Hans Jonas (1903-1993) was born and educated in Germany, where he was a pupil of Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bult-mann. He left in 1933, when Hitler came into power, and in 1940 joined the British Army in the Middle East. After the war he taught at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Carleton University in Ottawa, finally settling in the United States. He was the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy on the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science at the New School for Social Research in New York. Professor Jonas was also author of, among other books, The Phenomenon of Life (1966). He died in 1993-
THE MESSAGE OF THE ALIEN GOD & THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY
The Gnostic Religion
HANS JONAS
THIRD EDITION
BEACON PRESS BOSTON
Beacon Press
25 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2892
www.beacon.org
Beacon Press books
are published under the auspices of
the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
© 1958, 1963, 1991, 2001 by Hans Jonas All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America 05 04 03 02 01 00 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the uncoated paper ANSI/NISO specifications for permanence as revised in 1992.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jonas, Hans
The gnostic religion : the message of the alien God and the beginnings of Christianity / Hans Jonas.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8070-5801-7 (pbk.) I. Gnosticism I. Title
For Lore Jonas
BT1390 J62 2001
273'.1— dc21
Scanned: February 200500-060852
Contents
Preface to the Third Edition xiii
Note on the Occasion of the Third Printing (1970) xxx
Preface to the Second Edition xxvi
Preface to the First Edition xxxi
Abbreviations xxxiii
1. Introduction: East and West in Hellenism 3
(a) The Part of the West 4Greek Culture on the Eve of Alexander's Conquests 5Cosmopolitanism and the New Greek Colonization 6The Hellenization of the East 7Later Hellenism: The Change from Secular to Religious Culture 9The Four Stages of Greek Culture 10
(b) The Part of the East 11The East on the Eve of Alexander's Conquests 13The East Under Hellenism 17The Re-emergence of the East , 23
Part I. Gnostic Literature—Main Tenets,
Symbolic Language 29
2. The Meaning of Gnosis and the Extent of the Gnostic Movement 31
(a) Spiritual Climate of the Era 31
(b) The Name "Gnosticism" 32
(c) The Origin of Gnosticism 33
(d) The Nature of Gnostic "Knowledge" 34
(e) Survey of Sources 37Secondary or Indirect Sources 37Primary or Direct Sources 39
(0 Abstract of Main Gnostic Tenets 42
Theology 42
Cosmology 43
Anthropology 44
Eschatology 44
Morality 46
3. Gnostic Imagery and Symbolic Language 48
(a) The "Alien" 49
(b) "Beyond," "Without," "This World," and "The Other World" 51
Vlll CONTENTS
(c) Worlds and Aeons 51
(d) The Cosmic Habitation and the Stranger's Sojourn 55
(e) "Light" and "Darkness," "Life" and "Death" 58
(f) "Mixture," "Dispersal," the "One," and the "Many" 57
(g) "Fall," "Sinking," "Capture" 62(h) Forlornness, Dread, Homesickness 65(i) Numbness, Sleep, Intoxication 68(j) The Noise of the World 73(k) The "Call from Without" 74(1) The "Alien Man" 75(m) The Content of the Call 80(n) The Response to the Call 86(o) Gnostic Allegory 91
Eve and the Serpent 92
Cain and the Creator 94
Prometheus and Zeus 96
Appendix to Chapter 3: Glossary of Mandaean Terms 97
Part II. Gnostic Systems of Thought 101
4. Simon Magus 103
5. The "Hymn of the Pearl" 112
(a) The Text 113
(b) Commentary 116Serpent, Sea, Egypt 116The Impure Garment 118The Letter 119The Conquering of the Serpent and the Ascent 120The Heavenly Garment; the Image 122The Transcendental Self 123The Pearl 125
6. The Angels That Made the World. The Gospel of Marcion 130
(a) The Angels That Made the World 132
(b) The Gospel of Marcion 137Marcion's Unique Position in Gnostic Thought 137Redemption According to Marcion 139The Two Gods 141"Grace Freely Given" 143Marcion's Ascetic Morality 144Marcion and Scripture 145
CONTENTS IX
The Origin of the Divine Man 154
The Descent of Man; the Planetary Soul 156
The Union of Man with Nature; the Narcissus Motif 161
The Ascent of the Soul 165
The First Beginnings 169
8. The Valentinian Speculation 174
(a) The Speculative Principle of Valentinianism 174
(b) The System 179Development of the Pleroma 179...
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