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This article discusses the relationship between Gnosticism and the ''' New Testament '''. Gnostics were an early Christian sect, strongly associated with mysticism and more weakly with Mystery Religion s, existing in parts of the Roman Empire from the first and second centuries AD, and surviving until the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar group of Gnostics in the twelth century. They were highly concerned with secret, esoteric interpretations of various works, including the teachings of Jesus, and less so with their literal content, which they frequently treated as Allegory and Metaphor . The New Testament, which contains the Gospels , Epistles , Book Of Acts and Book Of Revelation , is the portion of the Christian Bible written after the birth of Jesus . THE CANONICAL GOSPELS In academic circles, three of the four canonical Gospels ( Matthew , Mark , and Luke ) are regarded as so similar in wording and content that they are often treated as one unit, the Synoptic Gospels , and their similarity is seen as a problem that needs answering, known as the Synoptic Problem . According to the majority of scholars, the solution to the synoptic problem is the Two-source Hypothesis - that the three synoptic gospels are not independent but derive from two source texts, one being the gospel of Mark, the other being a (now lost) collection of Logia (quotes) known as the Q Document , and the few remaining elements unique to Matthew or to Luke are known as M or L respectively. Sayings in Matthew and Luke attributed to Q and the Madonna , Altar of the Guild of St. Luke, Hermen Rode, Lübeck 1484]] Of the four canonical gospels, the elements associated with Q show the clearest connection to Gnosticism. Many of the 150 or so quotations in the synoptics which scholars believe originated in Q are also found in the Gospel Of Thomas , an ancient text consisting almost entirely of logia without narrative. The Gospel of Thomas is generally regarded as a gnostic work, and hence the sayings that are found in both Thomas and Q, i.e. in both Thomas and Matthew, or in both Thomas and Luke, can be regarded as having a gnostic reading. An early date for the Gospel of Thomas would hence clearly imply that the original intent of these sayings, and of much, if not all, of Q, was a gnostic one, but due to this its dating has become heavily politicised, and very little consensus exists about its date. Indeed, when the Gospel of Thomas was first re-discovered and translated, it was thought that it and Q were actually the same thing, with the Matthew and Luke versions of the sayings being deliberately corrupted ones, though this view no longer holds a majority. In isolation, as they would have been in Q, many of the sayings in Matthew and Luke that are attributed to Q have a distinctly - secret knowledge that can be learnt. The question-and-answer format of Q was also one of the main forms of writing that the gnostics used (for example, compare The Sophia Of Jesus Christ ), while at the same time being quite unusual for non-gnostic Christianity. The sayings from Luke and Matthew are generally split into three groups - Q1, Q2, and Q3 - with Q1 being the earliest (dated by Burton Mack, professor of New Testament at Claremont, to ~50AD) and Q3 the latest group (dated by Burton Mack to ~80AD), with each group being spread throughout Matthew and Luke, rather than concentrated in one section or another, or occurring prior to later groups. Q3 appears to show awareness of the fall of Jerusalem as well as portraying Jesus as a more divine figure, Q2 shows an apocalyptic aspect as well as evidence of opposition, while Q1 sayings are much more Cynic -like wisdom teachings. Many of these sayings are more difficult to argue as being gnostic, as they portray basic wisdom, such as ''no man may serve two masters'', or simple aestheticism, such as ''blessed are the poor'', though there is a substantial volume of evidence that many early gnostics, like Basilides , and Marcion , found gnostic interpretations of them. It is unclear how much of the Q document might have been copied into Luke and Matthew, and how much does not survive at all, and hence it is unknown whether Q was originally more or less gnostic in general appearance than its surviving parts. The Gospel of Mark Parts of the Gospel of Mark, aside from sayings potentially deriving from Q, can be given a gnostic interpretation. In narrative, the gnostics often presented gnostic and non-gnostic alternatives together in order to contrast the difference between them, and usually presented these alternatives allegorically as a pair of twins - one gnostic the other not. and contrasted. While not immediately obvious, it is possible to show the presence of such twin themes in the Gospel of Mark. According to Mark (and the other Synoptics), when Jesus was presented before Pilate, Pilate offered the crowd a choice between Jesus and a man named Barabbas . The full name of Barabbas according to some ancient Christian texts, including some ancient manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew, was ''Jesus Barabbas'', and Barabbas is the greek form of the hebrew surname ''bar Abbas'', which means ''son of the father''; so Pilate was offering a choice between Jesus and ''Jesus son of the father''. Hence Mark (and in consequence Matthew, Luke, and John) effectively presents the choice between an earthly Jesus-son-of-the-father (as Barabbas was a thief, and bandit) and a more spiritual version of Jesus-son-of-the-father, a highly gnostic reading. That the crowd chose to save the earthly Jesus (i.e. Barabbas) can thus be read as an allegory for the gnostic view that the masses were carnal and not spiritual beings, since they did not have gnosis. In Mark, Jesus is often portrayed as referring to secret teachings, and secrets, even asserting that some teachings should be kept secret and deliberately obscured, all of which were attitudes shared with, and intrinsic to, gnosticism. For example Mark 4:11-12:''To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables, in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand''. Nevertheless, Mark also contains a few clear descriptions of miracles that are difficult to interpret as having a gnostic subtext, thus implying that perhaps the entire work ought not to be interpreted as gnostic. However, Mark's underlying narrative structure is Chiastic , and Mark contains over 150 different chiasms, a structure which these miracles interrupt and jarr with, leading some textual critics, such as John Dart , to conclude that the descriptions of these particular miracles were not original to the text but later additions. According to Dart, the chiastic structure also points to the fragments known as the Secret Gospel Of Mark as being original to Mark, since they complete several chiasms in the text, as well as filling what resemble gaps. In Mark can be found two oblique references to what appear to be initiation rituals of the form present in mystery religions - the Gethsemene Youth (Mark 14:51-52), clad only in a loin cloth, who is alone with Jesus when Jesus is arrested, and the youth that was in Jesus' tomb, clad in white garments (Mark 16:5). In such mystery religions, initiates would first strip themselves naked, and later symbolically put on white garments, and the proposal that this is the explanation for the two figures has been made by several scholars. In the Secret Gospel of Mark, a third male youth is presented ''whom Jesus loved'', that Jesus resurrected, and who later came to Jesus naked except for a loin cloth, and Jesus spent the night with him in order to teach him the ''mystery of the kingdom of God''. Scholars who see the Secret Gospel of Mark as genuine fragments that were excised from the canonical Gospel of Mark generally regard the description of this third youth as being the missing link identifying five biblical figures as one and the same - the Gethsemene Youth, the youth at the tomb, the Rich Man instructed to give up his posessions in order to achieve salvation (Mark 10:17-22), (John 18:15, 20:4, 20:8, and 20:12). As the same figure, the story of the youth gains a highly gnostic interpretation - that the story of the youth is an example of the process of becoming gnostic; ''death'' and ''resurrection'' to gnostics was an allegory for the process of changing from not knowing about gnosticism to choosing to become a gnostic, and the subsequent teaching, and symbolic gaining of white robes, allegories for receiving gnostic teachings and gaining gnosis. The complete vanishing of Jesus, which the lack of the ending of Mark 16 in ancient manuscripts could imply was originally permanent, can be seen as an allegory for the youth no longer having need of a teacher. Several more populist commentators, however, ignoring the gnostic undertones, have instead proposed that the implication is that Jesus and the youth were Homosexual lovers, and Jesus brought him back from the dead due to his affection for him. Morton Smith , the scholar who rediscovered the Secret Mark fragments, chose the former interpretation, though hinted that the latter was also a possibility, but many commentators often present Morton Smith, a homosexual, as having mainly argued the latter. The Gospel of John , ''ca'' 1525 (Santa Felicita, Florence)]] The Gospel Of John shows the clearest similarity to later gnostic writing style in general, and parts of the gospel have a similar dream-like quality to the writing (compare the Gospel Of Truth , and more especially the Trimorphic Protennoia ). The opening verses of John, "''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God''" allude to the Gnostic concept of the Logos (which translates as ''Word''), a divine presence. The themes of light and knowledge contrast with the themes of physical being and worldliness throughout John. However, the phrase "''and the Word became flesh, and dwelt amongst us''" is clearly at variance with Docetism , a belief that many Gnostics held that the human nature of Jesus was illusory, as the ''Perfect Saviour'' inherent in a ''Christ'' could not partake in the inherently corrupt (according to gnosticism) nature of matter. Also, the opening phrase is clearly at variance with Arianism , a very large second century sect of Christianity, later branded as heretical, which asserted that there was a time previous to Jesus' existence. Many theologians therefore believe that John states positions in order to invert them and counter-assert one of the positions that later became orthodox. It is notable that much of John has this form, consistently drawing on positions held by later second century and early third century groups in order to contradict them and cast them as heretical. These groups frequently did not exist in the late first century and early second century, Arianism being a prime example, and it would be odd for them to arise if a gospel was circulating which so clearly condemned the positions that did not yet exist. For this reason, and since also the first quotations from the Gospel of John appear in the anti-heresy works of Irenaeus , many scholars cast doubt on the Authorship Of The Gospel Of John , and often consider it to have been a second century Polemic by an author holding what later became the position of the Orthodoxy . THE PAULINE EPISTLES It has been suggested by scholars from high reputation, such as Hyam Maccoby and Elaine Pagels - Professor of Religion at Princeton - to those of low, such Timothy Freke , that Paul Of Tarsus (the Christian Saint Paul) was a Gnostic who developed the early Christian church as a mystery religion with a Jew ish flavour, and that elements of this church forgot or misunderstood the mystery elements, largely abandoned its Jewish foundation, and took up literal interpretation of the text. The argument for Paul being a gnostic relies heavily on arguments about the Authorship Of The Pauline Epistles . The Pastoral Epistles (those to Timothy and Titus ), are generally acknowledged as being clearly anti-gnostic, and The Second Epistle To The Thessalonians clearly refutes certain gnostic interpretations of the First Epistle To The Thessalonians . However, over two thirds of scholars consider the pastoral epistles to be forgeries, and a clear (but smaller) majority consider the second epistle to the Thessalonians to also be forged, along with the epistles To The Ephesians , and To The Colossians . Consequently, with the clearly anti-gnostic epistles being discounted by a majority of scholars, those more compatable with gnostic interpretations are also the only ones thought genuine. A few scholars have claimed that it was Irenaeus who was the forger, and that he forged the documents to support his strongly anti-Gnostic views, though most scholars think that Irenaeus, who lived in the late second century, is too late to have written what are generally considered to be mid to late first century documents. With a Gnostic Paul, Paul's assertion that Salvation Is By Faith Alone must be interpreted as an assertion that salvation can only come about by achieving gnosis - that one can only achieve enlightenment by achieving enlightenment - and not as an assertion that one must hold certain belief systems to be ''saved''. Paul and Hellenic influence Although claiming to be a Jew (of the Tribe Of Benjamin ), and a member of the conservative Pharisee party prior to conversion, Paul actually writes in Greek, and only refers to the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament deviating from most modern bibles), rather than translating the Hebrew text (which later became the Masoretic Text ). He grew up in Tarsus, which was a centre (and possibly the origin, as suggested by Plutarch ) of the Mithras version of Mystery Religions. Tarsus was also, at the time of Paul, the dominant centre for Hellenic philosophy, Strabo commenting that Tarsus had surpassed Athens and Alexandria in this extent. Although Paul claimed to have been educated in Jerusalem, particularly emphasising that he had been taught by no less than Gamaliel himself, Paul expresses in his writing many ideas of Hellenic thought, previously used by philosophers such as Plato. For example, Paul refers to the solar cycle known as ''the great year'', as well as to the idea that one is only wise if one knows that one knows nothing. According to the book of Acts, Paul's ministry takes him to cities dominated by Mystery Religion, such as Antioch (a centre for the Adonis version), Ephesus (a centre for the Attis version), and Corinth (a centre for the Dionysus version). However, Saul (after his conversion he took the name Paul) approved the stoning of Stephen in Acts 8:1, where it states that "And Saul was there, giving approval to his death." (NIV) and in Acts 8 and 9 it is recorded that Saul persecuted Christians, with the approval of the High Priest (Acts 9:2). In Galatians 1:14, he also states that "I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers." (NIV). Also, according to Acts, he related an account of his conversion on a trip to Damascus, reporting that his party was rendered helpless by a bright light, and that he alone heard a voice asking why he was persecutiong Jesus, whereupon he was struck blind until being lead to a man who restored his sight. This of course relies on the testimony of Acts, which most critical scholars see as contradicting Paul's own account of events in his life, and constituting a veiled criticism of him, and an artificial attempt to mark Paul as less important than Peter and James. Terminology by Paul having a Gnostic significance When considering the question of whether Paul uses Gnostic terminology, or supports Gnostic ideas, it is important to refer to the original greek form of the text. Translations often choose to translate words which are the names of things or concepts, rather than replacing them with the name for the equivalent concept, sometimes doing so to suppress information or support a certain point of view, and in other instances simply because the translator is unaware of any special significance of the term. For example, Isaiah 34:14 is usually translated ''... the screech owl also shall find rest there ...'', translating the Hebrew term ''lilitu'' as ''screech owl'' rather than as '' Lilith '', the name of a Hebrew demon. In not translating words which have meaning as concepts, it appears that Paul states to Christians (in were considered blessed. Paul also refers to his teaching by terminology of gnostic significance - ''I long to see you, so that I may share with you a certain pneumatic charisma'' ( Romans 1:11-12); ''pneumatic'' is the gnostic term for the class of people who were governed by their ''spiritual'' side and thus saved The fact that, although Paul does long to share the knowledge with those he writes to in Romans he does not write the knowledge into the letter, was explained by gnostics as Paul's respecting the principle common to mystery religions of having secret teachings, which must not be shared openly (for example, if the letter was intercepted). Elsewhere, Paul makes use of a phrase which is also the vow of secrecy common to many gnostic groups, such use by gnostics being attested by Hippolytus in his criticism of the gnostic Justinus , as well as in the gnostic Gospel Of Thomas , for example, in 1 Corinthians Paul states Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Paul also can be construed as referring to the initiation system of the mystery religions. In 2 Corinthians , Paul refers to those who are novices in the religion as having veils over their face as their mind was blinded, a principle that mystery religions considered true and as such some made their novices wear veils and referred to them as ''mystae'' (i.e. having closed eyes). The terms Paul uses for perfected Christianity, such as (in the standard translation) ''Mature'' and ''to the level of maturity'' and ''the perfect man'', actually use the greek word ''Teleioi'', which means ''initiated'', a principle also used in the hellenic mystery religions. In particular, in 1 Corinthians , ''we speak wisdom amongst the perfected'' also translates ''we speak of Sophia amongst the initiated'' (Sophia being a spiritual entity to the gnostics as well as the usual Greek word for "wisdom"), something which the gnostic Valentinians quoted as proof that Paul initiated Christians into the gnostic ideas of Sophia. As for himself, in 1 Corinthians, Paul considers he is a ''Steward of the mysteries of God,'' which was also the technical term for a priest in the Egyptian version of the mystery religions where the central figure is the god Serapis . Paul also claims to know someone who ascended as far as the third heaven, a principle which in mystery religions represented the degree of initiation achieved (for example, in the Mithras version there were 7 heavens, one for each of the 5 known planets, the sun, and the moon). Paul's story appears to have been a one time event however, and he claims uncertainty as to whether the visit to the third heaven was in the body or out of the body. Paul can also be construed as referring to the gnostic cosmos, at one point, stating ''the wisdom...which none of the rulers of this world knoweth'', which if some words are just transliterated from the Greek, rather than translated, becomes ''the wisdom...which none of the Archons of this Aion knoweth'', Archon s being the gnostic concept of minions of the evil Demiurge . Elsewhere Paul refers to a ''god of this passing age'', which non-gnostics interpret as referring to the Devil , but gnostics considered (particularly since it clearly states ''god'' rather than some lesser creature) this to be a reference to the Demiurge . In the letter to the Galatians, Paul states that the Law is the product of a ''mediator'', and that ''the mediator is not one, God is one''. The gnostics treated this as a reference to the standard gnostic teaching that the law should not apply since it was the product of the evil demiurge. Gnostics also referred to the demiurge as the mediator between God (whom they considered the only being to be singular and whole, and thus also referred to as Monad ) and creation (which they considered intrinsically evil, rather than evil as the consequence of some human error). In Romans, Paul clearly speaks of creation as awaiting redemption, rather than treating it as something irredeemable. He also refers to the law as the 'instructor' or 'tutor' of the Jewish people, and as the beginning of God's work of turning people back to Himself, rather than as something opposed to God. Paul and the early church The continual growth of Gnostic followings throughout the second century, troubled the non-Gnostics to the extent that Irenaeus wrote a vast 5-volume book (''On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis'' commonly referred to as '' Against Heresies '') to refute it. The significance of the influence of Paul was enough for Irenaeus to consider it important to proclaim that Paul was never gnostic, and never supported gnostic teachings, using the evidence of the Pastoral epistles and the Gospel of John to show it. Despite Irenaeus' claims for Paul's non gnosticism, Valentinus , the leader of a large faction of gnostics, claimed that Paul had initiated his own teacher, Theudas into the ''Deeper Mysteries'' of Christianity, which revealed a secret gnostic doctrine of God. Another gnostic leader, and the most powerful, Marcion , was the first person to construct a formal Biblical Canon , and in it he included only the Gospel of Luke (in a version that differs from the orthodoxically known text), the Epistles of Paul (except the Pastoral Epistles), and the Book of Acts, which primarily recounts the activities of Paul. The importance of Paul to Marcion's faction of gnosticism even lead to one of the main anti-Marcion writers, Tertullian , going so far as to declare that Paul was ''the heretic's apostle''. Marcion himself claimed to be the rightful heir of Paul's authority, and although this is clearly at odds with the position that later orthodoxy took, it was certainly true that Marcion was, in his time, the leader of the seven communities that Paul's epistles were earlier addressed to. Though it is possible that Marcion's movement had converted the communities in question to Marcionism from literalism, it would be significantly more plausible for him to have gained control had the communities already been gnostic when Paul was writing to them. Ultimately the church even ex-communicated these communities - the communities to which Paul's epistles were addressed - in fear of the stance of the commuties - Marcionism - completely defeating the position of the church from within it. Early Christian narratives that supported the position which later became orthodoxy also exhibit a distaste for Pauline positions. The Jerusalem Church , in conflict with a Gentile Christian Paul, though advocates of the idea that Paul is gnostic often argue that it was Paul's gnosticism that Acts was criticising. From the beginning of modern biblical criticism with Ferdinand Christian Baur , it has been argued that the Pseudo-Clementines , texts that in early times were frequently regarded as part of Biblical canon, are a coded attack on Paul, fictionalising him under the name of '' Simon Magus '', in deliberate contrast to '' Simon Peter ''. All surviving references to ''Simon Magus'' in ancient literature present him in a decidedly negative and highly Caricature d light, frequently portraying him as adhering to gnostic theology, and figures in the 2nd century early church, such as Irenaeus, referred to ''Simon Magus'' as being the source of all heresies. Thus the conclusion that ''Simon Magus'' is a polemical parody of someone, not a real figure in itself, is quite plausible. A clearer connection between Simon Magus and Paul can be found in Marcion's teacher - Marcion claimed he had obtained his teachings from Paul, while Irenaeus state that Marcion's teacher was Simon Magus, a man who Marcion never even mentions the existence of. Gnostic interpretations of Paul's teachings The followers of Valentinius systematically decoded the Epistles, claiming that most Christians made the mistake of reading the Epistles literally rather than allegorically. Valentians understood the conflict between ''Jews'' and ''Gentiles'' in Romans to be a coded reference to the differences between '' Psychics '' (people who are partly spiritual but have not yet achieved separation from carnality) and '' Pneumatics '' (totally spiritual people). The Valentians argued that such codes were intrinsic in gnosticism, the secrecy being important to ensuring proper progression to true inner understanding. In 2 Corinthians, Paul states he had heard ''ineffable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter'', a postition that gnostic initiates supported with respect to the higher gnostic teachings. However, Paul does also suggest ''Gnosis puffeth up'' (often this passage is found with ''gnosis'' translated - ''knowledge puffeth up''), which appears to diminish support for gnosticism, but Clement Of Alexandria offered the explanation that this meant ''to entertain great and true sentiments'' and was a reference to the magnitude of the effect of receiving it. Grades of revelation In 1 Corinthians, Paul goes on to state ''I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able'', which Gnostics interpret as the suggestion that the Corinthians were still Hyclic (i.e. had not passed even the first level of understanding). Paul later states ''But the Psycic receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know {Link without Title} , because they are Pneumatic'', offering an explanation which coincides with the gnostic teaching of levels of comprehension (''Psycic'' and ''pneumatic'' are usually translated rather than left alone - with ''psycic'' translated as ''natural man'', and ''pneumatic'' as ''spiritually discerned''). Gnostics viewed scripture as allegory, only serving a literal meaning to Hyclic (i.e. uninitiate) people, partly for the purpose of advertising. Gnostics thus interpreted Paul's statements, that the Old Testament acts as ''our examples'' and that ''the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life'', as supporting this view, with understanding more important than rigid adherence. Gnostics also took the phrase ''though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more'' as indicative of Paul's progress from Hyclic to a more gnostic interpretation, rather than the understanding of Christ's time being in the past. Paul states that Christ came in the ''homoioma'' of human flesh. ''Homoioma'' means ''image'' or ''representation'' (the text is usually translated ''in the likeness of human flesh''). Some gnostic groups treated this as admittance of Docetism , with the Christ being the divine wisdom which revealed gnosis, which would help humanity escape the evil creation (the world) of the demiurge, and having no physical existence. In Galatians , Paul states of his conversion that ''God revealed his Son in me'', rather than '''''to''' me'', which Gnostics interpret as a reference to Christ being the divine gnosis sent to save humanity, rather than a physical creature or person. In the same letter, Paul also states that ''I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me'', which gnostics took as further evidence of Paul supporting their stance. Resurrection ]] The gnostics took an esoteric view of death, and therefore of resurrection. When Paul states in Romans that ''he that is dead is freed from sin'', and that ''we are buried with him by baptism into death'', the gnostics assumed it was a reference to the teaching that the body is the work of the evil demiurge, and that death would release the divine part of a person from the demiurge's power. Gnostics also took death to be symbolic for the death of the part of a person tied to the demiurge, and the consequential ''resurrection'' as a new entirely spiritual being, understanding resurrection as an awakening of spiritual enlightenment. In Phillipians , Paul refers to himself as partaking in the same death as Christ, and thence partaking in the resurrection of the dead, which suited gnostic interpretations. Paul's references to reaping and sowing of crops, in 1 Corinthians, was also a common image from the mystery religions symbolising the esoteric death and resurrection of initiates. In 1 Corinthians, however, during chapter 15, Paul appears to give credence to a more literal idea of the physical resurrection of the dead. However, as noted by many gnostics Paul also states ''flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God''. Irenaeus complained that ''all heretics always introduce this passage''. It is widely thought by scholars that the presence of the issue proved such a problem that someone felt the need to forge a Third Letter To The Corinthians , which explicitly states the dead are resurrected physically. Despite this, 3 Corinthians was rejected from biblical canon, and thus became part of the New Testament Apocrypha . In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul also refers to ''baptism for the dead'' (15:29), a concept whose need for an explanation plagued orthodox scholars, but, according to Elaine Pagels , was easily explained by gnostics. Since the gnostics argued that the text was allegory, their stance was that ''baptism for the dead'' refers to pneumatics (i.e. gnostics) taking the place of psychics (i.e. literalists), who were ''dead'' to gnosis. Ethics One feature that was contested amongst the gnostics was that of Ethics . Gnostics believed that since the world was intrinsically evil, so was anything the human body did. Some gnostics concluded that this meant that one could engage in gross immorality since it demonstrated the knowledge that the body was a prison for the soul. Most gnostics, however, considered that instead one should suppress the urges of the body as much as possible and live a highly ascetic life. One consequence of this view was a lack of care to social status (exhibited noticeably in Mithraism ), or for that matter not caring about being/not-being a slave, a criticism also levied at Paul for his lack of raising the issue in Philemon . Paul also appears to many scholars to exhibit a strong distate for sexuality of any kind, supporting the principle of celibacy, which gnostics interpreted as due to the idea of the world as evil, though non-gnostics took it to be merely a rigid and strict adherence to the Old Testament. Paul himself elsewhere states that he teaches ''righteousness without the Law'', which gnostics used as a counter argument to the claim he adhered to the Old Testament, and also supported the idea that laws were ultimately the product of the ''demiurge'' as a trap. In 1 Corinthians, Paul does recommend celibacy, but also recommends marriage for those who are not suited for celibacy. Later (1 Cor. 9:5), he defends the right of Peter and the other apostles to be married and to travel accompanied by their wives, although he himself was unmarried. In contrast, he condemned sexual immorality of all kinds, in various epistles (Romans 13:13, 1 Cor. 6:18, 1 Thess. 4:3), along with several other categories of sins, and making no exceptions for these. Paul's attitude to sexuality, his companionship with Timothy, and his statement that ''the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak'' has lead some commentators, including the Foundry Methodist Church attended by Bill Clinton in December 1995, and the Bishop John Shelby Spong , to argue that Paul was a ''self-hating Old Queen ''. Counter-arguments Irenaeus argued that the use of scripture by Gnostic groups, such as the Valentinians, was flawed, and demonstrated his argument by taking arbitrary passages from various writings of Homer to compose a new story about Hercules. While the individual passages were authentic, the connected story was not of Homer's composition, and in fact the passages featured a number of different characters instead of just Hercules. Irenaeus compared this abuse of Homer to the abuse of the New and Old Testaments by the gnostics, though the same argument could be used in reverse - that Irenaeus was abusing scripture by quoting passages that supported his position but not those that didn't. SEE ALSO
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