Gnositicism at Daily Kos

There's a longish essay, Destroy This Temple, at Daily Kos on Gnosticism. The writer begins by arguing, "What we have been witnessing as "christianity" for 1684 years since the infamous edicts of the Council of Nicea of 325AD has all been an intentional falsehood: the Council basically flipped the true story and redid it as the opposite message, of hate and murder of other religious minorities, particularly the Gnostics who were the largest and most influential "original" christian sect, of centralized hierarchy which was the antithesis of Gnosticism which is based on knowledge, or gnosis, and the sharing of that knowledge, with the masters reaching "christhood" per se, or a pure state of gnosis. Yes it's quite influenced by eastern religions, particularly the Buddhist's 'nirvana.'"

The comments include one urging readers to take a look at a Bill Moyer's interview with Elaine Pagels - this one? It's from 1988 and is about St. Augustine's view on Eve and the Serpent (and sex) becoming the dominant view.

The commenter at Daily Kos wrote:

[S]he brought out the point that what Christianity did was say that a slave girl's soul was a valuable as the Emperor's. And that each individual had a obligation to something greater than the proximate social order.

This struck at the very root of Roman life. There, every eldest male in a household had life and death say over every other member, and this included every detail of their lives. Any member could be abused as he wished, and there was only the disapproval of the other eldest males that restrained them.

And eldest son had the same sway except counter the elder, on down the line to the elder's wife and daughters over the slaves. Everyone had their place. Outside the home, the same hierarchical order over eldest men prevailed, except with the Emperor as top dog.

With Christianity all of a sudden, slaves were to be seen with the same eyes as the Greats, woman were refusing their "duties" for religious reasons, ... everything of the established order was a risk.

The sum: the very notion of individuality springs from the teachings of Christ and the early church.

The transcript from a more recent Moyers' interview with Pagels includes her saying this:

You know, if you look at the image of a mother and child, for many people this will remind us of Mary and the child Jesus. Two thousand, 3000 years ago, it would have reminded people of the Goddess Isis and her son, Horus. But before it was Isis and Horace or Jesus and Mary, it was any mother, and any child. So anyone who had been a child, or anyone who had been a parent could identify with that very powerful and simple picture. What is more fundamental? So, that picture is one in which, anyone can see his or her life played out.

That, to me, is the feminine face of god.