The Gnostic Religion

THE MESSAGE OF THE ALIEN GOD & THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY Hans Jonas (1903-1993) was born and educated in Germany, where he was a pupil of Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann. He left in 1933, when Hitler came into power, and in 1940 joined the British Army in the Middle East. After the war he taught at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Carleton University in Ottawa, finally settling in the United States. He was the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy on the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science at the New School for Social Research in New York. Professor Jonas was also author of, among other books, The Phenomenon of Life (1966). He died in 1993- The Gnostic Religion HANS JONAS THIRD EDITION BEACON PRESS BOSTON Beacon Press 25 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2892 www.beacon.org For Lore Jonas Beacon Press books are published under the auspices of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. © 1958, 1963, 1991, 2001 by Hans Jonas All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 05 04 03 02 01 00 87654321 This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the uncoated paper ANSI/NISO specifications for permanence as revised in 1992. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jonas, Hans The gnostic religion : the message of the alien God and the beginnings of Christianity / Hans Jonas.—3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8070-5801-7 (pbk.) I. Gnosticism I. Title BT1390 J62 2001 273'.1— dc21 Scanned: February 2005 00-060852 Contents Preface to the Third Edition Note on the Occasion of the Third Printing (1970) Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Abbreviations 1. Introduction: East and West in Hellenism (a) The Part of the West Greek Culture on the Eve of Alexander's Conquests Cosmopolitanism and the New Greek Colonization The Hellenization of the East Later Hellenism: The Change from Secular to Religious Culture The Four Stages of Greek Culture (b) The Part of the East The East on the Eve of Alexander's Conquests The East Under Hellenism The Re-emergence of the East , Part I. Gnostic Literature—Main Tenets, Symbolic Language 2. The Meaning of Gnosis and the Extent of the Gnostic Movement (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Spiritual Climate of the Era The Name "Gnosticism" The Origin of Gnosticism The Nature of Gnostic "Knowledge" Survey of Sources Secondary or Indirect Sources Primary or Direct Sources (0 Abstract of Main Gnostic Tenets Theology Cosmology Anthropology Eschatology Morality 3. Gnostic Imagery and Symbolic Language (a) The "Alien" (b) "Beyond," "Without," "This World," and "The Other World" xiii xxx xxvi xxxi xxxiii 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 13 17 23 29 31 31 32 33 34 37 37 39 42 42 43 44 44 46 48 49 51 Vlll CONTENTS CONTENTS (c) Worlds and Aeons (d) The Cosmic Habitation and the Stranger's Sojourn (e) "Light" and "Darkness," "Life" and "Death" (f) "Mixture," "Dispersal," the "One," and the "Many" (g) "Fall," "Sinking," "Capture" (h) Forlornness, Dread, Homesickness (i) Numbness, Sleep, Intoxication (j) The Noise of the World (k) The "Call from Without" (1) The "Alien Man" (m) The Content of the Call (n) The Response to the Call (o) Gnostic Allegory 51 55 58 57 62 65 68 73 74 75 80 86 91 Eve and the Serpent Cain and the Creator Prometheus and Zeus Appendix to Chapter 3: Glossary of Mandaean Terms Part II. Gnostic Systems of Thought 4. Simon Magus 5. The "Hymn of the Pearl" (a) The Text (b) Commentary Serpent, Sea, Egypt The Impure Garment The Letter The Conquering of the Serpent and the Ascent The Heavenly Garment; the Image The Transcende