators of Genesis, said: "Moyers has hit upon an idea whose tim

as come. At this moment of post-cold war confusion about where we're going as a civilization, with all

inds of murky religious ferment, it makes sense to do some stocktaking. Let's go back to the book that

arted the whole shebang."

Moyers's panelists included Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, a Hindu, a Buddhist, and several

gnostics. Not included, however, were persons who could represent Gnostic Christianity, one of the mo

ncient and at the same time most timely and creative approaches to the interpretation of the Bible. Nor

here any appreciable mention of Gnostic views in the cover story of Time magazine (October 28,1996),

hich followed upon the television series, or in several books published in the ensuing months.

ad the recent revival of interest in Genesis occurred fifty or sixty years ago, this omission might have b

nderstandable. Sources offering alternative interpretations of the Book of Genesis then were few and fa

etween. All this changed, however, after 1945, when a veritable treasure trove of Gnostic scriptures waiscovered in the Nag Hammadi valley in upper Egypt. This discovery would transform the character of

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iblical studies forever. The Nag Hammadi scriptures contain numerous creative variants of biblical

achings.

Different View of Adam and Eve

William Blake, the Gnostic poet of the early nineteenth century, wrote of the differences between his vi

nd the mainstream view of holy writ: 'Both read the Bible day and night; but you read black where I re

hite." The same words could have been uttered by Gnostic Christians and their orthodox opponents in

rst three or four centuries A.D.

he orthodox view then regarded most of the Bible, particularly Genesis, as history with a moral. Adam

ve were considered to be historical figures, the literal ancestors of our species. From the story of their

ansgression, orthodox teachers deduced specific moral consequences, chiefly the "fall" of the human r

ue to original sin. Another consequence was the lowly and morally ambivalent status of women, who w

egarded as Eve's co-conspirators in the fateful deed of disobedience in paradise. Tertullian, a sworn ene

f the Gnostics, wrote to the female members of the Christian community thusly:

. you are the devil's gateway. . . you are she who persuaded him whom the devil did not dare attack. .

o you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on your sex lives on in this age; the g

ecessarily, lives on too.

he Gnostic Christians who authored the Nag Hammadi scriptures did not read Genesis as history with

moral, but as a myth with a meaning. To them, Adam and Eve were not actual historical figures, but

epresentatives of two intrapsychic principles within every human being. Adam was the dramatic

mbodiment of psyche, or soul, while Eve stood for the pneuma, or spirit. Soul, to the Gnostics, meant t

mbodiment of the emotional and thinking functions of the personality, while spirit represented the hum

apacity for spiritual consciousness. The former was the lesser self (the ego of depth psychology), the la

he transcendental function, or the "higher self," as it is sometimes known. Obviously, Eve, then, is by

ature superior to Adam, rather than his inferior as implied by orthodoxy.

owhere is Eve's superiority and numinous power more evident than in her role as Adam's awakener.

dam is in a deep sleep, from which Eve's liberating call arouses him. While the orthodox version has E

hysically emerge from Adam's body, the Gnostic rendering has the spiritual principle known as Eve

merging from the unconscious depths of the somnolent Adam. Before she thus emerges into liberating

onsciousness, Eve calls forth to the sleeping Adam in the following manner, as stated by the

nostic Apocryphon of John:

entered into the midst of the dungeon which is the prison of the body. And I spoke thus: "He who hear

t him arise from the deep sleep." And then he (Adam) wept and shed tears. After he wiped away his bi

ars he spoke, asking: "Who is it that calls my name, and whence has this hope come unto me, while I a

n the chains of this prison?" And I spoke thus: "I am the Pronoia of the pure light; I am the thought of th

ndefiled spirit. . . . Arise and remember . . . and follow your root, which is I . . . and beware of the dee

eep."

n another scripture from the same collection, entitled On the Origin of the World , we find further

mplification of this theme. Here Eve whose mystical name is Zoe, meaning life, is shown as the daught

nd messenger of the Divine Sophia, the feminine hypostasis of the supreme Godhead:

ophia sent Zoe, her daughter, who is called "Eve," as an instructor in order that she might raise up Ada

n whom there is no spiritual soul so that those whom he could beget might also become vessels of light

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ill meet. The orthodox have held, with Martin Buber, that the human's relationship to God is always "I

hou." In the Gnostic position one can discern a keynote that is reminiscent of the attitude of certain oth

eligions, notably Hinduism, which rather declares: "I am Thou."

he Gnostics share with the Hindus and with certain Christian mystics the notion that the divine essence

resent deep within human nature in addition to being present outside of it. At one time humans were pa

f the divine, although later, in their manifest condition, they more and more tended to project divinity o

eings external to themselves. Alienation from God brings an increase in the worship of deities wholly

xternal to the human. The Gospel of Philip, another scripture from Nag Hammadi, expresses it well:

n the beginning God created humans. Now, however, humans are creating God. Such is the way of this

orld-humans invent gods and worship their creations. It would be better for such gods to worship hum

rue God, False God

When discussing the story of Noah and the flood, author Karen Armstrong (A History of God, 1993), as

anelist on Moyers's program, asserted that God is "not some nice, cozy daddy in the sky," but rather a

eing who decidedly behaves frequently "in an evil way." With his actions in connection with the flood,

rmstrong said, God originated the idea of justifiable genocide. Hitler and Stalin, one might deduce, act

n the instruction of such stories as that of the flood and of Sodom and Gomorrah when instituting theolocaust and the camps of the Gulag. Had the panelists called on Gnostic scriptures, they could have

uoted many precedents for Armstrong's criticism of the vengeful God of the Old Testament.

he Gnostic Hypostasis of the Archons, for example, states that the cause of the flood was not the turnin

umans to wickedness, causing God to repent of his creation, as the "official" version of Genesis declar

uite the contrary, people were becoming wiser and better, so an envious and spiteful creator decided to

ipe them out in the flood. Noah was told by the creator to build an ark and place it atop Mount Seir-a

ame that does not occur in Genesis, but in one of the psalms referring to the flood. Noah's wife, unnam

n Genesis but called Norea by the Gnostics, is a special person, possessing more wisdom than her husb

orea is the daughter of Eve and a knower of hidden things. She tries to dissuade her husband from

collaborating with the schemes of the creator, and ends up burning down t

ark which Noah had built.

The creator and his dark angels then surround Norea and intend to punish

Norea by raping her. Norea defends herself by refuting various false claim

they make. Ultimately she cries out for help to the true God, who sends th

golden Angel Eleleth (Sagacity), who not only saves her from the attack o

the creator's dark servants, but also teaches her regarding her origins and

promises her that her descendants will continue to possess the true gnosis

There are other scriptures of the Nag Hammadi collection that repeat or re

to the story of Norea, including the Apocryphon of John and The Thought

Norea. The former does not mention her by name, but states that Noah's

descendants were wise ones who were hidden in a luminous cloud, adding

significantly, "[This was not] as Moses said, 'They were hidden in the ark

In the latter it is not only one angel but "three holy helpers" who intercede

her behalf.

is quite apparent that the creator god who visits humanity with the disaster of the flood is not identical

ith the "true God" to whom Norea calls out for help. Viewing the character of the deity of Genesis wit

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ober, critical eye, the Gnostics concluded that this God was neither good nor wise. He was envious,

enocidal, unjust, and, moreover, had created a world full of bizarre and unpleasant things and condition

n their visionary explorations of secret mysteries, the Gnostics felt that they had discovered that this de

as not the only God, as had been claimed, and that certainly there was a God above him.

his true God above was the real father of humanity, and, moreover, there was a true mother as well,

ophia, the emanation of the true God. Somewhere in the course of the lengthy process of pre-creationa

manifestation, Sophia mistakenly gave life to a spiritual being, whose wisdom was greatly exceeded by

ze and power. This being, whose true names are Yaldabaoth (child of the chaos), Samael (blind god), a

so Saclas (foolish one), then proceeded to create a world, and eventually also a human being called Ad

either the world nor the man thus created was very serviceable as created, so Sophia and other high

piritual agencies contributed their light and power to them. The creator thus came to deserve the name

demiurge" (half maker), a Greek term employed in a slightly different sense by philosophers, including

lato.

o what extent various Gnostics took these mythologies literally is difficult to discern. What is certain i

hat behind the myths there are important metaphysical postulates which have not lost their relevance. T

ersonal creator who appears in Genesis does not possess the characteristics of the ultimate, transcenden

ground of being" of which mystics of many religions speak. If the God of Genesis has any reality at all

must be a severely limited reality, one characterized by at least some measure of foolishness and blindn

While the concept of two Gods is horrifying to the monotheistically conditioned mind, it is not illogical

mprobable. Modem theologians, particularly Paul Tillich, have boldly referred to "the God above God.

illich introduced the term "ground of being" as alternative language to express the divine. The ideas of

ld Gnostics seem not so outdated after all.

he Mysteries of Seth

lmost anyone today could declare that Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. The third son is m

ifficult to name; he is Seth. The third son was provided by God as a replacement for the slain Abel,

ccording to Genesis. He was sired rather late in life by Adam, for Adam is said to have been 130 years

the time. The historian Josephus wrote that Seth was a very great man and that his descendants were t

iscoverers of many mysterious arts, including astrology. The descendants of Seth then inscribed the

ecords of their occult discoveries, according to Josephus, on two pillars, one brick, the other stone, so th

hey might be preserved in times of future disasters.

n the treatise The Apocalypse of Adam, the Gnostics presented us with a scripture that tells not only of S

and his father) but of the future of the esoteric tradition of gnosis in ages to come. It begins:

he disclosure given by Adam to his son Seth in his seven hundredth year. And he said: "Listen to my

ords, my son Seth. When God created me out of the earth, along with Eve your mother, I went along w

er in a glory which she had seen in the aeon from which she came forth. She taught me the word of Gn

f the eternal God. And we resembled the great eternal angels, for we were higher than the God who

reated us."

fter thus informing us once again of the spiritually superior status of Eve, the scripture goes on to reco

ow the creator turned against Adam and Eve, robbing them of their glory and their knowledge. Human

ow served the creator "in fear and in slavery," so Adam stated. While previously immortal, Adam now

new that his days were numbered. Therefore, he said he now wanted to pass on what he knew to Seth a

is descendants.

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n the prediction it becomes apparent that "Seth and his seed" would continue to experience gnosis, but

hey would be subject to many grave tribulations. The first of these would be the flood, during which an

ould rescue the Gnostic race of Seth and hide them in a secret place. Noah, on the other hand, would

dvise his sons to serve the creator God "in fear and slavery all the days of your life." After the return of

lumined people of Seth's kind, the creator would once again wrathfully turn against them and try to

estroy them by raining fire, sulfur, and asphalt down on them-an allusion, perhaps, to the story of Sodo

nd Gomorrah. Once again many of the Gnostics would be saved by being taken by great angels to a pla

bove the domain of the evil powers.

Much later there would be a new era with the coming of the man of light ("Phoster"), who would teach

nosis to all.The Apocalypse of Adam concludes with this passage:

his is the hidden knowledge of Adam which he gave to Seth, which is the holy baptism of those who k

he imperishable Gnosis through those who are born of the Logos, through the imperishable Illuminator

ho himself came from the holy seed (of Seth) Jesseus, Mazareus, Jessedekeus.

hese names, which are obviously versions of the name of Jesus (they are found in other scriptures also

dentify the culmination of the Gnostic tradition in the figure of Jesus. The "Race of Seth" is thus a bibli

metaphor for those following this tradition. In the Gnostic book Pistis Sophia, Jesus identifies himself a

oming from the "Great Race of Seth".

Old Answers to New Controversies

he current interest in Genesis raises many serious questions. Not a few of these have been illuminated

he neglected light shed by the scriptures quoted earlier. Not unlike the old Gnostics, today's questioning

cholars and laypersons are provoked by Genesis to critiques and even to inventions of new variations o

he ancient theme. Consider how deeply the social conditions of many countries have been influenced b

he picture the orthodox version of Genesis presents concerning Eve and, by implication, women in gen

ny of the several scriptures of the Nag Hammadi collection would shed an entirely different and more

enign light on these issues.

econdly, consider the political implications of the story of Genesis. Elaine Pagels, in her fascinating

ook Adam, Eve, and the Serpent (1988), pointed out that the long-held attitude of the Christian church

ubmitting to greatly flawed systems of secular government was usually justified by the "fallen conditio

f humanity as first described in Genesis. Following largely the interpretations of Saint Augustine, most

hristians felt that even bad governments were to be preferred to liberty because humans are so corrupt

y Adam and Eve's original sin that they are in capable of governing themselves. The libertarian fervor

he eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that gave rise to the American and French revolutions was clearl

ot motivated by the spirit of Genesis. The statement that "all men are created equal" does not occur in t

cripture, but sprang from the inspiration of the American revolutionaries, who drew from Hermetic,

nostic, and similar non-mainstream sources.

hirdly, there remains the terrifying problem of the character of the God of Genesis. Agreeing with Kar

rmstrong, we find Jack Miles, in his provocative book God: A Biography writing: "Much that the Bibl

ays about him is rarely preached from the pulpit because, examined too closely, it becomes a scandal."

erhaps we may need to take a second look at the Gnostic proposition that the creator mentioned in Gen

not the true and ultimate God. The unfavorable potential present in the Book of Genesis did not go

nnoticed throughout history. Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, a religious teacher prominent in the years afte

.D. 70, warned that the Genesis story of creation should not be taught before even as many as two peo








soteric tendencies and movements appear consistently withinhristianity. At their foundation lies Gnosticism, in early

hristianity the sect of "knowing ones."[2] Gnosticism, in its

any forms, is based on, though not limited to, the acquiring of nosis – or "saving knowledge." Indeed a Greek lexicon would

stinguish the two terms central to this article –

nosis and esoterikos, but their meanings could be closely

onnected.[3] Arguably, Gnosticism is the earliest and mostffecting of all manifestations of Christian esotericism. From

Meister Eckhart to Jacob Boehme to Emmanuel Swedenborg to

plethora of related esoteric strands that developed in Americanhristianity — even in the Shakers with their prophet

Dürer,“Woman

ClothedWith theSun”

49Mother Ann Lee — parallels to Gnostic concepts, structures and alternate mythologies can be found.[4]

Modern scholars apply the term Gnosticism to a variety of religious movements which developed in the

Mediterranean world during the same historical period in which Christianity formed. "Gnosticisms" provideexamples of the religious syncretism occurring throughout the Roman occupied territories in the Hellenistic ethos

the first few centuries of the Common Era. For centuries, insight into Gnosticism's early Christian form had been

gathered primarily from influential defenders of developing and consolidating orthodoxy, such as Clement, Origenand Irenaeus. These definers of orthodox Christianity condemned what they labeled as the Gnostic heresy. Indeed

such defense against Gnosticism served as a primary impetus to their momentous theological constructs. In many

ways, Christianity's orthodox theological system and doctrine formed in response to Gnostic heresy. Obviously,then, these sources have provided a closely circumscribed lens through which to view Christian Gnosticism for

almost two thousand years.

In 1945 an amazingly preserved set of Gnostic works was discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. This find enables

modern scholars to glance through an insider "knower's lens" at this incredibly significant aspect of earliestChristianity. The collection of thirteen papyrus codices were composed in Coptic, though most likely translated frGreek, between the third and fifth centuries C.E. This invaluable discovery provides an entirely different and ferti

glimpse into Christian Gnosticism, particularly into its complex mythological system, from its own perspective

rather than that of orthodox, condemning outsiders. Of course, a religious system which is esoteric in its very

essence could never be comprehended through the perspective of outsiders or "unknowers," the only perspectiveavailable prior to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library. For this very reason – the esoteric nature of Gnostici

and its wide-ranging influence – the weight of the discovery of these documents compounds.

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50The extremely complex mythological system can be found within the Nag Hammadi texts. It provides the map of

maze through which an understanding of the secret truths of salvation conveyed to and among early Gnostics.

Indeed the mythic essence, which remains particularly hidden to the minds of those outside of Christian Gnosticis

serves as one of the most fascinating aspects of Gnosticism. As a religious system it does not lend itself to theconstructs of systematic theology – a veritable cornerstone of most intense Christian self-articulation. Rather,

Gnosticism only becomes comprehensible through the avenue of myth. Processes of formation into the mythologi

world of Gnosticism unlocked its closed systems of communication and provided a new understanding of self andsalvation. Because of its intensive and complex layers an explication of Gnostic mythology often requires that one

select a particular aspect of the system rather than attempt to address its entirety. This study, then, will focus on a

selected, central theme in Gnostic mythology – the Creation – and one pivotal figure within this re-told story of human origins – Eve.

It has been claimed, and I agree, that "the wild profusion of gnostic myths can be traced to a single scriptural sourGenesis 1-3."[5] Stories of Adam and Eve fascinated Gnostic Christians, probably as a result of the myriad

allegorical interpretations apparent in this pivotal and foundational myth. Such myths of origin explain more

completely than any other mythological elements why creation is in its current, and in Gnosticism, dreadfully falle

and evil, state:

It is now a matter of understanding, intuiting, and reliving the original drama, the initial situation that provoked t

rise, the establish ment and the triumph of evil, an evil that has now acquired an ontological toughness andsubstance. . . Myth thus acquires the function of salvation. It describes the way of salvation, reminding the Gnosti

of his [sic] true origins and showing him [sic] how to escape from the cosmos. But above all, like all myth, that of

the Gnostics is essentially a story of origins; there lies the key of all that one thinks one possesses.[6]

51

In order to examine Eve, one particular NagHammadi text in which she plays a prominent role

can serve as the tool – On the Origin of the

World (hereinafter OW ). Many other texts from the Nag Hammadi library include Eve as a central

figure – for example, The Hypostasis of the

rchons, and The Apocalypse of Adam. I claimthat insight into her representation provides a

glimpse into the entire hidden knowledge

requisite for salvation within Christian strands of

Gnosticism. In other words, understanding theEve of Gnostic Christianity as contrasted with the

Eve of most orthodox manifestations of

Christianity illuminates the fundamental nature of this powerful strand of esotericism.

Eve as Revealer of Gnosis

fter the day of rest Sophia sent her daughter

Zoe, being called Eve, as an instructor in order that she might make Adam, who had no soul, arise

so that those whom he should engender might become containers of light. (115:31-35)[7]

Anima Mundi, or the Worldsoul, from Thurneisser zum Thurn, QuinEssentia, (Leipzig: 1574














In a quest to understand its own soteriology, earlyChristianity turned to the figure of Eve,

demonizing her with unprecedented force. Christ's

role in redemption became explicable only in itsrelationship to the Fall as portrayed in Genesis.

Eve, along with her sinister partner the serpent,

became the antagonist who, through her wiles, led

the paradisical Adam away from God. As thisunderstanding of Eve's inferiority and propensity

for sin remains embedded in late twentieth-

century culture, a few examples of it as a doctrineduring the time period addressed should suffice to

provide contrast with the Eve of Gnosticism.

Of course, one must begin with the appearance of

Eve as recounted in the second creation account,

which tends to be the more prominently retold of

the two, possibly because of its intrinsicmale/female hierarchical structure.[8]

52Presented in Genesis, Christians learned from the story that the creation of woman varied significantly from that o

man:

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed upits place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the male he made into a woman and brought he

to the man. (Genesis 2:21-22)[9]

The derivative nature of Eve posits an ontological distinction and inferiority in her from the beginning. Thus Paul

the earliest constructive Christian theologian, can claim:

For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the

reflection of man. Indeed man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for thesake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. (I Corinthians 11:8-9)[10]

Almost as an afterthought, upon the failure of all other creatures to satisfy the needs of the male human being, Gocreated the female with the express purpose of being Adam's companion. According to the rest of the story, this

creation from Adam's rib may not have been wise, rather it led to expulsion from Paradise.

Ambrose, the bishop of Milan in the late fourth century, delves into her extensively in his work Paradise. Eve, as

"the first to be deceived," was therefore "responsible for deceiving man," thus Adam "fell by his wife's fault, and

not because of his own."[11] At the beginning of the fifth century, Augustine of Hippo clearly stated hisunderstanding of the inferiority of Eve:

Was it because the man would not have been able to believe [the transparent lies of the serpent] that the woman

was employed [by the serpent] on the supposition that she had limited understanding, and also perhaps that she wa

living according to the spirit of the flesh and not according to the spirit of the mind? [12]






















53

Eve symbolizes weakness, sensuality, temptation and disgrace. Second in the order of creation, her purpose was to

serve Adam; lacking in wisdom her actions in the garden led to the fall of all humankind. Eve destroyed humanity

hope for paradise on earth and, without the advent of Christ, for hope in eternity.

Augustine and Ambrose interpreted the significance of Eve in the same general time frame as the Gnosticdevelopment of mythologies in which Eve played a central role. However, these two early orthodox Christiantheologians, through their explications of the "first" woman, contributed enormously to the construction of both

"Eve" and "womanhood" for all subsequent generations of Christians. Indeed, Eve still serves to connect "woman

to that which is secondary and evil, derivative and weak, as that which led to the "fall" of all humanity. Thoughmany Christians in the late twentieth century would understand such a literal construction to be inadequate and

misplaced, biblical literalists, whose impact cannot be underestimated in modern Christianity, would continue to

blame Eve, and therefore all women, for humankind's expulsion from Paradise. Such beliefs remain embedded in

ecclesiastical systems and doctrines worldwide.

But this is not the Eve we meet in Gnostic Christian texts. Here, her descriptions are those of a guide, instructor,

and even a savior figure. Her essence and actions serve to provide gnosis and illumination for humanity. She is an"other" Eve. To grasp this overwhelming difference, one must first hear at least a portion of the Gnostic myth as

told in OW . The orthodox "Genesis creation myth" and the role of Eve take on an entirely different form when

related by the Gnostic community who heard and retold their understanding of creation in OW .

54



On the Ori gin of the World:

Selected Portions and Exegesis

Included in this brief exposition are the passages

fromOW which prove the most pertinent for

understanding the Eve of Gnostic Christianity.

Here the reader is exposed to what the Gnosticsknew that the orthodox Christians did not.

And when they had finished Adam, he abandoned

him as an inanimate vessel lest the true man enter

his modelled form and become its lord. For thisreason he left his modelled form forty days

without a soul on the fortieth day Sophia Zoe sent

her breath into Adam, who had no soul. He began

to move upon the ground. And he could not standup. (115:3-15)

The seven rulers or authorities - to put it toosimply, these rulers - are rather low-level

supernatural figures connected to the physical

creation, made the body of Adam. However, theydetermined that Adam, if given a soul, could be

more powerful than they; therefore he was created

as an inanimate being. Sophia Zoe, a figure

seemingly superior to the seven rulers in Gnosticcosmology, gave Adam life through her breath.

This ontologically transforming endowment

shocked and angered the rulers.

But the giving of life did not empower or liberate

Adam fully: he was still relegated to crawling onthe ground.[13] His weakness appeased the seven

rulers who then took him and placed him in

Paradise, then retreated to their heavens. At this point in the story, Eve enters:

When Eve saw her male counterpart prostrate she

had pity upon him, and she said, "Adam! Becomealive! Arise upon the earth!"

The ouroboros, among the Gnoa symbol of the aeon, this im

from Horapollo, Selecta Hieroglyphica, 1

55







Immediately her word became accomplished fact. For Adam, having arisen, suddenly opened his eyes. When he sher he said, "You shall be called 'Mother of the Living'. For it is you who have given me life." (116:1-7)[14]

Obviously, roles reverse in the Gnostic version of the creation story, though they will address the lack of knowledof this reversal related through the other telling in Genesis. Rather than Eve's life being created from Adam's rib,

Adam's soul is endowed by Eve – she becomes the active giver of life, rather than the passive receiver from Adam

Eve's role continues to develop in OW :

Then the authorities were informed that their modelled form was alive and had arisen, and they were greatlytroubled. They sent seven archangels to see what had happened. They came to Adam. When they saw Eve talking

him they said to one another, "What sort of thing is this luminous woman? For she resembles that likeness which

appeared to us in the light. Now come, let us lay hold of her and cast our seed into her, so that when she becomessoiled she may not be able to ascend into her light. Rather, those whom she bears will be under our charge. But let

us not tell Adam, for he is not one of us. Rather let us bring a deep sleep over him. And let us instruct him in his

sleep to the effect that she came from his rib, in order that his wife may obey, and he may lord over her." Then Ev being a force, laughed at their decision. She put mist into their eyes and secretly left her likeness with Adam. She

entered the tree of acquaintance and remained there. And they pursued her, and she revealed to them that she had

gone into the tree and become a tree. Then, entering a great state of fear, the blind creatures fled. (116:8-34)

In their plan to destroy Eve, the authorities create a lie – that Eve

56came from Adam's rib. This fabrication of modeling from Adam's rib becomes the crux around which the orthodo

interpretation of Eve, an interpretation which lacks requisite knowledge for salvation, revolves. One need only

peruse the dogmatic systems of particular twentieth century Christian groups to be reminded of the power of the

image in justifying the subordination of women.

Of course, the rulers are "very glad" that they - the "female creature," along with Adam and their children - were"erring ignorantly like beasts." (118:9-10) Of course the true Eve remained hidden in the tree.

But the story of Eve continues to unfold. The "likeness" of Eve who was with Adam, as opposed to the "true Eve"the tree, also enacts a central role in salvation. As in the Genesis story, she decides to eat from the tree of gnosis an

to share its enlightenment with Adam:

Then their intellect became open. For when they had eaten, the light of acquaintance had shone upon them When

they saw that the ones who had modelled them had the form of beasts they loathed them: they were very aware Fr

that day, the authorities knew that truly there was something mightier than they. [119:10-20; 120:13-15]

Obviously, this choice would be lauded by Gnostics, for whom attaining this once hidden knowledge holds the ke

to their salvation. Two Eves, both of whom contribute uniquely and necessarily to gnosis, hold sway in the Gnosti

creation myth. Eve is the secret key to salvation, a key hidden from orthodox Christians.

Implications

What, then, are the implications from an exegesis of this alternate, Gnostic creation mythology? One can only

speculate as to the impact of a reconstructed Eve. Interpreted as the cause of the fall of







57

humanity from a state of perfection, as the temptress, as the impetus for the loss of paradise, as evil incarnate, Eve

serves as the defining figure for all women in Christian history, replaced only in part by another oppressive female

figure, the Virgin Mary. The Gnostic Eve, on the other hand, exists as the primary and first instructor, she appearsluminous, and gives the gift of light to humanity. No longer an embodied creature to be loathed and feared, woma

carries the light of salvation within herself.

The implications of this text, as opposed to the one in Genesis, are revolutionary in terms of the traditionalrelationship which developed with Christian, patriarchal societies. One more stark example should suffice. In

his Lectures on Genesis, Martin Luther restated the orthodox interpretation of Eve:

Although Eve was a most extraordinary creature, similar to Adam so far as the image of God is concerned, that is,ustice, wisdom, and happinesss, she was nevertheless a woman. For as the sun is more excellent than the moon

(although the moon, too, is a very excellent body), so the woman, although she was a most beautiful work of God,

nevertheless was not the equal of the male in glory and prestige.

Furthermore, Eve bore "the weak part of human nature;" therefore the "rule remains with the husband, and the wif

compelled to obey him by God's command."[15]

Luther's words concerning Eve were written more than a thousand years after those of Augustine, quoted above. Y

the interpretation of Eve remained veritably unchanged. Obviously, in orthodox Christianity, Eve bears an entirely

different meaning than she does in Gnostic Christianity.

Some scholars argue that little significance can be found in this revaluation:

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It is easy to see how someone interested in "knowledge" might haveconsidered the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge a step in the right

direction rather than a mistake it is only natural that favorable attention

instead of censure might be directed toward that person who, according to theinherited tradition, took the leading role in eating of the fruit of gnosis. That

this person is female is a given in the tradition but not necessarily something

that was of interest to all gnostic interpreters, any more than was Adam's

maleness.[16]

But such an argument denies the power of the myth. And it is through an

understanding of the myth that the knowledge requisite for salvation comes toChristian Gnostics. Without a systematic theology to explain the story, the

construction of the story itself remains focal. Certainly, Eve as the initiator of

acquiring knowledge or acquaintance would be seen as the foremost ancestor of those who had received gnosis.

More importantly, however, is the understanding of her pivotal role as salvificrather than as horrific and evil. The outcomes of this alternate interpretation

may have included an entirely different structure of the male/female duality

and hierarchy in Western culture. Of course, such a statement begs to be

critiqued as entirely speculative, as it is. But the power of the orthodoxChristian interpretation of Eve changed the lives of most women over a two-

thousand year period in the West, and continues to do so throughout the world

as Christianity permeates myriad cultures. Could not the hidden knowledge of the Gnostics include an anthropology so revolutionary – not androcentric but

egalitarian? In acquiring such knowledge of transformation in human

relationship, Gnosticism may have believed that one could move forward onthe path toward enlightenment.

Salvation remains hidden from unknowing eyes, and those Christians without

knowledge, those who did not know the Gnostic creation story, remained andremain in darkness. In a religious metaphorical and mythological system

which is solely male is terms

A medieval image drawing on the fefigure of Wisdom crowned with tr

59







of its images of the divine and of its established, male-centered anthropology, a "symbolic hierarchy is set up: Godmale-female. Women no longer stand in direct relation to God; they are connected to God secondarily, through the

male."[17] The Gnostic Eve, however, is not only luminous, but she is a force equated with the tree of acquaintanc

with salvific knowledge itself.

1All citations from On the Origin of the World are from The Nag Hammadi Library, ed. James Robinson, rev. ed.

(San Francisco: Harper, 1988). For ease of reference, they will be cited in the body of the article by original text p

and line number, as indicated in Robinson's edition.

2Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion (Boston: Beacon, 1991, 2nd edition) 32.

3 Esoterikos can be defined as private or secret, especially as understood by a select few who have special knowled

4For a concise overview of Gnosticism see:www.gnostic.org.

5Elaine Pagels, "Adam, Eve and the Serpent in Genesis 1-3," in Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism, 412. Othe

Nag Hammadi texts which include the Genesis creation account(s) are: Gospel of Philip, Exegesis on the Soul,

Hypostasis of the Archon, Thunder: Perfect Mind, Apocryphon of John and Apocalypse of Adam.

6 Giovanni Filoramo, A History of Gnosticism, 52-53.

7All citations from OW are taken from The Nag Hammadi Library, ed. James Robinson, rev. ed. (San Francisco:

Harper, 1988). They will be cited in the body of the article by original text page and line number, as indicated in

Robinson's edition.

8The reader is reminded that in the first chapter of Genesis humankind is created "male and female" simultaneous

by God.

9All biblical quotations are taken from The New Revised Standard

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http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/(Empty%20Reference!)







Version, issued by the National Council of the Churches of Christ,1989.

10In fairness to Paul, it should be noted that he continues this

dialogue by stating that "just as woman came from man, so man

comes through woman."

11Ambrose, Paradise, 4.24, 10.48. For a collection of writings from

Ambrose and other "Early Church Fathers"

see:http://ccel.wheaton.edu/fathers2/ .

12Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, 11.37. To view both

Latin and English versions of Augustine's workssee:http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/augustine.html .

13The analogy of movement between Adam and the serpent is

intriguing here.

14The etymology of the Hebrew word "Eve" has been interpreted in

various ways, including "first woman," "mothers of all living

things" or, even "serpent" – thus associating her with the concept

that all life originated in a primeval serpent.

15Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis, volume I of Luther's Works,

69, 151, 202. Quotations taken from Margaret Miles,Carnal Knowing (New York: Vintage, 1991) 107-112. Some of the works

of Luther can be found on the Wittenberg Project's

site:http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html .

16Michael Williams, "Variety in Gnostic Perspectives on

Gender," Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism, (Philadelphia:

Fortress, 1988) 8.

17Jerry D. Meyer, "Profane and Sacred: Religious Imagery and

Prophetic Expression in Postmodern Art." Journal of the American

cademy of Religion LXV/1, 42.

tp://www.esoteric.msu.edu

http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/



Documents

The Genesis Factor - various authors