Gnostic Gospel, Pt 11 -- Endless War

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

The First Order of Powers, the aeons of the hierarchy, gave birth to a Second Order of Powers--"the emissions of the remembrance."

Logos and the Fullness produced a Second Order of Powers patterned after the First Order of Powers that dwelt in the hierarchy. The Second Order of Powers was named "the emissions of the remembrance" because they had been created by the unified will of the Father through union with Logos and the Fullness, and therefore they contained the traits of the Father.

(Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

"The powers of remembrance were adorned with the names of the pre-existent, whose likenesses they were; the order of those of this kind were in harmony with itself and with each other" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 84].

This new Order of Powers reflected the values of the Son, but it was formed within a Boundary rather than a hierarchy, and so they had more freedom to assemble themselves into non-hierarchical patterns.

The Second Order of Powers is contained within the Boundary, unlike their parents in the Fullness.

These newly formed beings "did not have more substance, nor did they have a greater glory, for they are not equal to the pre-existent ones. If, on the other hand, they were superior to the imitations, the only thing that made them elevated above them was that they were from a good disposition--for they had not come out of the sickness that arose" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 83]

Whereas those of the Deficiency arose from the Fall, those of the Remembrance arose from the consecrated union of Logos and the Fullness. Those on the left represent phantoms and confusion, whereas those on the right represent virtues of the ALL.

A strange and tragic thing occurred next. When those of the remembrance came upon those of the imitation, they attempted to overthrow them out of an inherent sense of self-righteousness. Those of the remembrance knew they were superior to those of the imitation, "because they were nobler than those previous ones" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 84].

The Second Order of Powers fought against the shadows of the imitation. 

Because the imitation "waged war against the likenesses" in the Fullness, the offspring of the Fullness "acted against itself on account of its rage." But the ones who were in opposition would not surrender, due to their own ignorance of what came before. "They believed they were self-engendered" and had given birth to themselves, and so owed nothing to these Powers either above or below [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 84]. 

Those of the Deficiency are locked in endless war with those of the Remembrance

"The two orders fought against each other, struggling for command with such a result that they were engulfed by forces and material substances in accordance with the law of mutual combat, and they too acquired lust for domination and all the other passions of this sort; and consequently, empty vainglory pulls them all toward the desire of lust for domination, and not one of them remembers what is superior or confesses it" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 84].

A popular internet meme expresses this recognition of the Endless War

"Because of this. . . their envy, malice, rage, violence, lust and ignorance ruled, as they were producing various kinds of matter and all sorts of powers. . ." [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 85]

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Continue on to the next article: Part Twelve -- 
Peace Offered To End the Endless War

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In terms of the Simple Explanation, the Fruit of Logos and the Fullness represents the fourth iteration of the originating fractal pattern of our universe. (The Son=#1, the Universal Unit of Consciousness; The ALL=#2; The Fullnesses=#3; The Offspring of Remembrance=#4.) These offspring represent the values of the Universal UC entering the transpersonal space contained by the infinitely recursive fractal Boundary around our space and time. Those of the Imitation do not acknowledge or replicate the original source code and so are unable to breathe life into their creations.

The Simple Explanation is also an information-based theory. "Meme" information is shared at the cultural level and passed around among humans at the personal and transpersonal levels.  You can understand the Simple Explanation of Memes by reading this article. 

What happens when meme chords collide? What happens when the memes I believe in and hold onto contradict the memes you hold dear? Herein lies the source of all human conflict. The disagreements, the fights, the wars, are all conflicts over incompatible memes. 

Sure, I may believe my memes are vastly superior to yours. Does that mean I should kill you? How ridiculous. Yes, I can claim my memes are the best, no doubt about it. Does that mean you have to believe every meme I believe or else? How absurd. Yes, I say, but my memes are so much better than your memes. Does that mean you are stupid? Does that mean you are a fraud? Does that mean you just don't get it? Maybe, maybe not. Most of our memes came embedded in larger meme chords handed down by others. Most of us have no idea what meme chords we hold and how we came to hold them. In any case, you can't force someone else to adopt your memes, any more than you can force someone to adopt your gender or your skin color. It is impossible. 

We are now in the midst of a social epidemic of intolerance. Intolerance is the opposite of "live and let live." When we are intolerant of others' memes, we are declaring that our memes are correct and their memes are wrong. And then we take it a step further--we refuse to "tolerate" the others' memes. We throw up resistance, we throw up roadblocks, we close our ears and refuse to listen to the other. We do not merely disagree, as reasonable people may do from time to time. When we are intolerant, we look for ways to force the other to abandon their memes and adopt ours. We shout them down because we feel we are shouting the right memes and theirs are not only wrong, they are evil and have no right to be heard. And once you declare the other "evil," it is no longer a disagreement in good faith, but a fight in the Endless War for the soul. 

Antifa counter-protesters prepare to hurl insults after a "Unite the Right" rally. August 12, 2017, Charlottesville, Virginia. Photo: Chip Somodevilla--Getty Images

Once words can no longer be exchanged, frustration builds and violence follows. This is what we are seeing now in the U.S.  Free exchange of memes has been thwarted because of intolerance. Exchange of ideas is the key. You needn't agree with the other person, but you must hear them out. Because, once you agree to sit and exchange ideas and concerns, whether or not you adopt the other's ideas, the very act of hearing each other out creates a shared space that acts as a balm to soothe your soul and theirs. When you are too angry, frustrated, or afraid to listen to the other, you perpetuate the intolerance that leads to violence. This intolerance is not helpful. 

We hear a lot about the importance of "diversity" nowadays in America. True diversity can only thrive if we allow each other to "live and let live." When you seek to silence those with whom you disagree, you are not encouraging diversity; you are actually encouraging intolerance. 

Bi-partisan cooperation has ground to a halt since the Democrats won the House back from the Republicans in the 2018 elections, allowing the Legislative and Executive Branches to chase each other's tails around the Mulberry Bush of endless war.