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Topic: Sophia (gnosticism)

	The Gnosis Archive: Resources on Gnosticism and Gnostic Tradition
		Visit the Gnostic Society Library, a comprehensive library of Gnostic scriptures -- including the Nag Hammadi Library -- as well as a large selection of writings and documents relating to the study of Gnosticism.
		It is the preeminent “Gnostic Gospel”, a sacred reservoir for the defining essence of Gnostic myth and revelation.
		This is the quintessential introduction to Gnostics, Gnosis and Gnosticism.
	gnosis.org (2014 words)

	Overview of Gnosticism (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		Gnosticism usually refers to an esoteric cult of divine knowledge (a synthesis of Christianity, Judaism, Greek philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the mystery cults of the Mediterranean), which flourished during the 2nd and 3rd centuries and was a rival to, and influence on, early Christianity.
		Many Gnostics scriptures and other works were written, but until the late 19th and the 20th centuries, none of them were available, except in isolated quotations in the writings of their opponents.
		The origins of Gnosticism are a subject of dispute amongst scholars: some think Gnosticism is fundamentally pagan in origin, but has adopted a Christian veneer; others trace its origin to Judaism; yet others think it derives from Jesus, and is a development of his teaching at least as valid as the orthodox one.
	www.sullivan-county.com /id2/gnosticism.htm (3101 words)

	Gnosticism [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		The error of Sophia, which is usually identified as a reckless desire to know the transcendent God, leads to the hypostatization of her desire in the form of a semi-divine and essentially ignorant creature known as the Demiurge (Greek: dêmiourgos, "craftsman"), or Ialdabaoth, who is responsible for the formation of the material cosmos.
		The Gnostics, in their reading of Scripture, acknowledged no such debt; for they believed that the Hebrew Bible was the written revelation of an inferior creator god (dêmiourgos), filled with lies intended to cloud the minds and judgment of the spiritual human beings (pneumatikoi) whom this Demiurge was intent on enslaving in his material cosmos.
		The Gnostic Idea or Notion was not informed by a philosophical world-view or procedure; rather, the Gnostic vision of the world was based upon the intuition of a radical and seemingly irreparable rupture between the realm of experience (pathos) and the realm of true Being, i.e., existence in its positive, creative, or authentic aspect.
	www.utm.edu /research/iep/g/gnostic.htm (8278 words)

	The Gnostic Account of the Fall and Creation
		But Gnostic, Manichaean, and Lurianic (Kabbalistic) Cosmologies differ from conventional religious Cosmology in that they holds that the Fall actually proceeded creation, and indeed was the very cause of it.
		In Gnosticism then, the Cosmos is thus seen as the result of a primordial error or accident; the only true existence being the Pleroma or transcendent order of Divinities.
		Metaphysically what this means is that, for the Gnostics, the Cosmos is not the result of a supreme God, as is taught by monotheism, but rather the creation of the very lowest and most minor of the emanated divinities, and even then an accidental creation at that.
	www.kheper.net /topics/Gnosticism/fall.html (1443 words)

	Gnosticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Gnostic myth recounts that Sophia (Greek, literally meaning "wisdom"), the Demiurge's mother and a partial aspect of the divine Pleroma or "Fullness", desired to create something apart from the divine totality, and without the receipt of divine assent.
		The Gnostic myths describing these events are full of intricate nuances portraying the declination of aspects of the divine into human form; this process occurs through the agency of the Demiurge who, having stolen a portion of power from his mother, sets about a work of creation in unconscious imitation of the superior Pleromatic realm.
		Gnosticism holds that the world is controlled by evil archons, one of whom is the demiurge, the deity of the Old Testament who holds the human spirit captive.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Gnosticism (8213 words)

	Ecclesia Gnostica in Nova Albion: Gnosticism 101
		Gnosticism's adherents were first ostracized, then persecuted, then slaughtered.
		Sophia is as close as a Gnostic comes to ascribing a human personality to God.
		While neo-valentinian gnosticism seems to be the choice for many today, this may only be the case because it is the easiest form to reconcile with their former Roman Catholic beliefs and its rites.
	egina.blogspot.com /2004/12/gnosticism-101.html (1774 words)

	Gnosticism [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
		The error of Sophia, which is usually identified as a reckless desire to know the transcendent God, leads to the hypostatization of her desire in the form of a semi-divine and essentially ignorant creature known as the Demiurge (Greek: dêmiourgos, "craftsman"), or Ialdabaoth, who is responsible for the formation of the material cosmos.
		The Gnostics, in their reading of Scripture, acknowledged no such debt; for they believed that the Hebrew Bible was the written revelation of an inferior creator god (dêmiourgos), filled with lies intended to cloud the minds and judgment of the spiritual human beings (pneumatikoi) whom this Demiurge was intent on enslaving in his material cosmos.
		The Gnostic Idea or Notion was not informed by a philosophical world-view or procedure; rather, the Gnostic vision of the world was based upon the intuition of a radical and seemingly irreparable rupture between the realm of experience (pathos) and the realm of true Being, i.e., existence in its positive, creative, or authentic aspect.
	www.iep.utm.edu /g/gnostic.htm (8278 words)

	The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ® / The Role of the Sacred Feminine in the Gnostic Pantheon
		In many Gnostic texts, she clearly is deluded, and in need of redemption; in others, like this one, she is sometimes spoken of as "male," who, in restoring herself to the world of the aeons, redeems humankind.
		Because the principal concerns of Gnosticism were the question evil and suffering in the world, and their preoccupation with Genesis and origins, some interpret the main intention of the Gnostic Sophia myths to provide a more metaphorical or esoteric explanation of the Genesis text.
		Gnostics were familiar with the occult practices of the day related to sound, numbers and letters, and some of the vocalizations they used were undoubtedly derived from ancient sources, or taken from other mystery cults of antiquity.
	www.hermeticgoldendawn.org /Documents/Essays/Feminine.htm (5309 words)

	The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ® / The Role of the Sacred Feminine in the Gnostic Pantheon
		In many Gnostic texts, she clearly is deluded, and in need of redemption; in others, like this one, she is sometimes spoken of as "male," who, in restoring herself to the world of the aeons, redeems humankind.
		Because the principal concerns of Gnosticism were the question evil and suffering in the world, and their preoccupation with Genesis and origins, some interpret the main intention of the Gnostic Sophia myths to provide a more metaphorical or esoteric explanation of the Genesis text.
		Gnostics were familiar with the occult practices of the day related to sound, numbers and letters, and some of the vocalizations they used were undoubtedly derived from ancient sources, or taken from other mystery cults of antiquity.
	essenes.net /sacredf.html (5260 words)

	Sophia Summary
		SOPHIA is a Greek word that means "wisdom." In the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament), the name Sophia is given as a translation of Ḥokhmah (also meaning "wisdom"), the name of a figure with feminine features.
		There is thus a sense in which sophia encompasses both the necessary truths that follow from demonstrations (the domain of epistēmē) and the necessary truths that are the first principles of the demonstrative sciences (the domain of nous).
		Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, granddaughter of Sophia of Hanover: daughter of Sophia Dorothea of Celle
	www.bookrags.com /Sophia (1913 words)

	CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Gnosticism
		Gnostics were "people who knew", and their knowledge at once constituted them a superior class of beings, whose present and future status was essentially different from that of those who, for whatever reason, did not know.
		According to these ideas, matter is the fruit of the sin of Sophia; this, however, was but a Valentinian development; in the older speculations the existence of matter is tacitly presupposed as eternal with the Pleroma, and through her sin Sophia falls from the realm of light into Chaos or realm of darkness.
		It is the merit of recent scholarship to have proved that Gnostic eschatology, consisting in the soul's struggle with hostile archons in its attempt to reach the Pleroma, is simply the soul's ascent, in Babylonian astrology, through the realms of the seven planets to Anu.
	www.newadvent.org /cathen/06592a.htm (11068 words)

	Definition of Gnosticism
		The Gnostics, it is true, borrowed their terminology almost entirely from existing religions, but they only used it to illustrate their great idea of the essential evil of this present existence and the duty to escape it by the help of magic spells and a superhuman Saviour.
		The Gnostics seem also to have used oil sacramentally for the healing of the sick, and even the dead were anointed by them to be rendered safe and invisible in their transit through the realms of the archons.
		Gnosticism deserves attention as showing what mention dispositions Christianity found in existence, what obstacles it had to overcome to maintain its own life; but "means of mental progress it never was".
	www.ourladyswarriors.org /dissent/defgnost.htm (10687 words)

	MetaHistory - Approaching Gnosticism
		Approaching Gnosticism is rather like entering a sharp curve on a mountain road: you’re wary of the manoeuvre, but intrigued by the promise of a spectacular sight around the bend.
		Gnostic studies are so completely bogged down in specialist debate on obscure issues that no one pays attention to the unique and alarming message contained in Gnostic texts.
		Gnostics were telestai, initiates in the Mystery Schools who broke their vows of anonymity to come out in the open and protest Judeo-Christian doctrines of Salvationism — doctrines that provide the ideological frame for the patriarchal/dominator agenda.
	www.metahistory.org /ApproachingGnosticism.php (3915 words)

	[No title]
		SOPHIA By Terry J. McCombs NAME: SOPHIA which is the Greek version of Her name, other names and titles are Hohkma (Hebrew), Sapienta (Latin), Mother-Of-All (Gnostic), Holy Spirit (very early Christians), Wisdom (what the other names mean).
		Gnostics And Sophia Gnosticism (Gnost = knowledge) was one of the very earlyist forms of Christianity being some what older then what became the Roman Catholic Church, and one of it's chief rivals during the first part of the first millennium.
		And that she }Sophia{ was God's mother, "the great revered Virgin in whom the Father was concealed from the begining before He had created anything.Sophia gave birth to a male spirit, Christ, (who only much later came to earth in human form) and a female spirit Achamoth (who later came to earth as Mary Magdalene).
	www.ladyoftheearth.com /goddesses/sophia.txt (2081 words)

	Articles
		The greatest shrine to the Divine Sophia was built in Constantinople during the sixth century.
		Today, the Haghia Sophia is a very popular tourist attraction in Turkey and is the fourth largest basilica in the world: #1 St. Peters in Rome, #2 Duomo in Milan, #3 St Pauls in London, and #4 Haghia Sophia.
		He is the Bishop of the Gnostic Church —The Ecclesia Gnostica and the main lecturer of the Gnostic Society.
	members.tripod.com /~Royce3/Writers/Jeff_Love/Articles/articles_2.html (1216 words)

	The Gnostic Christ: Gnosticism vs. Christianity
		Because of the extensive variety of Gnostic and gnosticizing groups, it is necessary to provide a basic definition of Gnostic religion.
		Redemption in Gnosticism is not legal, ethical, or apocalyptic, as it appears variously in Judaism and Christianity.
		To the Gnostics, being awakened from their sleep and perceiving the knowledge, “gnosis,” of their beginnings and destiny was “redeeming” for them.
	www.geocities.com /Athens/Crete/6111/pneumatikos/gnostic.htm (2580 words)

	The Myth of Sophia
		Her brothers and sisters were all in a state because Sophia needed to be in her spot in the corner of the universe to keep the balance.
		Sophia saw this being and she was taken aback because she did not anticipate that this would happen and as she looked at him, this being called Ialdabaoth.
		As Sophia looked at him, Ialdabaoth looked at her, caught a glimpse of her and when he looked at her, he did not want to see her because he did not want to know that he came from anybody because he was jealous of Sophia.
	home.pon.net /craigmorse/Sophia-Story-line.htm (2081 words)

	Gnosticism
		This text, which was found in Ethiopia in the 19th century, was the first complete Gnostic text to be translated in the modern era.
		Gnostic John the Baptizer Selections from the Mandæan John-Book, G.R.S. Mead trans.
		These are fragmentary non-canonical Gospels which show Gnostic influence.
	sacred-texts.com /gno (224 words)

	Gnostic Society Library: Sources on Gnosticism and Gnosis
		The Gnostic Society Library contains a vast collection of primary documents relating to the Gnostic tradition as well as a selection of in-depth audio lectures and brief archive notes designed to orient study of the documents, their sources, and the religious tradition they represent.
		This immensely important discovery includes a large number of primary Gnostic scriptures -- texts once thought to have been entirely destroyed during the early Christian struggle to define "orthodoxy" -- scriptures such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Truth.
		Until students began uncovering original documents and re-examining Gnosticism, opinion about the tradition was primarily based on the very negatively biased Polemical Works Against the Gnostics by the Church Fathers.
	www.gnosis.org /library.html (1241 words)

	Divine Wisdom-Gnostic Metaphysics
		The primary concepts of gnosticism were originally contained, either as full blown myths or interpretation in Mandean doctrine.
		Creation, the sacred principle of most major religions, is, in gnosticism, evil, debased, either a reflection or sham of the true Light and Life from "without." Hence, the creator or creators, whether they are the twelve evil angels of Simon Magus or the great Self-willed of Pistis Sophia, are evil entities.
		Thus the lamentations of Pistis Sophia are meant as mankind's own lamentations, and her salvation through Christ meant as a lesson in the salvation of mankind.
	www.suite101.com /article.cfm/censorship_books/57409 (459 words)

	MetaHistory - Metahistory: Lexicon
		It is also basic to the Gnostic and Pagan spirituality of Europe, a vast body of ethnic traditions that were exterminated with the rise of Judeo-Christian-Islamic religion.
		The "deficiency" (Greek kenoma) of the Goddess Sophia was a handicap due to her separation from the Pleroma, the galactic core, but it was also the occasion for coevolution between Sophia and humanity.
		Gnosticism was a religious path of experimentation based on directives for coevolution, rather than on dogmas or doctrinal propositions.
	www.metahistory.org /lexicon_E.php (2728 words)

	Spirituality & Religion: TempleOfSophia Group on Care2 Connect
		Sophia The Fallen Goddess The Exegesis on the Soul http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/exe.html
		This immensely important discovery includes a large number of primary Gnostic scriptures -- texts once thought to have been entirely destroyed during the early Christian struggle to define "orthodoxy" -- scriptures such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Truth.
		The texts discovered at Nag Hammadi available in the Gnostic Society Library are indexed in alphabetical order, and by their location in the original codices.
	www.care2.com /c2c/group/TempleOfSophia (554 words)

	The Gnostic Jesus
		This refinement is fully reflected in the “scholarly ear” of both the spiritual tradition that is preserved in these Gnostic Coptic texts and the ancient forgotten tongue.
		Of all the newly discovered Gnostic texts, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is appraised by many to be one of the most extraordinary and delightful.
		Included here is a timeline of Christianity and Gnosticism, an analysis of the influence of Pythagoreanism on Gnosticism, an essay on Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and information on the heresiologists and their works that ensured that Gnosticism was not a tolerated religion in the ancient world.
	www.gnostic-jesus.com (1521 words)

	Sophia Links 2
		Sophia is not an abstraction; She is a real personage in the Bible, Co-Creator of the Cosmos; and Christ is Wisdom incarnate.
		"Sophia bridges the gap between feminist spirituality's need for transforming images and the demand of the biblical traditions that such images be congruent with their history and experience.
		The Astral Light is the Middle Heaven of the Gnostics, in which is Sophia Achamoth, the mother of the seven builders or Spirits of the Earth, which are not necessarily good, and among which the Gnostics placed Jehovah, whom they called Ialdabaoth.
	www.cosmicwind.net /800/Cmwl/Links/SophiaLinks2.html (6374 words)

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