Homoeroticism and Gnosticism
by the Institute for Gnostic Studies
The
title alone of this paper will frighten away some readers but it must be made
clear that one of the major elements of the Gnostic tradition is what we call in
the twentieth century “homosexuality”. In the past it may have gone under
many names and descriptions, but the love of ones own sex and the related
rejection of the reproductive and family ethic was the core of the Gnostic
ethical system. When the Bogomils were nicknamed the Buggers it was for an
obvious reason, as were the homosexual claims made against the Knights Templar.
It seems too easy today to ignore the more unsavoury elements (in the eyes of
modern conservatives) of the Gnostic tradition and attempt to re-mould
Gnosticism into some sort of mystical Christianity, “the Christianity to have
when you are not a Christian” so to speak. The reality of the real Gnosis
couldn’t be farther from this distortion.
Matter and Reproduction
The
fact of the matter is that the central Gnostic myth is that of the descent into
matter, the nexus of this myth is
mans entanglement in material perceptions which in turn create the reality we
have around is. This model while no necessarily being against the material world
does have anti-reproductive ramifications. If matter is the realm of experience
and our aim is to return to the higher worlds then anything done to perpetuate
that process is destructive. According, reproduction is unacceptable. While some
Gnostic groups allowed reproductive couples to exist in the outer ranks (such as
the married initiates who existed on the fringes of Essene communities), the
prime directive was non-reproduction. The way in which the Gnostic communities
dealt with this issue varied from cult to cult, some demanded celibacy, others
allowed non-reproductive promiscuity, some allowed non-reproductive
heterosexuals in their Ecclesia, many did not. The homosexual elitism of many
early Gnostic cults has been ignored by modern scholars, it is as though the
heterodox nature of Gnosticism is enough without suggesting sexual abnormality
as well ! It seems so easy for modern “Tantricists” to claim that the
Gnostics practised Tantra without coming to grips with the real nature of the
Gnostic perspective. In the Valentianian Gnostic tradition there were multiple
levels of enlightenment, at the highest level the Pneumatic, the sexuality that
was permitted was for sacred and ritual purposes, profane sexuality (including
all reproduction) was out of the question.
Part
of the difficulty in assessing the role of homosexuality is that the later
Christian authors made such an effort to edit out the more blatant references
and manipulate those that were left. Certainly it seems likely that the supposed
“Celibacy” of Catholicism was more an edict against marriage (i.e.
reproducing) that against sexuality itself, it is only as views of sexuality
became corrupted that the role of “sacred homosexuality” was lost.
Discrimination
Before
we actually discuss the homoerotic elements of the Gnostic tradition, we need to
understand a few basic principles. Gnosticism does not believe in the concept of
equality, it is a stupid and rancid concept born of modern Liberalism and faulty
education. Any cursory consideration of the nature of humanity makes it clear
that people and groups vary greatly. While we may argue for equality before the
eyes of the law for purely civil and legal purposes, it is certainly erroneous
to believe that all people are equal in actuality. To really apply the
“equality principle” would destroy our society in an instant - whether you
are studying, applying for a job or searching for friends, we all discriminate
(meaning- right judgement) and we all rate others. Accordingly, no one is equal
to anyone else and this concept can be extended to the sexes, sexual orientation
and to races and cultures. It is incredulous to suggest that all races are
equal, it is quite clear from any unbiased study of genetics, heredity and IQ
that races are different in all sorts of way, just as men and women are
different and straight and gays are different. Equality is also irrelevant from
the perspective of the Gnostic since the mechanism of possible development is
reincarnation and, accordingly, personal development takes places through many
bodies travelling through various sexes, orientations and races. The
“inequality” of human nature can hence be related to personal growth, karma,
reincarnation and related issues and therefore a differentiation must be made
between the essential “I” and the characteristics of the mind and body.
While, as we shall discuss, there are clearly differences between the sexes and
the iconography of the sexes as well as variations between orientations (and
these include aspects of inferiority and superiority), since the “I” is
beyond these labels we are not judging the real “I” but the nature of the
form during a given incarnation. Political correctness and current ideological
controls notwithstanding, it should be made clear - there is no such thing as
equality
Sexual
Orientation
The
Gnostics preferred queers and that is about as blunt as I can get, while
non-reproductive heterosexuals were accepted in many groups the emphasis was on
“gender variance”. In ancient Israel there was a whole priestclass, the
Qadesh who were gender variant and had a sacred role, their task being edited
from history by the incoming Pharisaic warlords. In most pre-Judeo-Christian
cultures the homosexual was a priest, shaman and wonderworker, it is only the in
the literalist and fundamentalist faiths that homosexuals have been degraded.
Homosexuals are old souls, they have come into the body to evolve, teach and
learn. In the Gnostic tradition, the priesthood is nearly always homosexual, the
reason for this is both sexually and spiritually relevant. The essence of
homosexuality is, in some sense, narcissistic, it is seeing a reflection of
yourself in another's form. While we may argue that each sex have dual
identities, this may be true but these dual identifies (Anima/Animus) are locked
into a one sex body and hence homosexuality is the ultimate form of self
realisation (or self delusion). Homosexuals transform the reproductive program
of the DNA/RNA into something new, paternal and maternal instincts programmed at
a cellular level are re-rooted away from reproduction into new realms. At least
that is what should happen. The powers that be saw the rise of the Gay movement
and have worked hard to twist, destroy and mould homosexuals into
“heterosexuals who just fuck differently” - nothing could be further from
the truth.
Institute for Gnostic Studies, June 2000
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