What is Gnosticism?

How much do you know about Gnosticism? This question is a little more difficult than what it first appears. While many would say Gnosticism goes back to the beginning of the current era (first century), its roots probably go back much further. There are different groups of Gnostics, each of which contain diverse subgroups.

I first became interested in Gnosticism when I learned its basic definition as “inner knowing”. As I strove to better understand its foundations, I found great diversity of tradition and belief. Some may be aware that in the early days of Christianity, the Council of Nicea excluded and even destroyed many of the early Christian Gnostic ideas and texts.

Carl Jung was one of the modern students of the Gnostics with the finding of the Nag Hammadi texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls. His studies along with modern scholars such as Elaine Pagels and Karen King have brought this early development of Christianity back into focus.

For those who would like to learn more, I recommend Stephan Hoeller’s Gnosticism, New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing, as well as Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Paul, Beyond Belief and Reading Judas, The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity written with Karen King.

Here is my personal list of books on Gnosticism:
Hoeller, Stephan A. Carl Jung and the Lost Gospels, Insights into The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library. Illinois: Quest Books, 1990.
Hoeller, Stephan A. Gnosticism, New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing. Illinois: Quest Books, 2002.
Meyer, Marvin W. The Secret Teachings of Jesus, Four Gnostic Gospels. New York: Vintage Books, 1986.
Meyer, Marvin W. The Gospel of Thomas, The Hidden Sayings of Jesus. New York: Harper, 1986.
Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Paul. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1992.
Pagels, Elaine. Beyond Belief, The Secret Gospel of Thomas. New York: Random House, 2003.
Pagels, Elaine and Karen L. King. Reading Judas, The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity. New York: Viking, 2007.
Patterson, Stephen J., Robinson, James M., and Hans-Gebhard Bethge. The Fifth Gospel, The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998.
Randolph, Kurt. Gnosis, The Nature and History of Gnosticism. California: Harper and Row Publishing, 1987.
Robinson, James M. general editor. The Nag Hammadi Library in English. California: Harper, 1988.

Carl Jung and his Secret Book (The Red Book)

Recently, friends of mine from Texas sent an article from the New York Times on an as yet unpublished book by Carl Jung and his personal quest for spirituality.

Many know Carl Jung is one of the fathers of modern psychology, taking Sigmund Freud’s ideas beyond sex and early development into spiritual enlightenment. Dr. Jung was a student of the early Gnostics and proponent of spirituality outside of organized religion.

But what less than a handful of people knew, was that Jung had written and illustrated a significant work of his own spiritual search. Secreted in a European bank vault for over 20 years, few have actually seen the book; the NYTimes article quotes the few who have.

I have great expectations of this rediscovered work and will report back as soon as I have had a chance to read it. The book is expected to be out in early winter from W. W. Norton. Here are some of the details:

“The Red Book” by Carl G. Jung

Hardcover - 416 pages - $195 (on sale at Amazon for $105.30 - 12/4/2009)

ISBN - 9780393065671

Link to the NYTimes article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimesscience

The web site for norton the publisher of the Red Book is www.wwnorton.com