1. Gnosticism 1.The discovery at Nag Hammadi. 2.Gnosticism: main features. 3.Valentinus & his system. 4.Irenaeus’s response (discussion).

2. Discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library Discovered in 1945 in a jar in Egypt 12 codices containing 52 writings Major source of Gnostic texts Coptic Museum in Cairo

3. Main Features of Gnosticism 1.Intricate and obscure cosmology. 2.Syncretism. 3.Fundamental questions of human existence. 4.Gnosis: secret knowledge as means of attaining salvation. 5.Dualism: spiritual/ material; soul/ body. 6.Docetic christology (some Gnostics). 7.Sense of non-belonging to the world. 8.Ethics: world-denying asceticism or extreme libertinism. 9.Three groups: spiritual (initiated Gnostics); psychic (ordinary believers); fleshy (unbelievers).

4. Ricoeur: The Significance of Gnosticism Thinking would not have moved on from wisdom to theodicy if gnosticism had not elevated speculation to the level of a gigantomachy, where the forces of good are engaged in a merciless struggle with the armies of evil…Western thought is in debt to gnosticism, broadly conceived, for having conceived the problem of evil in terms of one all-encompassing problematic: Unde malum? –Paul Ricoeur, “Evil: A Challenge to Philosophy and Theology.”

5. Main Features of Gnosticism 1.Intricate and obscure cosmology. 2.Syncretism. 3.Fundamental questions of human existence. 4.Gnosis: secret knowledge as means of attaining salvation. 5.Dualism: spiritual/ material; soul/ body. 6.Docetic christology (some Gnostics). 7.Sense of non-belonging to the world. 8.Ethics: world-denying asceticism or extreme libertinism. 9.Three groups: spiritual (initiated Gnostics); psychic (ordinary believers); fleshy (unbelievers).

6. Valentinian Pleroma

7. Tomb inscription of a Valentinian woman Flavia Sophe. Rome, late 3 rd c.

8. Translation of the inscription: Thou, filled with longing for the paternal light, Sister and spouse, my Sophe, Anointed in the baths of Christ with immortal sacred salve, Hasten to glimpse the divine features of the Aeons, The great angel of the great council, the true Son; Thou camest into the bridal chamber and deathless climbed Into the bosom of the Father." (trans. Robert Haardt, Gnosis)

9. St. Irenaeus of Lyons Approx. 130-200 AD Knew Polycarp & Justin Bishop of Lyons Wrote Against Heresies ca. 180.

10. Cherchez la femme!