Gnosticism in the Modern West
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Episode 108
Marxism is not a philosophy. Neither are its derivatives, like "Wokeness" (Woke Marxism). These are a strain within a broader category of cult religious movements that pose as economics, sociology, and politics. The broad name for these Esoteric cult religions is "Gnosticism," but that's a confusing label for a number of reasons. The first of these reasons is that "gnosticism" as a term, either as a descriptive or proper noun, means several things at once, which requires clarification. Another is that as economic, social, and political movements, they don't look at all like the pre-modern spiritualist and mystical movements that go by those names. In this groundbreaking episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay clarifies the term "gnosticism" and unmasks what amounts to a huge "New Age" movement in the Middle Ages as the source of a thread of Gnostic cult belief that has shaped every facet of the West for at least the last three hundred years. He also explains how the shift from the Middle Ages to the Modern period included a shift in the Gnostic project, out of overt spiritualism and into exactly those society-building realms of economics, sociology, and politics. Join him to gain a completely new understanding of these dangerous movements and how they're relevant to our lives today.
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As a linguist, I appreciate the attention you give to etymology. It's a pure delight, honestly.
Agreed. You can't understand any of this without a long tour through etymology. You can't really read the Bible without a deep dive into etymology. As you know, most people have no idea what they're really trying to describe or "believe".
I'm no linguist, but I still whole heartedly agree with you. Damn near no one knows what the hell that means.
People who don’t know the difference between entomology and etymology bug me in ways that I can’t put into words🎉
@@seansilva967 Haha!!
We take it seriously, James. You're treading well, and we're here with you.
One of top videos yet
Thanks for work.
This one is right up there with the 4 hr Hegel podcast.
I had the same thought.
That one made my head hurt.
That one is why I found this one. 😁
oh my dear Lord, i could only digest that one in 20min increments, having a then 8yo son i just pulled out of public school, prior to enrolling him in a Classical Christian Academy... 😮😊
Where is that at?
"You *are* in a prison when you have adopted the gnostic mindset, but the prison is the gnostic mindset." That's a very snappy way to put it good sir.
But maybe they were right. Ever thought about that? There's a reason the Shawshank Redemption is the most popular movie ever made.
As long as widespread violence, coercion, and duress (government/authority) exists on this planet, it is a prison. When those things go away for good and mankind wises up and truly evolves, that is the day it will cease being so. What I love so much about the Ancient Gnostics is that they were hardcore realists. They simply pointed out the obvious. Admitting you're in a cage is the first step toward finding a way out.
@@freethinker79 Lol. According to you they are realist, but they use prison analogy to explain their life existence. True realist are the stoics. You are here to participate in the world. Not to escape it. Gnostics is wanabe realist. Stoics are the real realist.
@@faithhopecharity2843 The prison analogy is 100% accurate for the reasons I listed. Classical Stoicism is pretty good stuff. Neo-Stoicism, meh, not so much. That said, neither directly address theodicy, and that's a major problem. When it comes to theodicy, credit where credit is due, no one addressed it as well as the Ancient Gnostics. "The world is alright in appearance, but dreadful in reality." --Arthur Schopenhauer
@@faithhopecharity2843 Our personal awakening, correction, and restoration is also Hers (Earth/The Universe). Its a symbiotic relationship. That is what is meant by "escape." As Miguel Conner brilliantly stated: "The awakening of any individual is a cosmic rebellion."
Thanks Dr. Lindsay. When I first heard from you the connection to Gnosticism, everything clicked into place for me, as a linguistic and religious scholar. I just submitted 8 pages of research notes explaining how feminism and the conception of gender is inherently gnostic in conception, and the origins of first wave feminism actually came from these spiritual mediums (they were mediums or consulted spirits). I quoted the 7th rule of the Kybalian, the theory of gender which is exactly what you said!
*Edit: Fixed the rule number
Also, really great conversation in the responses on sources to follow up with. One thing to add is that in the study of theology, there has been a shift to what is now the "modern" study of theology and social sciences. They have a different definition for the word "objective" when it comes to studying something objectively which switched from distancing oneself from the subject of study to: "A preoccupation with drawing near to the object of investigation in its transcendence beyond any one perspective." (Cannon on 6 Ways of Being Religious) Key word, transcendence. Odd switch, don't you think? And they switched out the word "God" for "Ultimate Reality" or "Ultimate Concern"
Why would they destroy mothering of Infants and Children? I’m a Peds Doctor and I’m in horror by what these people have done to Mothering.
@@drtinahahn accounts of the Cathars tell of women being derided by their peers and ostracized for becoming mothers. Then there were those who would deny their own children sustenance, in order that their innocent souls would not be weighed down by the material of this world and thus prevented from returning to the spirit world.
Read a bunch about Alchemy, Hermeticism and Gnostics long ago, and when Lindsay got in his current groove, it totally clicked. Ideology against the material world. Religious bitterness.
The Yazidi kurds are classic ascetic Gnostics that are still in and around Turkey.
Presuppositional apologists have successfully tracked the progress of the mystery schools already, and get called wacky conspiracy theorists for talking about it. This is pretty much a satanic group that has existed for as long as recorded history that are completely dedicated to the establishment of satan's kingdom on earth with the same dedication. Dialectics is simply one of this groups tools for achieving their aims by indirect means. Their attempts at this dont always work as history stands testament to, because God either thwarts the effort (tower of Babel, confusing of languages) or the empire being used as a vessel collapses. Satan uses man to establish his kingdom, while man thinks he is establishing his own utopia, which actually always turns out to be a reflection of himself in his fallen state.
@@praetoriandorn3154 Give out some names of these apologists.
Tower of Babel is one of the most white-pilling symbols. It's more like you can't build it alone, and when you're half-way done, you notice your accomplices are talking about different things with the same names... dazzled by the potential power and stumbling into each other's egos.
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Woah what's up with the views? You should have more than this
It’s probably being massively suppressed. It’s gotten worse in the last few months I think.
Hi James, try looking up the Esoterica channel of Justin Sledge, I believe he gives a lot of details about various esoteric beliefs.
I also mainly hold Dr. Michael Heiser's explanation on Gnosticism, he has a lecture here on TH-cam. He also uses the Stephan Hoeller book on it.
James, do you think your crusade can retain dignified good faith without embracing the ethos of the Christians who find provocation in your scattershot broadbrushing? Maccavile is giggling at your aimless targeting of the plebeans et al, for attempting to "know" without paying ungodly dues to the Ivory towered echo chambers.
Carl Jung was Dulles' agent 488, and poorly edified fishing expeditions after gnostics were anticipated well before the dead sea scrolls were cooked up and published in perfect stride with founding of the C.I.A. Albert Pike's foretold crusades against anti-baptism anti-sufferage anti-social contract has been fausterd and curated for a very long time. Gnosticism is a house of mirrors instilled via decades of film. If you've entered the cave of a movie theater, you've pre-tended your membership fees, and have been initiated longer that you like to admit.
It would be gratifying to see you address the decades of replication crisis with such verve. The death throws of regulatory captured Science are alarming when you admit it's mortality. No amount of Sanitizer will wash the blood of weaponized Scientism off our hands.
New Discourses have you heard of Michael Sugrue?
Interesting that Ficino was involved in the attempt to reconcile Catholicism with Eastern Orthodox Christianity before the fall of Constantinople (for which he was alive). The reason it is interesting is that Orthodox Christianity has a far more Neo-Platonist bent than the more Aristotelian West. This made the ideas of Hermeticism feel way less out of place in Constantinople than they did in Rome. However, when you try to blend the Eastern, more Neo-Platonist strands of Christianity with the Western, more Aristotelian ones, you get the weird phenomena of the Occult-filled courts of the HRE, witchcraft and the obsession with witchcraft and eventually Christian-Kabbalah, Rosicrucians, Hegel and so on...
"Gnostics could be here..." he thought. "I've never been in this neighborhood before. There could be Gnostics anywhere." The cool wind felt good against his bare chest. "I HATE GNOSTICS." He shouts.
I like you.
James, I think you've actually done a great job of explaining this in the various lectures and podcasts. I totally understand why it's so difficult, it's so weird and esoteric, but I think you really nailed it amd created a good model for how to look at it.
I love these gnosticism and hermeticism videos!
Do not miss this. His best episode yet. BASED.
Gnosticism reminds me of "Arrival", where the circular language of visiting aliens is supposed to imbue the protagonist with future-vision. It's all based on the swindle of special knowledge that the protagonist gets to know, but nobody else gets to know, because they don't "have what it takes".
Soo … kind of like a Crypto- bro?😂
That is what the term 'Gnosticism' literally means, being derived from Greek, 'gnosis' meaning 'knowledge,' or 'understanding.' It divides the world into the 'anointed' (as Thomas Sowell calls the progressives) and the 'mud people' who don't really deserve to be called people at all - like the non-player characters in a game.
That's life. Some people are more capable than others. Hearing about Gnostic Christianity in passing from someone is very a very different than Gnostic Christianity finding you. It finds those who cared enough to seek.
Wow.very insightful actually 👍
@@ryucartel351wu hu....if its pronoun is it then maybe not and anything thats excludes shepherds on hills is not 'it'
Here's my thought on how to start calling out gnosticism in the public sphere in a way that everyone will instantly understand. We use a story that describes the gnostic/hermetic tactics that everyone already knows from childhood - 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. The tailors in this story are gnostic con men. Just like the tailors sold clothing made of magic invistible cloth that cannot be seen by fools (only the enlightened with new consciousness can see it), so the new gnosticism of Woke has sold the invisible clothes of transgenderism, critical race theory, queerness and climate catastrophe to the emperors of academia, politics, business and the church who are now all parading around naked declaring themselves to be gloriously and righteously attired. The adoring and supporting crowd, not wishing to be thought of as fools, are cheering them on. So we little children who cannot see their clothes should be declaring them to be naked. Maybe "OK Emperor (you're naked)" can be the new refrain alongside "OK Groomer".
Have found myself posting “the emperor has no clothes” many times in the last few years but l like the way you presented aspects of the story in light of exposing gnosticism👍
I don't think this story goes far enough. What is the GOAL of woke / Neo-Marxist cultists? It's usually to start a movement that forces the rest of the people to jump onto the bandwagon. So, instead of one Emperor it's more like the Nobility, fearing the power and will of the people to call them out on their BS, don the invisible clothing and try to then convince the *lower class* (their slaves) to rise up against the *middle class* instead of *them.* The snowball effect really gets going though, when grassroots movements *begin* from the slave class themselves, popping up at random and further validating the initial lie. The Nobility then rejoice as the phenomenon they had created to validate and protect themselves starts to organically spawn new offshoots of the same basic structure.
How would that translate into a story? The Emperor is the puppet of the Nobility. The nobles change their clothes first, claiming the Emperor started it first. It's not the merchants doing this, unless the merchant is a noble. Then the lower class are either forced or convinced to do it, as both the lower and upper classes are in a precarious position of high risk. Once it catches on organically, the lower class invent their own fashion flourishes even though it's all the same thing in disguise. The middle class suffers and the nobility further ensures their positions in high society, claiming to be the same as and feel for the plight of the slaves who, unwittingly, do their bidding.
I feel like an idiot but maybe that too is too close to making a statement about our current reality and how it supposedly works, so the Emperor as an archetype is perhaps a better vehicle for the story. 🤔
For some reason that was famous story in the 1960's. 😮
Came here after watching your 3-ish hour video on the Queer Gnostic Cult. Kudos to you James on forging ahead into this nebulous quagmire of meaning and life's purpose. I'm inspired. I'll do what I can to correct your misunderstandings and walk you through the implications of certain things so that you can put the mysteries in order and communicate them to the masses.
Appreciate your work, Dr. I'm reading through Gottesman's book that you spoke about in an earlier podcast, and his open Marxism is rather shocking.
I'm using your work to try to showcase the madness to a lefty friend of mine. He's begrudgingly accepted that Queer Theory is terrible, though he gas a long way to go.
Quite ironic that a marxist atheist is named "Gottesman", which is German for "God's man" or "man of god".
You should do more talks with jay dyer about this and absolute divine simplicity.
Double nerd power hour.
I second this, another talk with Jay would be tight
I absolutely disagree. Dyer is a very muddled thinker and frequently makes errors. He also slurs his speech and doesnt define his terms in the talks I have listened too..a raconteur not a scholar.
Why would you want to hear someone whom you've already heard? So they can reaffirm what you already believe?
Please no… I would rather be a brain washed communist than listen to the structure of orthodox Christianity.
@@jeremyjames1659 so they bounce ideas off one another perhaps
I am struck by the similarities between this notion of Gnosticism, and the story behind the “Matrix” movie. Life there was indeed a prison, and Neo was offered special knowledge (the “red pill”) to see his imprisonment.
the thing is, matrix is based on jean baudrillarde's book called simulacra and simulation where he introduced the concept of "hyperreality". The book is featured in the first movie because wachowskis wanted to make science fiction movie based on the book. baudrillarde himself denounced matrix saying the wachowski's didnt understand his book at all, so i guess they misinterpreted it to be about gnosticism. the two brothers are now both sisters and are open marxists by the way.
@@sanghelian It's almost like it's predictable. I think he is correct that The Matrix is a fundamental misunderstanding of his book. But that is because it's ideas have been incorporated into the gnostic cult and are being applied to warp perception of reality in an attempt to change it.
A few movies have a Gnostic vibe. Tron 2 where CLU is an anagram for a fallen angel. The Matrix series is very Gnostic as is the Little Buddha where references to Mara being called Architect etc etc.
Between 59:00 to 1:00:00 James is talking about this orgiastic thing. That nude/half nude dance scene in Matrix Reloaded. I haven't watched those films in a while, but that dance scene is probably the same thing James is talking about. Maybe.
@@sanghelian Bro.... that's a theory book. How the FUCK do you adapt a theoretical book?
I think I latched on to a more romanticized idea of gnosticism due to feeling trapped in the prison of my body by medical conditions mostly as an answer to Christianity's claim that an all loving, all good, god has a reason for my and all others' misery. That requires more faith to believe than atheism. Thank you for explaining the toxic side of this theosophy.
Can I ask how old you were when you latched on to the ideas and are you a woman?
Does anyone else think James is getting close to blowing the lid off this shit?
That's what I'm hoping. My hatred of this malevolent hydra runs deep and it has for many years, so I'm glad to see it getting the dissection it deserves.
Yes. It's been the elephant in the room, and everyone (blind folded) has had their impressions of a part of it.
No, he doesn’t know what he is talking about with this stuff, imo.
@@paulatreides9895 What do you think he gets wrong?
@@paulatreides9895so your voting for then old time religion?
The eerie thing about both gnosticism and hermeticism is I can't find any books by critics or debunkers of them. This is weird because our modern universty has become a mass production line for "Critical Theorists" (self-styled). Now I probably haven't been trying very hard because I bet there are a host of Christian critics. But somehow, I feel there should also be books authored by people looking at the influence of these ideas outside religion.
Which books can people recommend me?, which :
- are critical of gnosticism and/or hermeticism
- examine the influence of gnosticism and/or hermeticism in modern ideas/movements
Very good point about this
Any chance that if I claim "gnosticism and/or hermeticism cause climate change" that one, or a thousand, of you lefty critical theorists will write a book in it?
Perhaps books about the Albigensian and similar 'crusades' will provide the critiques ....along with some unpleasant history. Manicheism also has much written about it and Arianism
The gaps are the information! In as much as indoctrination cannot cope with humour or close analysis. So it's always been "cancelled "
My method is to just read a sample of that crap with a highlighter pen, laborious, counterintuitive, but its more of an education in the end.
I stumbled on the technique when a friend was in the Sai Baba cult and she had a book "Sai Baba and the Psychiatrist" (written by a fawning psychiatrist) l just went thru it with her, mind numbingly slowly para by para line by line, and she snapped out of it. (Plus a 5 mins video of how a stage magician would do apports, nothing else)
It's paradoxical, we think we should read a whole body of work, but our skim and scan culture means we don't drill deep enough to see the simple and often hokey foundations.
When l was briefly looking into the I ching, (it's elegantly simple visually) a long time ago, again l drilled down so fast into binary maths and the Daoist philosophy and ancient Chinese pictograms, l shot out of the other side at lightning speed.
Consequently when satanists at a weekly pagan moot in a bar tried to recruit me over a few months and talked about Crowley and Nei Dan and Tao, l could see right away he'd just dabbled, (again) and also bent it to his bent preoccupations.
Put any random text under your mental microscope, l promise you, and you will produce the work that fills that gap, and then you'll have to old skool pass it around samizdat fashion haha
A good starting point to find critiques of Gnosticism comes from the church fathers, notably Augustine as he himself was a Manichaeist before his conversion. Granted, these arguments counter primarily the claims of Christian Gnosticism which purport to draw their conclusions from the teachings of Christ. I would say that you are unlikely to find solid critiques of Gnosticism from atheistic philosophy because I find any argument that claims truth as having any value without an appeal to an omnipotent creator to not be very compelling and gnostics deny the existence of truth
Surely I can't be the only one that would love to see you, Mr James Lindsay, and John Vervaeke have a dialog about gnosticism
I haven’t yet heard Lindsay talk about a pure consciousness event, aka neural hemispheric frequency alignment. I don’t think he understands how central this phenomenon is to gnostic thought. But Vervaeke surely would.
This brings so so many pieces of the puzzle together. Thanks for stepping into this. It has clarified lingering questions I've had for the last several decades.
At the 47ish minute mark James makes the connection from gnosticism to marxism, and the clarity caused me to give an audible "wow" with my mouth dropped. I wonder if that was the same reveal that caused charlie kirk to react in a similar way, per James's description.
But Marx and his followers are materialist atheists
So this is saying that… Marx recognized the marketing value of Gnosticism, which he presumably knew through Hegel, and built in… religious ideas into his concepts?
Or is this saying that they just happen to share these similarities, or similarity, more aptly
Is there any factual connection between the two aside from the alleged viral nature of thirst for forbidden knowledge? Is it just Hegel?
Thanks, anyone who answers, this video is incredibly long and I don’t really care to have it in my algorithm, based on the parts I listened to
@@cbutcher66 Maybe Marx had an entirely different conception of "materialist" ?
@@cbutcher66 if Marx was aware of these old ideas, he may have incorporated them into his atheist "dialectical" materialism. I think this is the idea being put forth here: the ideas don't actually require any belief in God or a serpent, particularly if you replace these ideas with other ideas (man and consciousness).
One of my favorites so far. It is bringing together so many deep currents into one.
It feels like secular Gnosticism to me. The demiurge is in people instead of gods.
The demiurge would be an abstract Notion of "The System", perhaps.
@@enzocompanbadillo5365 Right. People as in systems built of people instead of transcending people.
The demiurge is just a convoluted way of saying the creator God, the one in the bible, the one that led the Israelites out of Egypt. Because they put good for evil and evil for good. Plus they're having temper tantrums like a child cause they have to work.
Professor Olavo de Carvalho has been saying it's Gnosticism since the early 90s. One big problem our side have is that the vast majority of Olavo's work isn't translated into English.
James, you remind me of him A LOT. Keep up the good work. I'm a teacher on the Philosophy and Political Theory area for devade, and also had been for years Olavo's student. I think I can help you if you need.
I’m not the brightest bulb so I really appreciate you breaking these topics down. I always end up learning a few new words and come away from each video with a better understanding of the topic👍
Thanks for the incredible presentation. It really feels fuzzy and sparkling. True spirit. I really don't know what to suggest for our community, regarding all the doubts about the future. Though, I somewhat have a feeling that J. K Rowling made a good start. It's called "defence against dark arts".
I’ve been wanting to do some deep dives in to Hermeticism for weeks and this is the perfect jumping off point! I’d love for you to do a whole series just breaking these two branches down, and also I would absolutely love a podcast on Rosseau and the French Revolution!
I have some phenomenal resources to share, if interested. Understanding "communism" is a great place to start. I began examining communism years ago, and it eventually led me straight to Hermeticism/natural law, learning how this knowledge has been hidden and utilized as a psychological weapon against humanity. What we don't know can be used against us.
Sorry, there can be no Hermeticism or Gnosis without initiation (or baptism) by the Spirit (Divine Light-Energy). Initiation is the first stage of Hermeticism, Gnosis (higher knowledge)is the second, Spirit-reception and union is the third, and attainment of the "Philosopher's Stone" in the Holy Grail (the Sacred, Mystical "Heart-cave") is the fourth.
@@l.rongardner2150 It happens all on it's own, and you find your way to where you were always supposed to be😁
Rousseau the philosopher of the French Revolution
@@ryucartel351 I started to look into nation soc and it lead me here
Just finished the 3rd listening. Have now copied the transcript to edit down to manageable bits - like excluding the reading from Fogelin for example. A lot of this is due gold as a hypothesis for understanding Hegel and Marx and woke marxism etc.
I am pleased some of this has found resonance with Jordan Peterson's observations. Peterson is the "John the Baptist" in this saga.
Gnostic definitions:
1. Relying upon gnosis to understand the world.
2. A secret and/or spiritual knowledge that grants you a disposition or understanding that life/the world is a prison and that it can be escaped.
3. A parasitic cult movement that attaches to other religions or systems of thinking.
4. The resultant cult of the parasitic movement that grows from the religion it parasitized (Gnostic Christianity, for example).
I've been opposing the belief that the saved go to Heaven for decades...many Christians unknowingly believe in this gnostic interpretation of being saved. I am an outsider therefore as a Christian, but my belief in Christ is strong despite that. This position is such a shock to their system, its no wonder they are quick to reject the idea the going to Heaven is a false promise.
@@amberslahlize7961 Sounds like you’re the gnostic here. Everyone has misinterpreted the kingdom of heaven all this time, except you?
@@CHURCHISAWESUM Heaven is not the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven is New Jerusalem, which comes from God out of Heaven, and descends on Earth.
The "H" isn't capitalized in "the kingdom of heaven", so we know it's not Heaven, it's a first clue that God has a different plan in mind for us than the one that tradition has taught us.
And what I say is not gnosis, you can kind it for yourself in Scripture, Revelation tells you about the promise of God bringing Paradise on Earth.
If this was secret knowledge, it would not be in Scripture - God doesn't withhold secrets from us, that was the lie that beguiled Eve.
Scripture also says many are called but few are chosen...many have been beguiled to believe God doesn't care to restore His own creation, and yet Revelation promises us new bodies, a new earth, and new heaven.
If we were meant for Heaven, Adam and Eve would have been made there, and we would have been born with wings.
God made us stewards of the Earth (This is a royal calling) as God is our King and Heavenly Father, and God gave us to control, to subdue and to have dominion over all the Earth. This is clearly our home.
But you wont see that, so long as you believe in gnosticism, that is, you have to be friends with death in order to be set free from the sinful prison (That is your bodies).
Which is contrary to Scripture because Jesus defeats deaths in the end.
So are you friends with Jesus, or death?
In the end, God comes to us, to live with us, where as with gnosis, you have to believe that we go to God instead, and this is common among all religions, except for what Scripture teaches us, is completely opposite of that.
And yeah, there is always a remnant for God, but God's mercy is great, He will not cast His children into the lake of fire.
So even if you don't inherent New Jerusalem and reign with Christ, you are still counted in His flock.
God's mercy is so great, His promises are so much more beautiful and wholesome without gnosticism being interpreted into His promises.
@@amberslahlize7961by what measure do you claim your interpretation of scripture to be true? Sola Scriptura as a practice has always led individuals to conclude that their interpretation is actually the will of God with no justification beyond “it’s what scripture says”. Do I take your word for it or the word of the baptists, the Methodists, or the Lutherans? I suppose I wouldn’t know unless the Spirit compelled me to assume a certain position and if that didn’t happen I would be reprobate and have no hope regardless. Your claim that the vast majority of Christianity is the *real gnosticism* seems prima facie to uphold gnostic tendencies to assume the possession of unique knowledge
@@Turtletanks "by what measure do you claim your interpretation of scripture to be true?"
Easy, Scripture is self-evident, I don't force it to say anything that it doesn't.
Thus closes your entire argument.
People who say "It's what Scripture says" don't actually read it, they interpret it.
Always remember, that there is always a remnant for God, Scripture also says many are called but few are chosen.
Salvation doesn't mean you are shielded from false beliefs like gnostcism, it just means that you are saved. Period.
God's mercy is great, and His name is greatly to be praised.
Gnosticism is popular (even in the church) because we are all the seed of Eve, who was beguiled by the serpent who asked "Did God say?".
This is the foundation of gnosticism, but there are many tells of the gnostic belief which many do not know (especially those in the church because they have such a narrow view of it).
So in truth, what I know is not actually unique, I just listened to someone who gave the broader definition, who explained it in great detail. YOU and everyone who listens to him should have the ability to see how this all applies to the church now, instead of making excuses to keep your eyes closed.
When the Lord comes knocking, we do not answer.
As an older man who has always been intellectually curious, I've run into gnostisism throughout my entire life. Never was drawn into it enough to do serious study. It never seemed to be all that serious, a bit wonky. Thanks for bringing me up to speed.
Tears almost came out of my eyes with your closing James, thank you🙌
1:26:15 James's theory that Marx plagiarized the Corpus Hermeticum for the 1844 Manuscripts.
The linguistic gymnastics of these people is astonishing.
All of this just makes a lot of sense, and it made me understand a lot of things I have been struggling with for years. Great food for thought! Please keep shooting, machine-gun-Lindsay!
How can I help? I have some ideas on how we can alert this nation and try to make changes before it's too late. Where are you located?
David Bromberg wrote a satirical song called Bull Frog Blues, a talking blues, where he sings/says the line “The Prophet by Kahlil Gilbran, with all the significant passages underlined - every word in the book is underlined”
Hegel called Jacob Boehme "the first German philosopher." In Hegel's day "Wissenschaft" ("science" or scholarship) was inclusive of Theology.
Listening to your podcast has become a profound intellectual and spiritual experience for me. Indeed, the most important untold story of our civilisation.
James, you've become one of my favorite people. Your last appearance on Timcast a few months ago blew me away. What you're explaining to people is so important! Cheers!
Don't worry, James. You're explaining it well. Problem is that when you (plural) try to describe something that isn't necessarily strict, logical and consistent the explanation will be confusing. Heck most people can't wrap their heads around just the Hegel-Marx-neo Marxist-postmodern Woke trail through time.
I really think it's useful to think of this as simply a disposition of attitude towards life. So well done!
A trail that stretches through literal milleniums
@mayanboricua shhhh , its a secret 😅
Basically, theyre distracting us with stupid arguments while they build their robot army
They understand the laws of nature and reality in ways that the rest of us don't, allowing them to manipulate what they like, and it's barely noticeable to most people. Most people.
@@ryucartel351 They actually don't. They're just adepts in manipulating the psychology of those who are too naive to recognize that's what they're doing. They actually lack the wisdom they claim to have, or they wouldn't find themselves inflicting on others the same abuse, pain and violation of free will that they use to excuse their hatred of "Yaldabaoth".
@@LiveAndLetLive2024exactly
He breaks this down perfectly what it took me reading the entire Secret Teachings of All Ages and The Secret Doctrine to understand.
@fluffybunniesandkittens8818 The focus is on God (godS, rather), because they think the God of Christianity and Judaism is an evil abomination and mistake made by a "higher god" whom they actually revere. They think the "lower god" is a cruel tyrant, but that gnosis - wisdom, knowledge - can free them. It's important to include that in the definition, because all of their practices and beliefs revolve around feeling victimized simply for being trapped in bodies with lower urges and needs, which they never asked for. And of course that results in a lot of other subsequent beliefs in some cases, which might be where the new age nonsense like LOA sometimes comes into play. But not all subscribe to that, and not all of them are Christian gnostics. Basically, what they have in common is an extreme hatred for the material world, which is ironic since so many end up becoming slaves to greed and basic, primal desires.
I think it originated in ego and inability to understand why a benevolent God would ever have a higher purpose for rules that would benefit humanity, or would ever allow evil to exist. And understanding either of those two things requires one to at least be able to fathom pure, selfless love... which they struggle with, or they could never justify their actions. I personally believe unresolved trauma is a prerequisite for this abhorrent belief system.
@FluffyBunniesandKittens A lot of this stuff isn't "divorced from logic". Maybe reality, but you're clearly a atheistic materialist, so "reality" to you is likely a rather stupid reductionistic definition. Just let it be known, atheists are a big part of why we are in this mess to begin with.
Stumbling upon this channel is one of my best discoveries this year
👍😀.
I am surpridmsed these podcasts have not been banned. These are very dangerous for the establishment.
I’ve listened to this twice. Since I’ve hit puberty, got into “philosophy” shorty after, I’ve had/have a gnostic disposition. Thank you for diving deep into this. I’m opposed to the woke and the left but I was once one before it was popular in culture. Even religiously, I consider myself a Gnostic with a Buddhist bent. So there’s a lot to reflect from your podcast. Keep up the great moves!
hehe... reflect...
Hello I have been following your podcast for about a year and a half and I find them very lucid.
The very first one was the densest maybe because it was my introduction, but I simply listened to it over and over again until I understood every point and having done that I was able to fairly easily assimilate nearly everything else moving forward.
To understand what Gnosticism is and how flexible it has been over the millennia and how it can be applied to nearly any thought system is an important concept to grasp.
I also just want to say it is important to have ideas rather than ideas having you. Unfortunately, Gnosticism is the sort of ideas system that tends to hold people captive to it.
I tend to look at ideas as to their utility. Gnosticism is a quaint notion that is very entertaining to contemplate and useful if you are given to mysticism, personal manifestation and meditation. But taken beyond that, it is quite dangerous.
I've listened to Robert Sepher here on YT and his videos about gnosticism and mysticism are great. I do not see the connection between what's going on now with what Robert has shown, but I'm interested in seeing how you tie it together
@@christianhernandez2469 Some people are (have been, for a while) hijacking the beliefs and ideas that most accurately describe reality, and inverting them into psychological control structures, without anyone else noticing or realizing what it is. These ancient beliefs can be used for good purposes, but the only people who have had any awareness to them are the one's hiding it from us, so that they can use it as a weapon.
@@christianhernandez2469and our current western civilization, with its emphasis on individualism, has developed a shit ton of useful idiots who practice Gnosticism in one form or another, and those useful idiots think that they came up with it all by themselves.
Great podcast!
Would it be fair to say that "the Gnosis" is a counterfeit"Holy Spirit"? It seems so. Thoughts?
With infinite ego inflation, and paradoxically lack of any critical thinking about the fitness of their cultus hive mind, and their hidden masters.
HS and humility.
My first exposure to you and your podcast. Was on the order of Jane Austin for me and took me a bit to develop a taste for. I found myself, like reading a good chewy book, not wanting to click off. I’ve gained an understanding of something I didn’t even know existed. I have a very basic and simple knowledge of religion and how others view it. This to me, was eye opening. Now I gno a little about gnosis. 😅
Absolutely love your work James Lindsay💙 have listened to about 50 hours of it work. Have had five conversations with the left so far. Looking forward to much more 👍 keep up the great work.
I say this on every video but there's always a line that makes me think you would really enjoy CS Lewis' Space Trilogy. This time it is the one about being after demiurgic power to incarcerate. Reminds me of That Hideous Strength.
Funny: even though a member, TH-cam has stopped giving me notifications for New Discourses drops.
Or else they arrive weeks late - far too late to engage in discussion.
James i think if you want to understand Gnosticism and its relation to marxism / postmodernism you should research into something called chaos magick. In a sense its a much more postmodern version of gnosticism/hermeticism that arose in the 1970's in counter culture circles and one of its famous phrases is "nothing is true, everything is permitted". There is specifically a group within called the discordians who worship eris the greek goddess of chaos. Also you connecting hermeticism and gnosticism is incredibly on point. i guess you call me an occultist or magic believer, dirty evil wizard (and i hate marxism btw) and there are tons of people in these sort of woke occult groups that are self identified gnostics and marxists. there is a subreddit in particular called sorcery of the spectacle ( a play on debords society of the spectacle) who LITERALLY think of themselves as wizards who are trying to fulfill there marxist will. i think researching chaos magic authors will help give you some new tools to understand the gnostic marxist connection particularly in a more current context.
Underrated comment. I thought the same thing after this. The MLO, current 218, order of nine angles and other neo luciferian cults have these same goals. Another name for their theology is “Anti Cosmic”. I stumbled on these philosophies from obscure black metal bands like Deathspell Omega and went into deep deep rabbit holes as well as depression. The gnostic parasite almost got me. Glad to say I made it out and feel closer to G-d.
I think hes really missing the difference between the dark and light occult. Not all Wizards are evil especially when the mystery tradition expresses individual enlightment over collective domination. The difference betweent the Wizard and the Sorcerer.
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted" is also the creed in the Assassin's Creed video games lol.
Every time I finish one of these important episodes and the music comes on at the end, I get goosebumps 😂
Maybe the cool music. 😊
I learned "Syncretism" in a World Religions 101 class. VooDoo and Santeria were the prime example mixing Catholicism with the traditional religions slaves brought with them from West Africa to the Caribbean. Unfortunately can't think of exact tribes, so I have to use a broad area of "West Sub Saharan Africa"
Prime examples but rather easy considering the extensive field and they are presumably demonic which is tiresome
@@naradaian I am no expert, it is just what I remember learning in a 100 or 200 level World Religions Class, that fulfilled some requirement for a Bachelor’s Degree.
@@naradaian It is demonic though
Thanks for this mate. This was unreal. You back on timcast soon? Love from Australia x
Really glad you keep driving back to origins and first principles. Romanticism ( Hermetecism and Gnosticism ) like Enlightenment empericism has its shadows. But as Isiah Berlin states, in our age we are children of both worlds. The question is, Is it possible to navigate responsibly the enlightenment shadows without becoming "fallen" for either. It is extremely difficult at the personal level how much more at any collective one.
Can you discuss the influence of Freemasonry in all this, because you haven't mentioned it? Its directly descended from Gnosticism anyway, and Trotsky was a member of B'nai B'rith when he lived in New York. Oh, and Marx was often photographed with his hand in his jacket, which is a Masonic gesture.
James I'm sure you can take this further.
Not easy on this platform. (you get the Wikipedia article plonked at the top of yr page.)
Of course you're right, however don't miss the huge Sufi/Islam connection, often the senior partner, they're semite "cousins" and frenemie of one another
The hilarious, and truly dreadful, at turn, Assassin's/lsmailis "saga", was not an anomaly, it's the standard model, and globally now.
and how the cathars influenced the freemasons
19th century Russia was nearly a controlled experiment of the dynamic you outline.
The evolution of gnosticism from religious to secular played out there in the years 1840-1900. The transition was explicit, intentional and thoroughly documented in the Russian literature of that time.
The transition roughly parallels the cultural conflict in Russia between the influences of the Enlightenment West, and the Slavic Christian East where thousand year-old traditions were still much alive into the 20th century. Russia made the trip from medieval mysticism to secular totalitarianism in less than a hundred years.
I’m not a scholar, but I’ve been on a Russian reading binge for a few years, and I think 19th century Russian history might be a source of clarity about the intentions and methods that guide the current evolution.
I was wondering how long it would take for someone else to notice the parallels and similarities.
"The secret to being original is knowing how to hide ones sources".
Good work James! Bravo! 👏
Christian here and you're 100% right about gnosticism being much more than a sect or cult of people. Was around before Christianity and still around very much in escaping the body movement and secret knowledge
This is mostly spot-on. I'm a Christian and I've thought about these things a lot, but I've learned a lot from this. One of the few long talks I don't need to up the playback speed to get through. In particular, when you suggested reason as a guide to faith, as being a counter-point to dogmatic Christianity, it really made me think, and ditto for you hermetic interpretation of Marx.
Hi James, Ive studied a heap of Buddhism, Krishnamurti, Adwaita and Ficino. If I can be of any help in anyway please get intouch. :)
If you haven’t done this already, you should make 2 videos explaining in detail what Gnosticism and hermeticism are. I have the same brain fog trying to summarize what I just heard in your podcast, which is unfortunate because I would like to confidently talk to people about these ideas
After watching this episode and and a few others multiple times, this is big! This is kinda crazy how under the radar these cults have flown for so long
I'd like to listen to James and Alex J, in conversation - it would be wild.
I don't know if this classification of Marxism as a modern form of gnosis is really accurate. Although I too am very critical of Marxism, especially Cultural Marxism and Woke Culture, I do not think it is right to compare these movements to the ancient religion of Gnosticism. On the surface they may have some features in common, such as the notion of a degraded world and evil demiurgic forces at work within it, but basically this could be said about any form of radical critique of the political and economic status quo associated with an alternative notion of a supposedly better society. One could also say that the ideology of liberal capitalism itself-and yes, liberal capitalism is also an ideology, not the absence of an ideology-with its linear notion of time and economic growth and its inherent focus on "progress", that is to say a "better future", is also a form of modern gnosticism.
James, you really have got me thinking.
It’s a lightbulb moment when you appreciate your argument that Gnostic thought is at the root of Leftist ideology.
Tremendous video.
Thank you.
It's not the root of leftist ideology, leftist ideology is the hijacking of Gnosticism, without anybody being aware of what Gnostic Christianity is or was. Gnostic Christianity was the way people followed The Christ before the Roman Universal Church consolidated all power over humanity's knowledge of The Christ at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. You could think of the Roman Universal Church as the progenitor of the Woke ideology, as there is almost no difference in how it is applied and utilized to absorb and control a population. They take a stolen belief, corrupt it, demand you believe what they tell you is True, and if you fail to adhere to their lies, you are labeled a heretic and cast into the fire. The Roman Empire and it's Universal Church had one goal, world domination by way of creating an Empire of the Mind. The physical empire fell, but their belief lives on today. You're still in Rome. Remember, the Pontifex Maximus recently proclaiming that it is an act of love as a Christian to get the emergency use only experimental mRNA therapy?
On the left we call it 'Marxism b4 marx' , a few leftists even wrote books about it in the 70s and 80s.
Because we always knew that these ideas were historic not simply classical.
This is possibly the most important video on youtube.
OMG! James this is one of your best. Outstanding work! It is rare that a public intellectual allows their listeners to hear a truly raw, unfiltered work in progress. I’m sure this will eventually find it’s way into a well-written book authored by you, James. However, for now, thanks for sharing this. It was surprisingly easy to understand and you laid out the ‘bread crumb trail’ for us to follow. I’m sending this video to several of my friends. Let’s get the word out folks!
I first learned about Hermeticism from Albert Mcilhenny who used to post on the youtube channel Labarum312. He did a deep dive series into the esoteric ideas of astrotheology in the movie Zeitgeist (along with self-published books), and how the esoteric ideas from the renaissance gave rise to a syncretic esoteric way of thinking that led to the ideas of Christianity in Zeitgeist.
As a lover of comparative theology and the esoteric, you are speaking my language in this video 🙏
Two ways to look at gnosticism would be:
1) as the New Age thought of its time--since it brings together Greek, Hebrew and Christian elements in a rather pel-mel sort of way; the Sethians, who are the really black-pilled pessimists are less structured in their mythology than the Valentinians, who are both much more optimistic and more systematic;
2) as pessimistic Platonism--Plotinus has a very long tract in his Enneads (essays he wrote on various topics as answers to his students' questions over a number of years) titled "Against the Gnostics" or "Against those Who Believe the World and Its Creator to be Evil"; while in Platonism there is continuity between matter and spirit, between various grades of virtue (from civic to contemplative), the Sethians, whom Plotinus was specifically arguing against, believed that no such steady continuity exists, so they didn't adhere to the notion of reality as a unified whole but rather as a fractured and convulsive mess; hence why they didn't participate in public/civic life, for which they are duely remonstrated; Plotinus would have gotten along markedly better with the Valentinians, but alas, he was stuck with the emo kids until they realised that particular philosophical group wasn't for them and they left.
But this is the thing: neither group of gnostics was keen on politics. Jacques Lacarriere has a short(ish) essay titled "The Gnostics" and you can see by the way he frames the whole thing that he was a leftie, even saying at one point (p.72):
"One fact stands out immediately: these words do not give any definition of the sects in question but use invective, contempt, and insult. But they pose another and more important question regarding the names by which the Gnostic sects were known. Generally, these names came not so much from the Gnostics themselves as from their adversaries. It is a phenomenon which still exists today-we see it in the history of political sects and political heresies. It is a wellknown fact that the terms `deviationists, revisionists, class-traitors,' do not define any group, as such but simply opponents whose `deviationism' may take the most varied forms. Working from this premise, a detailed study of the terms employed by orthodox Communist parties over the last half-century to describe heretics of all kinds would throw a most unexpected light on the history of the first centuries of the Church, for there one finds exactly the same attitudes. I mention this fact only in order to point out that a historian, several centuries hence, who set out to write a history of the Deviationist Group during the first fifty years of Communism (using only the orthodox political texts) could not but write a false history, for the very good reason that such a group never existed."
Yet even he is forced to admit (and thus shoot his entire framing device dead) that (pp. 42-43):
"From the earliest decades of our era, the most farsighted, or the most convinced Christians had the feeling that they were founding a new era-albeit one that would be constantly threatened by the end of time - overthrowing the old ways of the world and constructing a new man, whereas the Gnostics never at any time, either in their writings or in their silences, showed the least concern to leave lasting traces on this earth. We can see that this is obvious, a logical consequence of their entire outlook. They laugh at posterity, perenniality, the future, and all those snares and pitfalls of time in which man allows himself to be caught. What the Gnostics preach is immediate flight, a desertion of the world and the demarcations of time."
So: no politics, no hegelian(and Marxian)-style "changing the world". Pessimists don't really do missionary zeal, by temperament. But Hegel, ah, now there was an optimist (Schopenhauer despised him): no disaster is too great, no crisis sufficiently accute not to fit into the Grand Pattern of the onward march of History. And Marxists have taken to calling themselves "apostles of hope". Need I say more?
Then there was Basilides and his school, whom Clement of Alexandria (2nd century) quotes as saying:
"For I shall say anything rather than call Providence evil." ("Miscellanies" 4.81.2-4.83.2). That is: any other concievable proposition he found to be more acceptable than the idea that Providence might be evil.
They really do not deserve to be lumped in with f***ing Marx and his nonsense, I think.
My sentiments were much the same. I don't think that "Gnostic" is a very apt description of these people. Cultish, fanatical, evangelical, yes.
Yeah, I’m in total agreement with your statement. He needs to stop this mess, it’s very embarrassing and nothing to do with Gnosticism except the demiurge. Stick to calling it Marxism bc this is skating on thin ice.
Interesting. Good post. Sharing this on Facebook, whatever that's worth. ;)
21:15 As I was listening to this (excellent explanation, btw), I suddenly remembered another video discussing modern culture which described the philosophy of Nihilism - _and it hit me how similar these viewpoints are to each other_ .
In short, Nihilism posits that there is no inherent meaning or purpose to existence, and a person exists in one of four states: “happy cattle” (blissful ignorance), the “priestly class” (aware of the truth of reality but acting to support the illusion to gain power over the ignorant), the “last man” (aware of the true nature of reality but crushed by the existential crisis which comes from it), and the “superman” (has overcome the existential crisis and works to carve out their own reality).
I’m phone-posting so I can’t elaborate as much as I know I should, but here is the other video I watched that lead me to draw the corollary.
th-cam.com/video/_pqh6AU1yJ4/w-d-xo.html
Not overly familiar with your work, so I apologize if you’ve addressed this elsewhere, but the issue I have with this line of thought is that your definition of “modern” Gnosticism seems to be such a dwarfing of traditional Gnosticism that the term is meaningless. From what I gather, you seem to say that this modern incarnation of western esotericism has stripped itself of all of its religious and metaphysical baggage and recreated itself as a movement to overturn the standing social order. By that definition, could not every revolution in human history be seen as gnostic? If the demiurge is tantamount to those who run civil society, how is this any different from the Protestant Reformation, or the Enlightenment? Even the emergence of Christendom out of Pagan Rome? All of those movements felt a profound alienation from the status quo and certainly felt a degree of moral and epistemological superiority over their political rivals. Genuine question, not try to do a gotcha.
I think what he is saying is that the all of the examples you gave could be boiled down or seen under the same lens if you had the knowledge and patience to do so.
Thank you James. This really got me thinking about the root of so many things. Another one I'll need to listen to multiple times!
This speaker uses "wikipedia" and "google searches" to learn-as-he-speaks on this topic.
He sounds quite scholarly...at first. For the first ten minutes of this ramble, he sounds like an expert. As he turns to "wikipedia" he reveals that he knows no more about this than I could know after ten minutes of Google searches.
All these descriptions point to various aspects of life. However, by making them into theories, ideas to be imposed on others, reality is betrayed.
Your shows are very informative and educational. Thank you so much
I'm somewhat familiar with gnosticism and esoteric viewpoints, and I have yet to encounter the idea of "the world is a prison and you didn't ask to be in it". On the contrary, from what I've read, we ASKED to be in it but are not yet aware of it. (keep in mind, these beliefs include reincarnation and the baggage that comes with it)
Eric Vo-gel-in (with a long "o") is the correct pronunciation. There are interviews with him on You Tube.
It starts like you have already been talking for some time and pressed record in the middle of a phrase. Is this from a longer podcast? Where can I listen to it?
Dr. Justin Sledge runs the Eaoterica channel where he often covers gnostic and hermetic history and practice. Gnostic religion is old, and gnostic heresy is the probable reason why the Gospel of John is written how it is. The oldest known fragment of John is from about 90AD.
An affable enough soft spoken chap, in an mock Dr Dee costume, in a Hogwarts looking alchemists laboratory, all very slick and studied, also tight with a group of fellow gnostic influencers, from various parts of the globe.
Too contrived , too timely.
I'm no fan of Augustine, as a bible believer.
And about 8 months ago is about the first time I stated openly that I sided with Donatists rather than Augustine in their ekklesiastical & legal case. That allies me with the Bill Of Rights and the original holders of the Bible in history. It does not ally me with Constantine and Augustine in how they decided to resolve the matter of "Christians In Public."
Reason keeps faith grounded in reality
Faith keeps reason grounded in humility
"I came upon a child of God...We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden..." Woodstock song. Hmm.
Hegel and the Hermetic tradition is a book that sums this all up quite well
About J.Krishnamurti. He's not in that cult I think. Although he was raised from a young age by Annie Besant to become the new World teacher. He actually left theosophy and rejected and constantly criticised it. And completely rejected his role as their new messiah..And then went on to have many public talks that do make him look like some kind of guru. He's a very interesting character imo who had many interesting inights into that kind of thinking. He has a bunch of long conversations on youtube with people like David Bohm who is one of the pioneers in the field of quantumphysics. Bohm credits Krishnamurti for some of his ideas in that field. Worth looking into? I would say , yes.
Awesome as usual, Professor, keep it up!
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I’d Really Like to someday have a chat with you on these and other subjects…
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There May be more wholesome ways out of this… like you said, we’ll not get rid of it for good, but I believe we need and can get to wider frames of deeper understanding… even to help those who’ve fallen into the cult come out of it…
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I’d Really Like That chat with you! Take care! You, Jordan Peterson, and others, like Voegelin himself, are crucial to our getting our facts straight and moving forward… that is, moving away from the abyss!
I like what you say but i wonder if escaping crucifixion is cosmically possible....someone ...maybe a child from Fatima said 'when Gods patience runs out He sends you bad priests' -
I'm sorry I think critically and acknowledge historical context and that many of the Bible stories are meta narratives that have necessarily been generalized over time so details and particular gets lost, but the lesson is preserved. Their world is not our world but people are still people. I'm tired of people throwing the baby out with the bathwater and pretending like our ancestors were morons but they have a degree so we should listen to them and agree when they tell us people can be cats. We've gone loony toons. We need to turn this shit back around now.
I learned some of this in philology in Poland. Some, dang man your work is impressive : )
It was a decent enough course, explored a lot of different frameworks, was intended to make us positivists, I think.
Was it in English? I’m in Poland and I’m interested
@@MTech07no, I had to have good grades on Polish end high school exam in Polish, civics, history.
I'd recommend listening to James and reading the books he references. In the course, the data is dispersed and the official line is there is no gnosis, maybe some hermetics. We studied the field of hermeneutics specifically too, and there's a lot left between the lines of what the course expected you to know for grades. Then we learned many things a bit, Mr Lindsey takes one of the things and makes the most complete analysis of it I've seen in my studies.
Jay Dyer and Tyler Hamilton were here.
Especially Tyler Hamilton. Theopolitics Hegel episode and Marx episode in connection with the review of John Millbanks Theology and Social Theory.
Highly recommended.
I agree with Bob VaGeno down below. The problem is not gnosticism per se. Rather, to quote Bob, the problem is “humanist abuse of esoteric teachings” by people who don’t actually understand the best of those teachings.
Let’s take an expansive view of gnosticism that includes Buddhism and Course in Miracles and such. These do NOT advocate transformation of the world. The “dream” / the “illusion” is not amenable to transformation. Those who try are trapped in the dream and deceived by it into pursuing power within it. Liberation is a purely individual pursuit, not a worldly pursuit.
James, of course, doesn’t see things quite like that. But l love him for the work he does dismantling and “deconstructing” the power hunger of those who use spiritual insight as a means to transform the world.
Going to enjoy listening to this, as I always do, thank you Sir for the wealth of information that you provide.
As always, when I listen I will share this.
Thank you.
Thank you for your good work. You are NOT alone! There are "7000 who have not bowed the knee to baal..." We are working. You are helping us work. Thank you.
Christianity also has a negative view of the world in that we are born in sin by default without having to actually do anything sinful. So by our mere birth we are sinners and we have to repent for what our ancestors Adam and Eve did. It's sort of like American black people asking for reparations because some of our ancestors owned them as slaves.
Don't tell these people that their Christianity is a form of Gnosticism. It's to fun.
Mmhmmm 😅 exactly
This was illuminating! Thanks for outlining everything in a clear and concise way!
Im trying to read, listen and consume as much content as possible. Love your books and help with getting others to put out literature on the subject. is still 4!
/applause/
May I just add: We get a new crop of Gnostics every generation because the universe actually is hostile... to anyone who attempts to be its center.
Ouch....as a recovering sufi i felt that one...brilliant
Having put it that way, that the universe is hostile to anyone who attempts to be its center, I think this is fundamentally why totalitarianism us fundamentally wrong. It's incredibly ego-driven, and it's doomed to inevitable failure when reality catches up.
It's hostile period dude. If you're son was born with Lukemia you'd be singing a different tune.
We never can fix it, as this is the disorder of the fall of humanity. There is nothing new in the past 1000 years that hasn't been found in any stage of human civilisation. All that varies is how well we resist and embrace tradition and reason, and how much we embrace the chaos and madness.
@@treesurgeon2441the universe isn't alive and therefore can't have feelings.
As a follower of Blavatski and many other esoteric creeds, I find it merely unfortunate, but not at all improbable, that communism ended up usurping thses philosophies without giving them the merest nod of acknowledgment. Indeed, it fits their pattern of hollowing out and appropriating and refitting for purpose. And therefore it should not raise the ire or elicit any objections from true adherents and practitioners, when viewed in this light. In fact, it should make them justifiably angry.