Valentinian Gnosticism

Valentinus (ca.100-175 C.E.) founded the Valentinian Gnostic sect in the second century. Another form of what is now known as Gnosticism; Valentinianism was both respected and feared by the early Orthodox Christian Church. They were much like a theology professor today. They took a scholastic, as well as philosophical, approach to scripture and religion. They also wrote some of the earliest known commentaries on scripture and it is believed that Valentinus himself may have written the Gospel of Truth, found in the Nag Hammadi library.

Their tedious and well thought out commentaries wrought them a somewhat dubious respect among Orthodox Christians, however their somewhat outlandish beliefs regarding God and creation got them thrown out of the mainstream church. Besides the normally accepted scripture the Valentinians referred to many Gnostic scriptures, which were written off by the Church as heresy, such as the Gospel of Truth, the Gospel of Phillip, the Treatise on the Resurrection, the Exegesis of the Soul, and the Valentinian Exposition. They were also scrutinized for their apparent conceit and their idea that mere orthodox interpretations were for the unlearned and imbeciles.

To understand the Valentinians better, let us take a brief look at their belief structure. Their creation myth seems to be an expansion on the Sophia myth of the Sethians, however there are some major differences. In the beginning there is the Original Pair comprised of the Ineffable and Silence, perhaps as two aspects of the same being. Everything that follows, are emanations of this pair. First, and directly from this pair, come Parent and Truth. Begotten from this second pair are World, Life, Human Being, and Church. Furthermore, from these four, came the Thirty Aeons, which are spiritual entities.

This is a simplified explanation because the Valentinians were very industrious when it came to dissecting everything they believed or came into contact with spiritually. There are commonalities however. For instance they viewed the material world as negative, created by the Demiurge, again from Sophia, who is an Aeon. The purpose of salvation was believed to be to surpass this material world, and its evils, through spiritual study and illumination. Again here the Saviors role was to awaken mankind to this ultimate knowledge of reality so that one may ascend from this material world and join God in the spiritual realm of the light. They also placed an emphasis on Jesus as the Savior, converting or awakening others, and doing good works as a way to awaken oneself unto the spiritual realm. Again we see in Gnosticism a differing mythos and style; however the ultimate goal and ideals are much the same as other forms of Christianity in its first couple of hundred years.