The Gnostic Religion The Message of the Alien

The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity

Hans Jonas (1903-1993) was a distinguished philosopher specializing in political science, theology, and bioethics. His published works include The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God & the Beginning of Christianity; The Phenomenon of Life: Toward a Philosophical Biology; and The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of Ethics for the Technological Age.

Preface to the Third Edition

xiii

Note on the Occasion of the Third Printing (1970)

xxx

Preface to the Second Edition

xxvi

Preface to the First Edition

xxxi

Abbreviations

xxxiii

Introduction: East and West in Hellenism

3

(26)

The Part of the West

4

(7)

Greek Culture on the Eve of Alexander's Conquests

5

(1)

Cosmopolitanism and the New Greek Colonization

6

(1)

The Hellenization of the East

7

(2)

Later Hellenism: The Change from Secular to Religious Culture

9

(1)

The Four Stages of Greek Culture

10

(1)

The Part of the East

11

(18)

The East on the Eve of Alexander's Conquests

13

(4)

The East Under Hellenism

17

(6)

The Re-emergence of the East

23

(6)

Part I. Gnostic Literature---Main Tenets, Symbolic Language

29

(72)

The Meaning of Gnosis and the Extent of the Gnostic Movement

31

(17)

Spiritual Climate of the Era

31

(1)

The Name ``Gnosticism''

32

(1)

The Origin of Gnosticism

33

(1)

The Nature of Gnostic ``Knowledge''

34

(3)

Survey of Sources

37

(5)

Secondary or Indirect Sources

37

(2)

Primary or Direct Sources

39

(3)

Abstract of Main Gnostic Tenets

42

(6)

Theology

42

(1)

Cosmology

43

(1)

Anthropology

44

(1)

Eschatology

44

(2)

Morality

46

(2)

Gnostic Imagery and Symbolic Language

48

(53)

The ``Alien''

49

(2)

``Beyond,'' ``Without,'' ``This World,'' and ``The Other World''

51

(1)

Worlds and Aeons

51

(4)

The Cosmic Habitation and the Stranger's Sojourn

55

(3)

``Light'' and ``Darknes,'' ``Life'' and ``Death''

58

``Mixture,'' ``Dispersal,'' the ``One,'' and the ``Many''

57

(5)

``Fall,'' ``Sinking,'' ``Capture''

62

(3)

Forlornness, Dread, Homesickness

65

(3)

Numbness, Sleep, Intoxication

68

(5)

The Noise of the World

73

(1)

The ``Call from Without''

74

(1)

The ``Alien Man''

75

(5)

The Content of the Call

80

(6)

The Response to the Call

86

(5)

Gnostic Allegory

91

(10)

Eve and the Serpent

92

(2)

Cain and the Creator

94

(2)

Prometheus and Zeus

96

(1)

Glossary of Mandaean Terms

97

(4)

Part II. Gnostic Systems of Thought

101

(138)

Simon Magus

103

(9)

The ``Hymn of the Pearl''

112

(18)

The Text

113

(3)

Commentary

116

(14)

Serpent, Sea, Egypt

116

(2)

The Impure Garment

118

(1)

The Letter

119

(1)

The Conquering of the Serpent and the Ascent

120

(2)

The Heavenly Garment; the Image

122

(1)

The Transcendental Self

123

(2)

The Pearl

125

(5)

The Angels That Made the World. The Gospel of Marcion

130

(17)

The Angels That Made the World

132

(5)

The Gospel of Marcion

137

(10)

Marcion's Unique Position in Gnostic Thought

137

(2)

Redemption According to Marcion

139

(2)

The Two Gods

141

(2)

``Grace Freely Given''

143

(1)

Marcion's Ascetic Morality

144

(1)

Marcion and Scripture

145

(2)

The Poimandres of Hermes Trismegistus

147

(27)

The Text

148

(5)

Commentary

153

(21)

The Origin of the Divine Man

154

(2)

The Descent of Man; the Planetary Soul

156

(5)

The Union of Man with Nature; the Narcissus Motif

161

(4)

The Ascent of the Soul

165

(4)

The First Beginnings

169

(5)

The Valentinian Speculation

174

(32)

The Speculative Principle of Valentinianism

174

(5)

The System

179

(27)

Development of the Pleroma

179

(2)

The Crisis in the Pleroma

181

(2)

Consequences of the Crisis. Function of the Limit

183

(1)

Restoration of the Pleroma

184

(1)

Events Outside the Pleroma

185

(2)

Sufferings of the Lower Sophia

187

(1)

Origination of Matter

188

(1)

Derivation of the Single Elements

189

(1)

Demiurge and Creation of the World

190

(4)

Salvation

194

(3)

The Position of Fire Among the Elements

197

(2)

The System of the Apocryphon of John

199

(7)

Creation, World History, and Salvation According to Mani

206

(33)

Mani's Method; His Vocation

206

(3)

The System

209

(27)

The Primal Principles

210

(3)

The Attack of the Darkness

213

(2)

The Pacifism of the World of Light

215

(1)

The First Creation: Primal Man

216

(2)

The Defeat of Primal Man

218

(1)

The Sacrifice and Adulteration of the Soul

219

(2)

The Second Creation: The Living Spirit; Liberation of Primal Man

221

(3)

Creation of the Macrocosmos

224

(1)

The Third Creation: The Messenger

225

(1)

Origin of Plants and Animals

225

(1)

Creation of Adam and Eve

226

(2)

Mission of the Luminous Jesus; the Jesus Patibilis

228

(3)

Practical Conclusions; Mani's Ascetic Morality

231

(2)

The Doctrine of the Last Things

233

(3)

Recapitulation: Two Types of Dualism in Gnostic Speculation

236

(3)

Part III. Gnosticism and the Classical Mind

239

(103)

The Cosmos in Greek and Gnostic Evaluation

241

(25)

The Idea of ``Cosmos'' and Man's Place in It

241

(13)

The Greek Position

241

(6)

Cosmos-Piety as a Position of Retreat

247

(3)

The Gnostic Revaluation

250

(3)

The Greek Reaction

253

(1)

Destiny and the Stars

254

(12)

Forms of Sidereal Piety in the Ancient World

255

(5)

The Gnostic Revaluation

260

(2)

The Greek Reaction; the Brotherhood of Man and Stars

262

(2)

The Acosmic Brotherhood of Salvation

264

(2)

Virtue and the Soul in Greek and Gnostic Teaching

266

(24)

The Idea of Virtue: Its Absence in Gnosticism

266

(4)

Gnostic Morality

270

(11)

Nihilism and Libertinism

270

(4)

Asceticism, Self-Abnegation, the New ``Virtue''

274

(3)

Arete and the Christian ``Virtues''

277

(1)

Virtue in Philo Judaeus

278

(3)

Gnostic Psychology

281

(7)

The Demonological Interpretation of Inwardness

281

(2)

The Soul as Female

283

(1)

Ecstatic Illumination

284

(4)

Conclusion: The Unknown God

288

(2)

Supplements to the Second Edition

The Recent Discoveries in the Field of Gnosticism

290

(30)

Addendum to Chapter 12

319

(1)

Epilogue: Gnosticism, Nihilism and Existentialism

320

(22)

Corrections and Additions

341

(1)

Bibliography

342

(9)

Selected Supplementary Bibliography

351

(5)

Index to Proper Names

356

(3)

Acknowledgments

359

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The Gnostic Religion The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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