Gnostic Gospel, Pt 7 -- Division Becomes the Imitation

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

Logos was the final aeon born from the will of the Son and the ALL. This singular being possessed the latent characteristics of the ALL, including the full variety of personalities, proclivities, powers, and positions arrayed in the Fullness. Each aeon of the Fullness was an individual who was also an integral part of the larger whole. So, too, Logos embodied all of these parts precisely situated within the whole that was himself.

The aeon named Logos sits atop the hierarchy of the Fullness

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.

When Logos overreached and fell into the darkness, he shattered into a confusing jumble of disconnected parts. These pieces of the shattered aeon were “sicknesses”: small, dark, ignorant, divided, and roiling with chaos. They reflected neither the glory of the originals in the Fullness, nor the ecology of the hierarchy. And, because they were no longer arranged in the pattern of the hierarchy, they forgot their functions and their names [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]

The shattered corpse of Logos gave rise to the imitations of the deficiency

"Those who had come into being did not know themselves, nor did they know the Fullness from which they had originated, nor did they know him who had become the cause of their existence. For since the Word was in such an unstable condition, he no longer attempted to bring forth offspring in the form of emissions... of glory. ...Instead, what he brought forth were feeble and small creatures, infected with the same sicknesses with which he himself had been infected." [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 80]

Because Logos had been reaching for the heights when he fell, the imitation born of the fall continued to be motivated by a desire “to reach the unreachable,” but now that upward drive was divorced from the goal of reaching for the glory of reunification with the Father. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77] With no recall of who or what came before, this upward drive was entirely self-interested, for those of the imitation had no cooperative arrangement amongst themselves.

What had been an upward pull to reunite the Fullnesses with the Father became an upward push arising out of each singleton, not for the glory of the Father, but for the vainglory of the individual. “For they desired to command one another and to lord it over them in their vain love of glory, and the glory that they acquired [from their striving] became the cause of the structure that was to be.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 79] In this manner, egoic striving for vainglory replaced glorious longing for the Father--ambition replaced God's Will.

The “offspring of the presumptuous thought”, as they came to be known, recognized neither Logos, the All, nor the Father as their progenitor. “They thought of themselves that only they existed and that they had no beginning, since they saw no one existing before them. For this reason they exhibited disobedience and rebellion, being unwilling to submit to the one who had brought them into existence.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78]

"The Word, then, was the cause of these things coming into being, and he became increasingly desperate. He was dumbfounded. Instead of perfection he saw deficiency; instead of unity he saw division; instead of stability he saw disturbance; instead of rest, upheaval." Logos “was unable to bring their love of disturbance to an end, nor could he destroy it,” for Logos “had become powerless when his wholeness and his perfection had abandoned him” to become the deficiency. The deficiency took on an imitation of life on its own, becoming “the cause of the things that do not exist on their own account from the beginning.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 80]

These “irrational things” were condemned by Logos. “Because of that, what was perfect in him left him and went upward to his own [in the Fullness]. . . “The one who hastened on high [Logos] and the one who drew him to himself [The Son] did not remain idle, but they brought forth a fruit in the Fullness with a view to overthrowing what had come into being because of the deficiency.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78]

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You may read more about the deficiency in this article: Implications of Dark Matter and Gnostic Cosmology.

Click here for the next Simple Explanation blog article: "The Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part Eight -- The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL"

The Simple Explanation is using its method of meta-analysis to strip out the confusing elements of the various Gnostic Gospels to form a simple, coherent, creation story. I have chosen the Tripartite Tractate as the book out of the Nag Hammadi scriptures to focus on, because I find it to be the least confusing and most complete Gnostic account of the origins of the universe, with the fewest non-essential elements. You will not find lists of names and numbers here. Only the cosmology and its rationale. The purpose of this exposition of the Simple Gnostic Gospels is to clarify and simplify so that any person who cares to may fully understand the essential Gnostic truths.

Cyd and Munchkin working on the Gnostic Gospel

Gnostic Gospel, Pt 5 – Self-Awareness Overreaches and Falls

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

Prior to the Fall, the aeons of the Fullness sat in perfect equilibrium in their hierarchy of ranks, stations, and names. They were a congress of one accord, meaning they agreed on everything and they cooperated together to bring about a single dream of Paradise. 

The Fullness Dreams of Paradise in Perfect Harmony

You could note one difference between the ALL and the Fullness as the ALL singing their songs in blissful unison, while the Fullness sings their songs in perfectly tuned, multi-toned harmony.

The ALL Sings in Perfect Unison

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 aeons of the Fullness were all given wisdom, which is the ability to reason with logic and prudence. They were given a thirst to seek after the originating consciousness of their Creator and a desire to align themselves with the Father’s Will through the process of giving glory. And they were all creative geniuses, able to dream up a fully functioning mental Paradise where whatever they willed in the Father’s name happily happened. Reminiscent of popular culture's depiction of heaven, where you can fly around amongst the clouds, and the buildings are all made of precious jewels and the streets are paved with gold.

"The Prologue and the Promise" mural by Robert McCall. Disney's Epcot, 1983.
A pretty sweet depiction of Paradise--even the dog is invited!

In their desire to give glory to the Father, that is, to align themselves with the Will of the Creator, aeons of the Fullness were required to follow these rules:

1. Give glory to the Father, not to the Fullness. Aeons were to remain aligned with the Son and not shift their focus to the Fullness as a whole.

2. Give glory to the Father, not to individual aeons. Aeons were to remain always mindful of the Father and not to give glory to themselves and their talented neighbors as individuals.

3. Give glory to the Father to the best of your own ability. An aeon was to give glory from its own location in the hierarchy. They were not to sidle up next to an aeon who appeared closer to the Father in order to borrow that aeon’s station to give better glory. Rather, the individual was to develop its own voice and talents through the process of giving glory to the Father. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 74]

It is said that although the Father put an unquenchable thirst to align themselves with the One into the minds of the Fullness, he did not reveal to them the Father's ineffable nature and the impossibility of reuniting with him and surviving to tell the tale. This was doubtless to keep alive the hope of reunification with the Father as a motive for giving glory. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 75]

And then, a cosmic tragedy occurred. This is how it happened.

The last aeon made by the will of the Father was placed at the very top of the hierarchy of the Fullness, like a star sitting atop the Christmas tree. 

As a star sits atop a Christmas tree, so did Logos sit atop the Fullness.

The reason  this final aeon was given such a position of honor in the hierarchy was because it carried within its singular consciousness all of the traits of all the other aeons. This was one talented, capable aeon! In fact, this particular aeon was called a “perfect single one,” produced by the Father “who had desired him and was pleased with him.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]  

Logos Crowned the Fullness

Now, here is what happened. It turned out that "this aeon was one of those who had been given wisdom, with ideas first existing independently in his mind so as to be brought forth whenever he wanted it." He had also "received a natural wisdom enabling him to inquire into the hidden order.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76] 

Indeed, this aeon’s name was the very personification of wisdom: “Logos.”

And this was the cause of the Fall: Logos mistook his singular self for the entirety of the Fullness. He then broke the rules by acting unilaterally and without authority. Because the Father had withheld the impossibility of singletons reaching the “realm of perfect glory,” Logos launched himself upward toward the Father and he stumbled and fell as he reached for it.

Logos Mistakes Himself for the Fullness

“Thus, the free will with which the members of the ALL had been born caused this one to rush forward to give glory to the Father” on its own.  “And before he had yet produced anything to the glory of the Will and in the union of the members of the ALL, he acted presumptuously, out of an overflowing love, and rushed forward toward that which surrounds the realm of perfect glory.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76]

Logos Attempts to Reach the Father and Falls

Do we blame the Fall on young, reckless Logos? No. The Tripartite Tractate points out that the Fall of Logos was not due to bad motives on his part. On the contrary, Logos was attempting to give glory and reunite with the Father out of love when he fell. 

“Now, the intention of this Logos was good, because he rushed forward to give glory to the Father, even though he undertook a task beyond his power, having desired to produce something perfect from a union in which he did not share and without having received orders." [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76]

Furthermore, “It was not without the Will of the Father that this Logos had been brought forth, nor that he should rush forward; rather, the Father had brought him forth for the things that he knew must take place.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76] “For this reason, then, it is wrong to condemn the movement that is Logos. Rather, we should speak about the movement of Logos as the cause that made an ordained economy come to pass.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]

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Proceed to the Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part Six -- The Deficiency Gives Rise to the Imitation.