Valentinian Ethics and Paraenetic Discourse
Determining the Social Function of Moral Exhortation in Valentinian Christianity
by Philip L. Tite
The Father
Valentinus and his followers believed that God, the supreme Father is "uncontained, incomprehensible and cannot be seen or heard" (Against Heresies 1:2:5). Therefore he defies accurate description. He is infinite, without beginning or end and is the ultimate origin of all things. He encompasses all things without being encompassed (Ep5:3, Gospel of Truth 18:34, Valentinian Exposition 22:27-28, Against Heresies 2:2:2). Everything including the world lies within the Father and continues to be part of him. God manifests himself through a process of self-unfolding in the subsequent multiplicity of being while maintaining his unity.
All Valentinians agree that God incorporates both masculine and feminine characteristics. This is in opposition to traditional Jewish and orthodox Christian descriptions of God in exclusively masculine terms. According to most sources, the Father (or Parent)can be understood as a male-female dyad. This is related to the notion that God provides the universe with both form and substance.
The aspect through which the Father provides the universe with substance can be understood as feminine. In this aspect he is called Silence, Grace and Thought. Silence is God's primordial state of tranquillity (Valentinian Exposition 22:24) and self-awareness (Excerpts of Theodotus 7:1). She is the active creative Thought that makes all subsequent states of being (or "Aeons") substantial.
The masculine aspect of God which gives the universe form is called by the names Ineffable, Depth and First Father. Depth is the profoundly incomprehensible, all-encompassing aspect of the deity. According to some sources, he is essentially passive. Only when moved to action by his feminine Thought, does he gives the universe form. (cf. Epiphanius Panarion 5:3)
The anonymous author summarized by Hippolytus and the author of the Tripartite Tractate emphasize the unity of the Father. They point out that these two aspects of the deity are not truly separate entities. They exist as simultaneous states of being within the Godhead (cf. Refutation of Heresies 30:8). They are like two sides of a coin or like water and wetness. They are inseparable and one cannot be understood without the other. For this reason these two authors describe God in more strongly unitary terms.
The Son
The origin of the universe is described as a process of emanation of subsequent states of being from the Godhead. According to the sources, in the beginning, there was nothing at all created and the Father rested in himself as an inert unitary being (Refutation of Heresies 29:5, Against Heresies 1:1:1, Authoritative Teaching 25:27-34). The universe existed only as a potential, not in actuality. As one source puts it, "the self-begotten contained in himself everything, which was in him in unawareness" (Panarion 5:3 cf. also Valentinian Exposition 22:27-28, Tripartite Tractate 60:1-34).
The creative process entails self-limitation on the part of the Godhead. In order that subsequent states of being (Aeons) remain separate from him, the Father created a boundary or Limit (Against Heresies 1:2:1, Valentinian Exposition 27:36-37). It is the power of Limit which "consolidates the All and keeps it outside of the Ineffable Greatness" (Against Heresies 1:2:2). The Limit, also called the Cross, has two functions. It separates the spiritual world (or "Fullness") from the Father and provides these things with strength (Against Heresies 1:2:1).
This accomplished, the Father then was able to manifest himself in a comprehensible form through a process of emanation. Theodotus describes this process in the following words, "Through his own Thought as the one who knew himself, he (the Father) brought forth the spirit of knowledge, which is in knowledge, the Only-Begotten (Son)" (Excerpts of Theodotus 7:1).
This offspring is the "Only Begotten Son". Like God, the Son is also androgynous and generally understood as a male-female dyad. The masculine aspect or Aeon of the Son is referred to as Only-Begotten, Mind and Father of All. His feminine aspect is called Truth and Mother of All. They represent how truth can only be comprehended by the truly conscious mind. The Son is the Beginning of all things that follow (cf. John 1:1). The Father and the Son, are sometimes referred to as the original Four since they both can be understood as dyads (i.e. Depth, Silence, Mind and Truth).
The Son (i.e. Mind and Truth) is the comprehensible image of the incomprehensible aspects of God (Against Heresies 1:12:1, Tripartite Tractate 66:13-15). It is only through his mediation that we can know the supreme deity, since "He who came forth from knowledge, that is, from the Father's thought became himself knowledge, that is, the Son, because 'through the Son the Father is known'" (Excerpts of Theodotus 7:1 cf. Matt 11:27)
The relationship between the Father and the Son can be compared to the relationship between the human mind and the unconscious. It must be noted that the Son is encompassed or lies within the Father.
The Aeons
Inspired by the Father, the androgynous Son then began a process of making manifest the energies immanent within his personality. To this end, he emanated four more Aeons (i.e. two more male-female pairs). The first pair consisted of Word (male) and Life (female). They were generated in the image of Depth and Silence (Valentinian Exposition 29:25-37) and represent how true life originates from the divine utterance. The second pair consisted of Humanity (male) and Church (female). They were created in the image of Mind and Truth (Valentinian Exposition 29:25-37) and represent the natural state of humanity conjoined to the church.
According to Ptolemy and Theodotus, these four aspects of the Son's personality are referred to explicitly in the prologue to the fourth Gospel. Where John says, "The Word existed in the Beginning" (John 1:1), they claimed he was referring to Mind and Truth. He refers to the pair Word and Life when he says, "What was made had Life in union with the Word" (John 1:4). When John says, "Life was the light of human beings" (John 1:4), they claimed that he was referring to Humanity and the Church (Against Heresies 1:8:5, Excerpts of Theodotus 6:1-3).
The original Four and these four secondary Aeons are sometimes collectively referred to as the "original Eight". The Eight are the "root and substance of all things" (Against Heresies 1:1:1). All other things have their origins from them. The nature and function of these Aeons can be compared with the role of the sefiroth in Jewish Kabalism. The Eight are complete in themselves - a fullness within the Fullness.
The first movements of life within the hidden recesses of deity give birth to the Son who manifests himself as the ideal forms of all rational life- Mind, Truth, Word, Life, Humanity, Church. These must first exist in God and evolve in the divine self-consciousness as the essential and primary functions in the inner life of deity. They are also the patterns or models of life in this world.
Subsequently, eighteen less important Aeons were brought forth, ten from Word and Life and twelve from Humanity and Church. They represent an further unfolding and manifestation of characteristics immanent within the Son.
The ten Aeons Word and Life brought forth were in honour of Depth and Silence (Panarion 5:9, Refutation of Heresies 30:1, Valentinian Exposition 30:16-19). Their names are:
male female
Deep------------Mingling
Unaging---------Union
Self-Begotten----Pleasure
Immovable-------Mixture
Only-Begotten*--Blessed(Unity)
* not to be confused with Only-Begotten Mind!
The ten Aeons represent cosmological principals which are necessary as a basis of ethical life. Note the linking of male terms denoting stability with female terms relating to sexuality. This joining together of complementary qualities represents the ideal state of being.
The twelve Aeons generated by Humanity and Church were in honour of Mind and Truth (Refutation of Heresies 30:1). Their names are given as:
male female
Consoler---------Faith
Paternal---------Hope
Maternal---------Love
Ever-flowing-----Understanding
Ecclesiastical---Blessedness
The Ordained-----Wisdom(Sophia)
The Twelve represent the qualities of the perfected humanity which Christianity is destined to produce.
Altogether there are thirty Aeons or divine attributes divided into three groups: Eight, Ten and Twelve. They represent the manifestation or unfolding of different aspects of the Son's nature. This process of self-unfolding of the divine Fullness can be compared to the growth of a tree from a seed (Refutation of Heresies 8:2-5, Against Heresies 2:17:6, Tripartite Tractate 60:31-32) or to the sending forth of rays of light from the sun. (Against Heresies 2:13:5, 2:17:7). Valentinians conceived of the universe in terms of a series of concentric spheres. Just as the Son lies enclosed within the Father, the Fullness of Aeons is enclosed within the Son.
Thus, even in the multiplicity of Aeons, the unity of the Godhead is maintained. As one ancient writer says, "All are formed of the same substance with the Father, differing from one another in size and not in nature, and filling up the Greatness of the Father, even as the fingers complete the hand." (Against Heresies 2:17:6). They remain one while manifesting themselves as a plurality.
In the Gospel of Truth, the Son is described as the Name of God. This theme is developed further by Marcus who identifies the thirty Aeons as the letters that make up the Name. Individually they are incomplete but together they constitute the complete Name (Marcus Against Heresies 1:14:1). Similarly, the Aeons only together constitute the complete Fullness of the Godhead (i.e. the Son).
According to Marcus, each of the thirty Aeons contain further Aeons and each of these further Aeons contain further Aeons to form an inifinite number of Aeons. To illustrate this he makes use of the metaphor of the Aeons as letters of the Name. The Name consists of "thirty letters, while each of these letters, again, contains other letters in itself, by means of which the name of the letter is expressed. And thus, again, others are named by other letters, and others still by others, so that the multitude of letters swells out into infinitude" (Against Heresies 1:14:2). Using the Greek letter delta as an example, it can be written by means of five letters (d, e, l, t, a). Each of these letters is expressed by further letters, to infinity. The Fullness of Aeons corresponds to the Platonic world of ideas.
This spiritual realm represents a Christian ideal and furnishes a model for the life of this world. The Eight represent the great conceptions which underlie all rational life. The Ten represent the stability and unity of the Godhead. The Twelve represent the virtues produced by the perfected humanity through union with the Church. The life of each of the Aeons is perfected only through membership in the Fullness as a whole. At this point, the 26 Aeons produced by the Son are psychologically distinct entities. They represent unintegrated elements of the Son's personality.
The Myth of the Fall of Wisdom (Sophia) & The Aeons Seek to Know the Father
The Son alone had perfect knowledge of the supreme Father (cf.. John 1:18, Matthew 11:27). To all of the other Aeons he remained invisible and inconceivable. (Against Heresies 1:2:1, 1:14:1, Valentinian Exposition 24:25-39, Gospel of Truth 22:27-29, Excerpts of Theodotus 7:1). Saint Paul refers to this when he discusses "the mystery hidden from the ages (Aeons) in God" (Ephesians 3:9, cf.. also Romans 16:25, Colossians 1:26). This situation is a natural consequence of the process of self-limitation by which the Aeons were produced. They could not continue to exist otherwise (Tripartite Tractate 64:28-37). The Aeons can only know God through the mediation of the Son.
All of the Aeons longed to know the one from whom they came forth. Valentinus describes this in the Gospel of Truth, "The All went about searching for the one from whom they had come forth, and the All was inside of him, the incomprehensible, inconceivable one who is superior to every thought." (Gospel of Truth 17:4-9)
According to Valentinus, the search of the Aeons for the Father led inevitably to disaster. According to him, "ignorance of the Father caused agitation and fear. And the agitation grew dense like a fog, so that no one could see. Thus error found strength...Without having learned to know the truth, she took up residence in a modeled form (a material body), preparing by means of the power, in beauty, a substitute for the truth" (Gospel of Truth 17:10-13). This "substitute for the truth" is the material universe and human beings are the Aeons who have fallen into error and taken up residence in a "modelled form" (i.e. a human body).
The Fall of Wisdom
Valentinians made use of the myth of Wisdom (Sophia) as a metaphor to describe the this fall into error. According to this myth, the longing to know the Father passed to Wisdom, the youngest of the Twelve. On behalf of the whole Fullness, she took up the quest to know the supreme Parent. However, she attempted to know God without the mediation of the Son , something that is impossible. As a result of this defective way of thinking, she became separated from her consort and fell into a state of error and suffering (Against Heresies 1:2:2-3, Excerpts of Theodotus 31:3, Tripartite Tractate 75:17-77:37). The separation of Eve from Adam in the book of Genesis (Genesis 2:21-22) is interpreted by Valentinian teachers as an allegorical representation of Wisdom's separation from her consort (Excerpts of Theodotus 21:1, Gospel of Philip 68:22-25 70:9f, Interpretation of Knowledge 11:17f)
Wisdom's defective Thinking is described as an abortion which she produced because "she wished to be like the Father" (Refutation of Heresies 30:6). In attempting to know the Father, she was, in a way, trying to bring him forth. However, all she brought forth was the defective Thinking which is described as an "abortion". (Against Heresies 1:2:1). In her ignorance, Wisdom suffered grief, fear and confusion.
In her distress, she repented and began to plead for help. The other Aeons were also distressed and joined her petition (Against Heresies 1:2:3, Refutation of Heresies 31:2, Valentinian Exposition 34:25-31). By means of a second boundary or Limit, she was divided into a higher and lower self. Her lower self (the "abortion") along with the suffering were excluded from the Fullness. The higher Wisdom was strengthened and returned to her consort convinced that God is unknowable (Against Heresies 1:2:4, cf.. Refutation of Heresies 31:5)
Wisdom's actions served to externalize and separate the defect inherent in the Fullness. The "abortion" is an expression of the desire shared by all of the Aeons for knowledge of the Parent. The net result of this process is that the lower Wisdom (i.e. the aborted Thinking) was trapped outside the Fullness in a lower realm of ignorance and suffering. This process is in accord with what is ordained by the Father (Tripartite Tractate 76:24-77:1). This the reason Wisdom's consort is called the Ordained.
The Unification of the Aeons
In order that this sort of crisis would never happen again, the Son manifested himself to the other Aeons in the form of Christ (male) and the Holy Spirit (female) (Against Heresies 1:2:5, Refutation of Heresies 31:3). Their activity among the Aeons represents an archetype of the ministry of Jesus and the Spirit to the earthly church.
As Christ, the Son revealed to the other Aeons that the Father is incomprehensible and that the truth can only be known through him (Against Heresies 1:2:5 cf. Matthew 11:27). The Holy Spirit taught them to give thanks and made them all equal (Against Heresies 1:2:5-6 cf. Gospel of Truth 24:9-20). This is baptism in the fullest sense of the word (Tripartite Tractate 126:27-129:34). It applies both to the Aeons and to the human Church, as Valentinus says: "The Father reveals his bosom. Now his bosom is the Holy Spirit. He reveals what is hidden of him - what is hidden of him is his Son (i.e. Christ) - so that through the mercies of the Father the Aeons may know him and cease laboring in search of the Father, resting there in him, knowing that this is the rest" (Gospel of Truth 24:9-20).
All of the Aeons then joined together and became united in the Son who is also called Savior. The Savior is the complete Name that all of the Aeons say together. Recalling the analogy of the individual Aeons to letters that make up a name, only the Savior has the complete Name since he alone derives from all of the Aeons (cf. Gospel of Truth 38:6-41:3). According to Marcus, the image of this is the "Amen" which we all say together when we pray (Against Heresies 1:14:1). The Savior also receives the titles Word, and Christ after his constituent entities (cf. Against Heresies 1:2:6). Saint Paul says, "He is the All" (Colossians 3:11), and "In him the whole Fullness of the Godhead dwells" (Colossians 2:9) since he comes from all of the Aeons.The Son who manifested himself as the wealth and diversity of divine energies is thereby reconstituted and united. All of the various aspects of the Son are integrated into a single personality.
The Savior and is destined to be the male partner or bridegroom (cf. Matthew 9:15) of the fallen Wisdom outside of the Limit (cf. Against Heresies 1:2:6, Refutation of Heresies 32:1-2, Tripartite Tractate 85:15-90:3, Excerpts of Theodotus 23:1) who is the joint product of the disunity of the Aeons. The Savior is associated with a retinue of angels who are the prototypes of the spiritual element present in every Christian (Against Heresies 1:2:6, Excerpts of Theodotus 39-40). Like rays of the sun, they are not distinct or self-sufficient individuals. Rather, they represent the dynamic richness of Jesus.
The Suffering of the Lower Wisdom
As a result of the fall, the lower Wisdom (i.e. the aborted Thinking) was trapped in a lower realm along with the deficiency and suffering. This lower realm or "deficiency" is the physical universe. Just as the Fullness is a product of the Son and lies within him, so also the realm of deficiency is a product of the Fullness and lies within it "as the center within a circle or a stain in a garment" (Against Heresies 2:4:2) The deficiency lies "outside" the Fullness only with regard to knowledge (Against Heresies 2:4:2). Just as the deficiency arose as result of ignorance, it will be dissolved through knowledge.
The fallen Wisdom is sometimes called "Achamoth" from the Hebrew word for wisdom and "Holy Spirit" after the one with Christ. She is the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21:9-10) and the lost sheep of the parable (Matthew 18:11-14). Trapped in a lower realm and ignorant of her true origin, she is the archetype of the individual person.
She continued her futile quest to know God without knowing Christ but she was prevented from ascending to the Fullness by the Limit. As a result of her ignorance, she continued to experience emotional sufferings of grief, fear and confusion. She experienced the world as a place of illusion and she was unable to distinguish reality from her own fantasy. This state of illusion and suffering (i.e. the deficiency) is the essence of the world experienced by all those who are ignorant of God (cf. Gospel of Truth 29:1-7, Against Heresies 2:14:3, Treatise on the Resurrection 48:21-29).
Then Wisdom (Sophia) underwent a conversion and thought about the ones who had given her life. As a result she became cheerful and laughed (Against Heresies 1:4:2). She began to plead with them for assistance (Against Heresies 1:4:5, Refutation of Heresies 32:3). Her conversion and pleading are a state of being intermediate between ignorance and spiritual knowledge. Since they represent the longing for the divine, the pleading and conversion became personified as a figure called the "Craftsman". He represents the defective image that those who are ignorant (but repentant) mistakenly worship as "God".
The Son Descends to Lower Wisdom
In response to Wisdom's pleading, the Savior "emptied himself" (Philippians 2:7) and descended outside the Fullness into the deficiency with his retinue of angels (Excerpts of Theodotus 35:1, Against Heresies 1:4:5). He and Wisdom (Sophia) were joined together as a pair of Aeons. Through knowledge of the eternal realm she was freed of illusion and suffering.
Wisdom (Sophia) rejoiced at the sight of the Savior and his retinue of angels, and brought forth spiritual seeds in their image. These seeds are the spiritual element present in every Christian. For this reason the seeds are referred to as the Church. They are considered to be an image of the pre-existent Church in the Fullness (Against Heresies 1:5:6, Excerpts of Theodotus 40).
The female seeds and the male angels are what is referred to by the statement, "In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27 cf. Excepts of Theodotus 21:1). Just as the Savior is the bridegroom of Wisdom (Sophia), so also the angels will be the bridegrooms of the seeds at the end of time.
Thus three states of being or "substances" came into being from Wisdom (Sophia) as a result of her quest to know God. First the illusion which characterizes mundane existence came from ignorance and suffering. Second came conversion and pleading which represent an intermediate stage between ignorance and knowledge. Last the spiritual seed came from her knowledge.
The myth of Wisdom's suffering and ultimate redemption can be understood as an allegory of the individual person's spiritual development. The search for God through Thinking alone, without knowing Christ leads to suffering and a defective concept of God as an anthropomorphic creator and lawgiver. It is only through the intervention of the Savior, that these false concepts can be left behind and true knowledge can be attained.
The Material Creation
The creation of the material world was necessary in order that the spiritual seeds might go forth in immaturity and be trained here (cf. Against Heresies 1:7:5). Since she could not create this world directly, Wisdom (Sophia) influenced the Craftsman to give material things form. Through him she made "the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:13 cf. Excerpts of Theodotus 47:1-2, Against Heresies 1:5:1). The Craftsman is ignorant of his mother and thinks that he acts alone, but he unconsciously acts as her agent (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:8).
The Craftsman created seven angelic beings or "heavens" and dwells above them. For this reason he is called Seventh. The Craftsman's seven angels represent the seven days of creation in the book of Genesis. The Craftsman's mother Wisdom (Sophia) and the Savior dwell above him in the eighth heaven. These eight heavens are in the image of the Eight Aeons in the Fullness (Against Heresies 1:5:2). Wisdom (Sophia) and the Savior secretly influenced the Craftsman to make the material universe in the image of the things in the Fullness. This is so that Truth might be manifest to those who know to seek it, even in the midst of illusion and deficiency.
Human beings were formed by the Craftsman in the image of the pre-existent Humanity. They consist of a material body, a demonic element, a rational soul and the spiritual seed. The spiritual seed is capable of attaining to knowledge (gnosis) of God through the mediation of Jesus. Each person who receives knowledge destroys a portion of the deficiency and brings the Godhead one step closer to reintegration. The consummation or end of the world will occur when "all that is spiritual has been shaped by knowledge" (Against Heresies 1:6:1).
The spirits then put aside animate souls and with their mother Wisdom (Sophia), they enter the Fullness. Wisdom (Sophia), who is the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-10) is joined to her bridegroom, the Savior. Likewise, the spirits are joined to the angels (Against Heresies 1:7:1, Excerpts of Theodotus 64:1, Valentinian Exposition 39:28-33, Gospel of Philip 81:34-82:25). They all "attain to the vision of the Father and become intellectual Aeons, entering into the intelligible and eternal union in marriage" (Excerpts of Theodotus 64:1). The entire Fullness is the "bridal chamber" for their union (Against Heresies 1:7:1, Excerpts of Theodotus 64:1).
Then the "fire which is hidden in the world will blaze up and ignite and destroy all matter and consume itself at the same time and pass into nothingness" (Against Heresies 1:7:1). The physical world will cease to exist. The deficiency will then have been eliminated and the process of restoration will be complete.
Fragments From Lost Writings of Valentinus
These fragments are selected from: Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (Doubleday, 1987), pp. 223-49.
Fragment 1: Adam's Faculty of Speech
Something like fear overcame the angels in the presence of that modeled form (i.e. Adam) because he uttered things that were superior to what his origins justified, owing to the agent who had invisibly deposited a seed of higher essence and who spoke freely. So too in the races of worldly people, human artifacts become objects of fear for their creators - for example statues and images and everything that is made by human hands as representing a god. For Adam, modeled as representing humanity, made them stand in fear of the preexistant Humanity; for precisely the latter stood in him. And they were stricken with terror and quickly concealed the work.
Fragment 2: From the 'Epistle on Attachments'
"There is only one who is good (Matthew 19:17)!" His free expression is the manifestation of the Son. And through him alone can a heart become pure, when every evil spirit has been expelled from the heart. For the many spirits dwelling in the heart do not allow it to become pure: rather each of them performs its own acts, polluting it in various ways with improper desires. And in my opinion the heart experiences something like what happens in an inn. For the latter is full of holes and dug up and often filled with dung by indecent guests who have no consideration for the place, since it does not belong to them. Just so, a heart too is impure by being the habitation of many demons, until it is cared for. But when the Father, who alone is good, visits the heart, he makes it holy and fills it with light. And so a person who has such a heart is called blessed, for that person will see God (cf. Matthew 5:8).
Fragment 3: From the 'Epistle to Agathopous'
He was continent, enduring all things. (The risen) Jesus digested divinity: he ate and drank in a special way without excreting his solids. He had such a great capacity for continence that the nourishment within him was not corrupted, for he did not experience corruption.
Fragment 4: Annihilation of the Realm of Death
From the beginning you are immortal and children of eternal life. You wished to distribute death amongst yourselves so as to consume it and annihilate it, and so that death might die in and through you. For when you dissolve the world and are not yourselves dissolved, you rule over creation and over the whole of corruption.
Fragment 5: Images and Names
However much a portrait is inferior to an actual face, just so is the world inferior to the living realm (i.e. the Fullness). Now what is the cause of the effectiveness of the portrait? It is the majesty of the face that has furnished to the painter a prototype so that the portrait might be honored by his name. For the form was not reproduced with perfect fidelity, yet the name completed the deficiency in the act of modeling. And so also God invisibly cooperates with what has been modeled (i.e. the material world) to lend it credence.
Fragment 6: From the Sermon 'On Friends'
Many of the things written in publicly available books are found in the writings of God's church. For this shared matter is the utterances that come from the heart, the law that is written in the heart. This is the people of the beloved , which is beloved and which loves him.
Fragment 7: Valentinus' Vision of the Word
I saw a newborn child, and questioned it to find out who it was. And the child answered me saying, "I am the Word"
Summer Harvest: A Psalm By Valentinus
This hymn was written by Valentinus during his time in Rome (139-160AD). In it Valentinus offers a brief summary of his vision of the universe, beginning from below and ending with the Aeons being produced by Depth and Silence in the Fullness. The title of the hymn uses the type of agricultural metaphor typical of Valentinian thought. A commentary by a later Roman Valentinian is appended to the hymn.
In the spirit I see all suspended,
In the spirit I know everything held:
The flesh hanging from the soul
The soul held aloft by the air
The air suspended from the ether
Fruits manifest themselves out of the Depth
A child emerges from the womb
Explanation By a Later Teacher
He means this: "flesh" is matter which is "hanging" from the "soul" of the Craftsman. "The soul held aloft by the air" means the Craftsman held aloft by the Spirit that comes from the Fullness (i.e. Achamoth). And "the air suspended from the ether" means that the exterior Wisdom (Achamoth) is suspended from the inner Limit and the entire Fullness. "Fruits manifest themselves out of the Depth" having become the complete emanation of the Aeons from the Father.
Valentinian Teaching on Sin
Valentinianism is a form of speculative Christian theology which emerged in the middle of the second century. Valentinian teachers make use of metaphorical myths to describe the alienation between human beings and God and how this alienation is overcome through Jesus. These metaphors sometimes seem alien to the modern Christian. Indeed, many have incorrectly assumed that Valentinians are not truly Christian at all. However the Valentinian interpretation of most of the key Christian themes has a sound basis in the New Testament.
A typical example is their understanding of sin. In his detailed work on the role of sin in Valentinian theology Desjardins (1990 , page 131) concluded that "the Valentinian understanding of sin is fundamentally Christian in nature, and that it emerges naturally out of Pauline speculations about sin". Here we will outline the key features of the Valentinian position regarding sin based on the original sources.
The original Greek term for "sin" derives from archery and literally means "missing the mark." According to Valentinian theologians, sin was a natural consequence of ignorance of God. According to the Gospel of Philip, "Lack of acquaintance (i.e. ignorance) is the mother of all evils. Lack of acquaintance will lead to death" (Gospel of Philip 83:30-32) The Gospel of Truth refers to those "those who have committed sin in their error" (Gospel of Truth 32:24-27). Sin is part of ignorance and entails being controlled by passions and evil (Tripartite Tractate 116:34-117:17). According to Herakleon, without the Savior, human beings exist in a sickened state in "ignorance and sins", living under the "law which kills through sins" (Herakleon Fragment 40). He poses the rhetorical question, "How can they come to be in a state of imperishability when they are in ignorance, unbelief and sin?" (Herakleon Fragment 41).
The cause of evil and sin is internal, not external. A number of metaphors derived from the New Testament are used by Valentinians to describe this inner ignorance or "dust". It is a "tare" (Matthew 13:22) and a "seed of the Devil" (Matthew 13:28 cf. Excerpts of Theodotus 53:1). It is "the law which wars against the law of my mind" (Romans 7:23, cf. Excerpts of Theodotus 52:1). Ignorance is described as a demonic element within the person (Hippolytus, Refutation 32:5, 34:1).
For Valentinians, sin includes the desire as well as the action, for "it is always a matter of the will, not the action" (Gospel of Philip 66:29). Ignorance of God expresses itself through sinful thoughts as well as actions. Sinful thoughts are compared to demons who make the heart unclean (Valentinus Fragment 2/H, Gospel of Philip 66:1-4, 65:1-26). According to the Gospel of Philip, ignorance "sinks its roots deep within us, and yields its crops in our hearts; dominates us; we are its slaves; it takes us captive, so that we do the things we do not want and do not do the things we want; and it grows powerful because we have not recognized it. So long as it exists, it is active." ( Gospel of Philip 83:22-29 cf. Romans 7:14)
The role of Jesus is to bring gnosis (knowledge) of the Father and thereby to remove sin. According to Theodotus, when the risen Christ breathed his Spirit into the apostles, "He blew away the dust (=ignorance) like ashes and removed it, but he kindled and made alive the spark" (Excerpts of Theodotus 3:2). The Savior is the one who "takes away the sin of the world" (Herakleon Fragment 10). According to the Interpretation of Knowledge, "when the great Son was sent after his little brothers, he spread abroad the edict of the Father and proclaimed it, opposing all. And he removed the old bond of debt, the one of condemnation. And this is the edict that was: Those who reckoned themselves slaves have become condemned in Adam. They have been brought from death, received forgiveness for their sins and been redeemed." (Interpretation of Knowledge 14:28-38)
Gnosis (knowledge) of the Father removes the power of sin. Those who have gnosis (knowledge) are theoretically free of sin. The Gospel of Philip says "The one who has knowledge is a free person. But the free person does not sin, for the one who sins is a slave of sin " (Gospel of Philip 77:15-18 cf.. John 8:34). Spiritual people by definition do not sin. Through knowledge they die with regard to sin and are raised up again with Christ (Excepts of Theodotus 77:1). Gnosis (knowledge) eliminates their inner demons and gives them a "pure heart" which allows them to lead a sinless existence (Valentinus Fragment 2/H).
In Valentinian theology, matter itself is derived from and in some ways identical with ignorance. Valentinus claimed that the person who received gnosis (knowledge) could purge himself of matter! He describes this process in the Gospel of Truth: "It is within Unity that each one will attain himself; within knowledge (gnosis) he will purify himself from multiplicity into Unity, consuming matter (=ignorance) within himself like a fire and darkness by light, death by life" (Gospel of Truth 25:10-20). The person who has gnosis (knowledge) is thus freed of his sinful material self.
This is why Valentinians claimed that spiritual people are "saved by nature" (Excerpts of Theodotus 55:3, cf.. Ep 7:8, Ireneus Against Heresies 1:6:4, Thessalonians 2:13), and that it is "impossible for them to fall prey to corruption" (Ireneus Against Heresies 1:6:2 cf.. 1 John 3:9). They were said to have the knowledge of God's will that allows them to lead a sinless existence (cf.. Gospel of Truth 22:9-11, Interpretation of Knowledge 9:31-33) and become "illuminators in the midst of mortal men" (Letter of Peter to Philip 137:6-9).
The idea that the redeemed person is theoretically set free from the power of sin is derived from the New Testament, particularly the letters of Saint Paul. In the Epistle to the Romans he says, "Our old sinful self has been put to death with Christ on the cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed" (Romans 5:6). Later in the same letter he says, "You have been set free from sin" (Romans 6:22). Similar ideas occur in the First Epistle of John, "Whoever is a child of God does not continue to sin, for God's very nature is in him" (1 John 3:9)
Even though gnosis (knowledge) makes the person theoretically sinless, Valentinian theologians emphasize that the elect must abstain from sin (e.g. Letter to Flora 33:5:13, Gospel of Philip 66:21-23 ). Therefore, as it says in the Gospel of Philip, "Let each us burrow for the root of evil that is within and root it up from his or her heart. It will be rooted up when it is recognized" (Gospel of Philip 83:18-21). As Theodotus says about the sinful nature, "Be well disposed to it, not nourishing it and strengthening it by the power to commit sin, but putting it to death here and now, and thereby showing it as transitory by our refraining from evil." (Excerpts of Theodotus 52:2).
It was assumed that if a person continued to sin, they had not truly attained gnosis (knowledge). Returning to the key passage in the Gospel of Philip, "The one who has knowledge is a free person. But the free person does not sin, for the one who sins is a slave of sin " (Gospel of Philip 77:15-18 cf.. John 8:34). Salvation is only guaranteed for the truly spiritual i.e. those who do not sin. As is says elsewhere in the Gospel of Philip, "Those who have become free....and then sold themselves back into slavery cannot become free again" (Gospel of Philip 79:14-17)
Again this logic is derived from New Testament sources. For example in the First Epistle of John it says, "Whoever lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him" (1 John 3:6). Similarly in Paul, redemption is contingent on the person remaining free from sin: "Freedom is what we have-Christ has set us free! Stand then as free people and do not allow yourselves to become slaves (i.e. of sin) again" (Galatians 5:1). The notion that the ignorant sinful nature must be put to death occurs frequently in Saint Paul's writings. For example in the Epistle to the Romans it says, "If you live according to your human nature, you are going to die: but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live" (Romans 8:13).
Valentinians never composed ethical treatises in which they outlined legalistic codes of conduct as many of their contemparies did. The philosopher Plotinus critisizes them for this (Enneads II:15). For them, the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount was sufficient (cf. Letter to Flora). The person who had gnosis (knowledge) was expected to act out of love towards others. According to the Gospel of Philip, "Whoever is really free because of knowledge is a slave because of love of those who have not yet been able to attain the freedom of knowledge" (Gospel of Philip 77:26-29). In a similar vein, Ptolemy claimed that the true law of love was fulfilled by the Savior. (Letter to Flora 5:1-3, Matthew 5:17). The person's spiritual nature was to be confessed through loving actions as well as words (Herakleon 50, Secret Book of James 8:10-15). In the Gospel of Truth, Valentinus lists the duties of the elect: "Make firm the foot of those who have stumbled, and stretch out your hand to those who are ill. Feed those who are hungry, and give rest to those who are weary. Raise up those who wish to rise and awaken those who sleep." (Gospel of Truth 32:35-33:9).
Valentinians took sacraments seriously and believed that they played a role in the forgiveness and prevention of sin. According to Valentinian theologians, baptism brought forgiveness of sins (Irenaeus Against Heresies 1:21:2 cf. also On Baptism A) Through baptism the person shares in the resurrection. The old sinful self is put to death and the person is reborn. It is the beginning of the return to the Fullness (On Baptism B). Anointing is the second baptism through which one receives the Holy Spirit. It allows one to overcome the Devil (On the Anointing) and resist sinning in the future.
Valentinian teaching about sin played a role in their conflict with Church Fathers such as Irenaeus. In the view of Valentinian Christians, by imposing a legalistic ethical code based on the Old Testament, soul-identified Christians such as Irenaeus had surrendered their Christian freedom and subjected themselves to the Law. According to Saint Paul, those who were subject to the Law could only be saved by complete obedience to it (i.e. by good deeds). The teacher Ptolemy puts it this way, "Animate persons have been taught animate lessons, being strengthened by works and mere faith and not having perfect acquaintance" (Irenaeus Against Heresies 1:6:2).
In contrast, spiritual Christians were redeemed through unmerited grace (cf. Gospel of Truth 35:25-28). The elect are "spiritual not by behavior but by nature" (Irenaeus Against Heresies 1:6:2) as a consequence of having God's spirit. As we have seen previously, the gnosis (knowledge) granted by the grace of God was expressed through complete abstinence from sin. Valentinians believed that ordinary Christians performed good deeds in order to be saved while they themselves performed good deeds as an expression of their salvation.
In conclusion, Valentinians are closer to the mainstream of Christianity than is often assumed to be the case. The evidence supports the conclusion by Desjardins (1990, page 116) that the Valentinians were "Christians who took sacraments quite seriously, who took to heart Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, and were deeply concerned about not committing sins". It might further be added that there is certainly some truth to their own claims that their theology was derived from Saint Paul.
Bibliography
Dawson, David. 1992. Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in Ancient Alexandria. Berkeley, University of California Press
Desjardins, Michel. 1990. Sin in Valentinianism. Atlanta, Scholars Press
Foerster, Werner. 1972. Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic Texts; vol. 1: Patristic Evidence. Oxford, Clarendon Press
Layton, Bentley. 1987. The Gnostic Scriptures. Garden City, NY, Doubleday
Pagels,Elaine. 1975. The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International
Valentinians and the Bible
Introduction
Like all Christians, Valentinians regarded the Bible as authoritative scripture. They were the first Christians to write extensive commentaries on the Gospels. Their unconventional interpretive methods were frequently criticized by their contemparies. In Egypt, they were among the earliest translators of Biblical texts into Coptic e.g. Papyrus Bodmer III (M. Massaux, 1959, New Testament Studies 5, pp 210-12).
Old Testament
The Old Testament stories were interpreted allegorically. As with other early Christians, the most commonly referenced book was Genesis. The Old Testament Law was divided by Valentinians into:
- true law fulfilled by Christ (e.g. Ten Commandments)
- law meant symbolically
- unjust law abolished by Christ
- human legislation which is not binding
Old Testament books refered to in Valentinian sources include:
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Numbers
- Leviticus
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
- 1 Samuel
- 1 Kings
- Psalms
- Song of Songs
- Proverbs
- Isaiah
- Lamentations
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Hosiah
New Testament
Valentinians claimed to offer a spiritual interpretation of the New Testament. In general, ethical passages such as the Sermon on the Mount were taken literally. Other passages and stories were interpreted allegorically. As Elaine Pagels (1973) shows, individual passages could have up to three layers of allegorical meaning.
Books referred to include:
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Timothy
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 1 John
- Revelation
Noncanonical Works
Like all Christians of the time, Valentinians made some use of some works which were not later incorporated into the official canon of scripture. These include:
- The Apocryphon of James This work describes the final conversation Jesus has with James and Peter before he ascends to heaven. Scholars are sharply divided as to whether this work is Valentinian or Jewish Christian in origin.
- The Gospel of Thomas A collection of sayings of Jesus possibly used by Valentinus, Theodotus, Ptolemy and Herakleon.
- Gospel of the Egyptians This work seems to have been a sayings gospel similar to the Gospel of Thomas. It was used by Egyptian Christians including Valentinians in the second and third century. Apart from a few excepts, this work is now lost.
- Proclamation of Peter This was a pseudonymous Christian apologetic work which was widely circulated in the second century. It was used by Herakleon in his Commentary on the Gospel of John. Much of this work survives.
- The Infancy Gospel of Thomas This is a collection of legends about the childhood of Jesus. It was used by used by Marcus. The work was a favorite of Catholics and survives virtually intact.
References
Elaine Pagels, 1973. The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis: Heracleon's Commentary on John.Nashville and New York: AbingdonPress
Elaine Pagels, 1975. The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International
J.A. Williams. 1988. Biblical Interpretation in the Gnostic Gospel of Truth from Nag Hammadi. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 79. Scholar's Press. Atlanta.
Valentinian Ethics
Because they believed that the teachings of Jesus provided all the moral instruction that was required, Valentinians did not write extensive treatises on ethical matters. They did demand the highest possible ethical standards from their initiates. Gnosis was believed to make it possible to lead a sinless existence. A truly spiritual person was expected not to sin. Sin was considered a sign that the person had not truly reached a spiritual level of development.
Valentinians believed that knowledge (gnosis) of the Truth set them free of unjust laws and petty human rules ( Letter to Flora 4:11-13, 5:4-7 cf. Matthew 15:4-9, Colossians2:22). However, the true law of love was fulfilled by the Savior and served as the guiding principle for members of the school (Letter to Flora 5:1-3, Matthew 5:17). According to the Gospel of Philip, acting in love means that one should never behave in a way intended to cause distress to other people (Gospel of Philip 79:33-80:22). Sometimes evil people will be distressed when we do good but it is not us but their own wickedness which is responsible for their distress (Gospel of Philip 19-20).
The person who had gnosis was believed to have a duty to act in the service of others. According to the Gospel of Philip, "Whoever is really free because of knowledge is a slave because of love of those who have not yet been able to attain the freedom of knowledge" (Gospel of Philip 77:26-29). In the Gospel of Truth, Valentinus lists the duties of the elect: "Make firm the foot of those who have stumbled, and stretch out your hand to those who are ill. Feed those who are hungry, and give rest to those who are weary. Raise up those who wish to rise and awaken those who sleep." (Gospel of Truth 32:35-33:9)
The person's spiritual nature had to be confessed through loving actions as well as words (Herakleon 50, James 2:14-26, Secret Book of James 8:10-15). One's true nature was revealed by the kind of fruit one produces, that is by our actions (Matthew 12:33-37). "Sin" which derives from the Greek word hamartia literally means "missing the mark." When a person sinned, they were producing fruit from their lower carnal nature and revealing that they were still ignorant, having missed the target of spiritual love. Therefore, they believed that they had to resist the lower carnal nature (Gospel of Truth 33:21-23) and the temptation of worldly things in order to focus on what really matters. As Theodotus says of the carnal nature, "Be well disposed to it, not nourishing it and strengthening it by the power to commit sin, but putting it to death here and now, and thereby showing it as transitory by our refraining from evil." (Excerpts of Theodotus 52:2). They believed it was possible to annihilate their ignorant, carnal nature through knowledge (gnosis) in order to become fully spiritual. They felt this was expressed by producing 'spiritual fruit' through their actions.
According to Ptolemy, refraining from sin and acting out of love is the true spiritual fasting (Letter to Flora 5:13 cf Gospel of Thomas 27). An essential part of this "fasting" is to avoid excessive attachment to transitory, worldly things. As Valentinus says, "Be concerned with yourselves, not with other things which you have cast off." (Gospel of Truth 33:11-12) Spiritual matters and love of others must take precedence over material things since "No one can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24).
According to one writer, one should never be jealous of others, because it is precisely in all of their differences that people make up a single body of Christ (Romans 12:4-6, Interpretation of Knowledge 17). They believed that they must be willing to share all that they had with others. As it says in the Gospel of Philip, "Love never calls anything its own. . . it never says, 'This is yours and that is mine,' but rather, 'All are yours.'" (Gospel of Philip 62:4-5)
A consequence of the law of love is non-violence as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-48, Letter to Flora 5:4-7). Valentinians accepted the idea that they must love even their enemies and forgive all who wronged them. When persecuted, they advocated non-violent resistance, as it says in the Authoritative Teaching, "We ignore them when they curse us. When they cast shame in our faces, we look at them and do not speak" Authoritative Teaching 27:10-12 c.f. also Secret Book of James 5:9-29). Valentinian Christians were pacifists who opposed all forms of violence without exception.
Valentinian polemics against the rulers were not simply directed against abstract "spiritual rulers of wickedness" but also against their physical, temporal representatives. Valentinians embraced the notion that a truly spiritual person should not rule over others and that they should not be ruled by others (cf. Apocalypse of Peter 79:28-29, Matthew 20:25-27). All are made equal through the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit just as the Aeons in the Fullness were all made equal and united in the Savior. The Tripartite Tractate contains the following warning, "Those who are proud because of the desire of ambition and who love temporary glory . . . will receive judgement for their ignorance and senselessness" (Tripartite Tractate 120:29-121:6).
Women occupied a prominent position in the Valentinian movement. They are described as "strong by the perception which is in them" (1 Apocalypse of James 38:20-23). In the Gospel of Philip, Mary Magdalene is considered as one of the most important apostles. This is in sharp contrast with the traditional position of orthodox Christians. In the pseudo-Pauline "Pastoral" letters which were rejected by the Valentinians, women are forbidden to teach or even speak in church (1 Timothy 2:11-12).
Unlike regular Christians such as "saint" Augustine, who viewed sex as identical with original sin, followers of the Valentinian tradition held a generally positive view of sexuality. Even the activity of God was seen in sexual and procreative terms. One source even goes so far as to suggest a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene (Gospel of Philip 63:60-64:8)! Human relationships were seen an imperfect image of the divine (Gospel of Philip 82:1-6). According to the teacher Ptolemy, marriage could be a means to a deeper understanding of God (Irenaeus Against Heresies 1:6:4). On the other hand, Theodotus sees a more practical purpose to marriage. In his writings, he says that marriage and child-bearing are essential so that those with the spiritual seed can be born (Excerpts of Theodotus 67:2-3). Many Valentinians also practised celibacy. Whether marriage was appropriate or not was left to individual choice.
In conclusion, it must be said that Valentinians took Christian freedom very seriously. They rejected any tendency to diminish individual moral autonomy. Unlike ordinary Christians, they resisted writing ethical treatises which set out lists of "do's" and "don'ts". Instead, they believed that they should "Look to God" (Enneads II:15). This same spirit is present in the Gospel of Mary where Christ says, "Do not lay down any rules beyond what I have appointed for you. And do not give a law like a lawgiver lest you be constrained by it" (Gospel of Mary 8:22-9:4).
Joined To An Angel
The earliest Christians to teach about guardian angels were the second century AD mystic Valentinus and his followers. The Valentinians, as they came to be called, believed that guardian angels played an essential role in the salvation of the individual. In their literature, angels are almost invariably depicted as male while the individual person's spirit or "seed" was depicted as feminine. The person who attained to a mystical experience of the divine (gnosis) was said to have become joined to their angel in the "bridal chamber".
In order to fully understand their teaching about angels, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of their teaching about the fall. For them, the significant event in the fall was not the eating of the apple but the separation of the male from the female (Genesis 2:21-23). This event was taken to signify the alienation between humanity and the divine. Our inner spiritual "seed" is thought of as female. It originates from God and has a male counterpart or angel in the heavenly world or Fullness (pleroma). In the fall, our spirit became separated from its angel. This separation is said to lead to our mortality and our expulsion from paradise into the illusory world of matter.
Valentinians believe that Christ came "to give life unto those who had died by separation and join them together (i.e. with their angel)" (Gospel of Philip 70:15-18). The angels were said to accompany him when he descended into this world. One important teacher says, "He went forth outside the Limit (of the heavenly realm) and, being an angel of the Fullness, he brought with him the angels of the superior seed. And since he had proceeded from the Fullness, he himself had the redemption, but he brought the angels with him for the correction of the seed ." (Excerpts of Theodotus 35:1-2) These are the angels who heralded the birth of Jesus (cf. Luke 2:6-14).
The angels are said to share in the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17 pars). The teacher Theodus claims that "In the beginning the angels were baptized through the redemption of the name which came down upon Jesus in the dove and redeemed him"(Excerpts of Theodotus 22:6). He claimed that they are baptized for human beings "in order that we too, possessing the name, may not be held back and prevented by the Limit and the Cross from entering the Fullness" (Excerpts of Theodotus 22:4).
The angels are said to take an active role in the salvation of the individual. According to Theodotus, "They entreat and supplicate for us as if for a part of them, and, being restrained for our sake in their haste to enter (the heavenly world), they plead for forgiveness for us, in order that we may enter in with them. For they virtually have need of us that they may enter, since without us it is not permitted to them." (Excerpts of Theodotus 35:3-4). Similarly Herakleon says, "The Savior who is also the Son of Man, harvests and sends as reapers the angels . . . each for his own soul."(Herakleon Fragment 35)
Through mystical experience or gnosis, "we are raised equal to angels, restored to the males, member to member, to form a unity" (Excerpts of Theodotus 22:2). One is said to be joined to an angel just as a bride is joined to her bridegroom so that "once they unite with one another, they become a single life" (Exegesis on the Soul 132: 34-35 cf. Genesis 2:24). This is regarded as the restoration of the original condition before the fall.
Valentinus describes it this way, "The Father is within them and they are within the Father, being perfect, being undivided in the truly good one, being in no way deficient in anything, but they are refreshed in the Spirit" (Gospel of Truth 42:27-33). Joining with one's angel was said to allow the person to lead a sinless existence (Gospel of Philip 65:23-26).
Such mystical experiences could occur either in private or at Valentinian meetings. Valentinians believed it was possible to receive one's angel through imposition of hands by a person already joined to their own angel. In the prayer that accompanied the imposition of hands the elect declared, "Allow the seed of light to take up its abode in your bridal chamber. Receive your bridegroom from me and take him into you, and be take by him." (Irenaeus Against Heresies 1:13:3) They believed that the person received or became possessed by the light (Gospel of Philip 86:4-6), that is, their bridegroom angel.
Valentinian were the first Christians to teach about guardian angels. They believed that they were destined to be joined to an angel in a kind of celestial marriage of the human with the divine. One could receive an angel either through mystical experience (gnosis) or by imposition of hands by a person who was already joined to an angel.
