Gnostic Wolfe

James Jordan · 02 Nov 2002, 15:27 · from urth-v0211.mbox · original
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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at cox.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Gnostic Wolfe
Date: Sat, 02 Nov 2002 09:27:08 -0600
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I've been out of the country for this discussion, and have skimmed the=20
posts. A few comments:
         1. Gnosticism is just "philosophy + myth." Philosophy, whether=20
Greek or Buddhist, held that the "world" is corrupt in some essential way,=20
and that the wise man "escapes" from the world through contemplation,=20
contemplating his way out of the "cave." Gnosticism popularized this=20
notion, adding myths, and various ritual and esoteric ways of escape=20
(though esotericism is all over Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras, if you=20
read them aright). The prophets of Israel preached against all escape, and=20
called the people to involve themselves with the plight of the poor, the=20
oppressed, etc.; and Jesus and the (best) of the Church follows this.=20
Christianity, with its sacraments of water, oil, bread, and wine, and with=20
its central doctrine of physical resurrection, is very "this-worldly,"=20
preaching redemption and activistic good works, not escape into contemplati=
on.
         2. Judeo-Christianity teaches creation of the world "out of=20
nothing" by a Creator. Gnosticism teaches that the present world is an=20
emanation out of the "substance" of the "prime mover" (plug in other titles=20
as well). Somewhere down the line, the Demiurge formed the present world=20
out of  part of what had emanated from the Prime Mover. The Demiurge might=20
be "evil" and seeking to corrupt the emanation, or he might just be doing=20
his "demurge thing" by forming and shaping it. Either way, the world is=20
either evil and to be escaped, or else grossly inferior and to be transcend=
ed.
         3. Typhon is, IMO, much like the Demiurge, in that he forms his=20
Whorl out of preexisting matter. Pas rules this Whorl, so he is not a=20
"demiurge" but merely a "god." But the Outsider, is just that: outside of=20
it all. He is the Creator, not a Prime Mover, and the cosmos is not made=20
out of his substance. He is outside of it, not the highest part of it. And,=20
being outside of it all, He can also by His Spirit, be intimately "inside"=20
of it, but as a personal "friend," not as some kind of "essential=20
substance." The Outsider can stand behind Silk/Horn and as a Friend=20
encourage him to worship through bread and wine. Silk first comes to know=20
the Outsider as "outside the Whorl" and above Pas, and then as "outside"=20
the whole cosmos as Creator thereof.
         4. The Outsider as a minor god in Typhon's pantheon is a play on=20
the "Unknown God" of Acts chapter 17. He can be understood within the=20
pantheon as "every other god we don't know about," but in reality He is the=20
leftover awareness of the Creator. Hence, for Wolfe, as for orthodox=20
Christianity, pagan religions are a mixture of awareness of the truth of an=20
Outside Creator mingled and corrupted by a "scale of being" or "gnostic" or=20
"emanation-hierarchical" view of reality. Thus, Chapter religion has some=20
of both in it. But what is happening is not a "baptizing" of prior=20
paganism, but an extrication from it. It is a mistake to read early and=20
even medieval Christianity as "baptizing" pagan forms. Rather, the leaders=20
sought, with varying degress of success, to substitute Christian notions=20
for pagan ones, Christmas for the feast of Sol, saints for gods, etc.
         5. Alga: yes there is a fierce bloodthirsty goddess among the=20
semites: Anath, roughly like Diana or Artemis. (Maybe I misread you here.)=20
Astarte/Ashteroth is more like Venus/Aphrodite -- though as always there is=20
overlap.
         6. Greco-Roman gods and myths were not much different from=20
Semitic/Canaanite ones, and really, Nordic ones were not much different=20
either. I don't think sacrificial rituals were much different either. I=20
don't think we have to debate much "which" of these myths Wolfe is using.=20
He's probably combining all of them, with the Greco-Roman pantheon most=20
prominent in the Whorl and something like Old Testament animal sacrifices=20
most prominent in the local Chapter rituals. Remember, Wolfe is also=20
playing with the transition from Old Testament to New, with Typhon's=20
pantheon being like the Roman rulers of Palestine, and Chapter religion=20
being like the religion of the Jews at the time of Christ (that is, the=20
time of Silk).
         7. Wolfe did use Qabbalah some in New Sun: Yesodh and Briahh;=20
though there he merely picked up some words to use in connection with an=20
essentially "Catholic" universe. Given that gnosticism was not much=20
different from either philosophy or earlier polytheism, but was a kind of=20
new "late and decayed-pessimistic" version of both, it is no surprise that=20
what Silk is growing out of has resemblances to all three (Marcus Aurelius=20
in the Chrasmological writings, a pantheon of gods, a gnostic view of=20
reality, etc.).
         8. The first time I read the New Sun, I thought Wolfe had just set=20
up a Gnostic universe and was playing with it. Not so, he says. And to some=20
extent, I think the Long Sun was a way of making that clear. If I might put=20
words in his mouth, I would suggest that he is saying that some kind of=20
gnostic/polytheistic understanding of the universe is what everybody=20
naturally thinks until or unless they come to a Christian "creational" view=20
of the universe; and that the psychological process of moving from the=20
former to the latter does not happen overnight, but takes time. Hence, a=20
gnostic/polytheistic world is "real" to people who have not been=20
"enlightened" like Silk. But Silk's "enlightenment" does not mean he is=20
moving "up" a gnostic hierarchy into transcendence, but that he is moving=20
"out" of a gnostic view of reality altogether, and can now see these "gods"=20
for what they really are: mere creatures, even if powerful ones. To a=20
lesser extent, and much less clearly, Severian is moving in the same=20
direction.
         9. Finally, since this came up, the Calvinistic doctrine of=20
predestination (speaking as a Calvinistic theologian) is not much different=20
from Augustine's and Aquinas's. Whoever described the "two eye" perspective=20
-- from within time and from outside of time -- pretty well described it.=20
(Sorry, I can't remember who wrote what.) On all sides, the doctrine is=20
regarded as a "mystery," since in order to "understand" it, you would have=20
to be God Himself, and folks, we aren't God and we're never gonna be. So we=20
leave it as a mystery. Somehow we are free and our actions do count, and=20
yet God as Creator of time and of all "events" in time, "foreordained" it=20
all. The Calvinistic confessions of faith state that this is a matter that=20
should be handled very gingerly and carefully, since to try to think about=20
it very much is to fall into the sin of playing god. Anyway, Wolfe is a=20
conventional Thomist most of the time, so I imagine he would agree with=20
this. The debates between Catholics and Protestants really lie in other are=
as.

         I don't know if all this helps the discussion, but I hope it helps=20
a bit.

Patera Nutria


--=20
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