Did the Valentinians believe in Reincarnation?

Did the Valentinians believe in Reincarnation?

Theodotus: Excerpta ex Theodoto28 The followers of Basilides refer “God visiting the disobedient unto the third and fourth generation” to reincarnations, but the followers of Valentinus maintain that the three places mean those on the left, while the “fourth generation” is their own seed, and “showing mercy unto thousands,” refers to those on the right.


Valentinian literature provides insights that align with the interpretation that the followers of Valentinus did not subscribe to the teaching of reincarnation implied by the followers of Basilides.


**1. Nature of the "Three Places":**
In Valentinian thought, there is an emphasis on the three places representing a specific spiritual or hierarchical understanding rather than cycles of reincarnation. Valentinus and his followers often employed a complex cosmology, where the three places might symbolize distinct spiritual conditions or realms rather than successive lives.


*“Therefore man is in man, ‘psychic’ in ‘earthly,’ not consisting as part to part but united as whole to whole by God's unspeakable power.”* (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)


This Valentinian perspective suggests a spiritual interconnectedness within a single existence, countering the notion of multiple reincarnations.


**2. Interpretation of "Fourth Generation":**
Valentinian literature may shed light on an alternative understanding of the "fourth generation" that differs from the reincarnation concept. The idea that the fourth generation is their own seed suggests a lineage or spiritual succession rather than a repeated cycle of rebirth.


*"This is the man 'according to the image.' But the man who is 'according to the likeness' of the Creator himself, is he whom he has breathed into and inseminated into the former, placing in him by angels something consubstantial with himself."* (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)


Here, the Valentinian concept of being "according to the likeness" implies a unique divine infusion rather than a recurrence through generations.


**3. Mercy unto Thousands:**
Valentinian literature may also provide a different understanding of "showing mercy unto thousands." This concept might be interpreted in a spiritual sense rather than as a reference to successive reincarnations. The emphasis on mercy towards those on the right could imply a spiritual salvation or elevation rather than a cyclical rebirth.


*"Concerning these two also, the Saviour says, 'That is to be feared which can destroy this soul and this body, the psychic one, in hell.'"* (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)


This passage suggests a concern for the fate of the soul and body, emphasizing consequences in a singular spiritual context rather than across multiple lifetimes.


In summary, Valentinian literature provides perspectives that emphasize spiritual interconnectedness, unique divine infusions, and singular spiritual consequences, all of which diverge from the notion of reincarnation. These insights support the interpretation that Valentinus and his followers did not adhere to the teachings of reincarnation as presented by the followers of Basilides.




Title: Understanding Valentinian Christians' Rejection of Reincarnation


The Valentinian Christians, a sect within early Christian Gnosticism, held distinctive views on the nature of the soul and its relation to the physical body, which contributed to their rejection of reincarnation. Drawing from extracts of Theodotus found in the works of Clement of Alexandria and other Gnostic texts, along with insights from scholars like Heracleon, we can discern their theological stance.


**Christian Gnostic Understanding of the Soul**


Valentinian Christians viewed the soul as a physical body, created from earthly matter. Extracts from Theodotus emphasize this belief, quoting 1 Corinthians 15:44 to assert that the soul itself is a body, not merely possessing one. This interpretation challenges traditional Christian notions of the soul's incorporeal nature.


**Origin of the Soul**


Gnostic texts, including the Gospel of Philip and Theodotus' extracts, describe the creation of the soul as arising from earthly matter. The soul is depicted as material, irrational, and consubstantial with the physical world, distinct from the divine and spiritual realms.


**Distinction between Soul and Spirit**


Gnostic texts, akin to biblical teachings, distinguish between the soul and spirit. The Apocryphon of James illustrates this differentiation, portraying the soul as tied to reason and the material world, while the spirit is associated with salvation and transcendence.


**Temporality of the Soul**


Certain Gnostic texts, such as The Apocryphon of James, discuss the perishable nature of the soul. They refute the concept of an immortal soul, suggesting that the soul's fate is intertwined with the body's mortality and its ultimate disposition towards salvation.


**Rejection of Immortal Soul**


Heracleon, a prominent Valentinian Gnostic, explicitly rejects the doctrine of the immortal soul. Fragment 40 of his Commentary on the Gospel of John challenges the notion of soul immortality by interpreting biblical passages to support the perishable nature of the soul and its eventual transformation towards immortality through salvation.


**Focus on Spirit Liberation**


Gnostic spirituality shifts the focus from the liberation of the soul to the liberation of the spirit. The Gnostics believed that the true essence of humanity resides in the spirit, which descends into the material world and undergoes purification to return to its divine origin.


**Conclusion**


Valentinian Christians' rejection of reincarnation stems from their understanding of the soul as a physical body, distinct from the spirit, and subject to mortality. Their theological framework, influenced by Gnostic teachings, emphasizes the temporality of the soul and the transformative journey towards spiritual liberation. Through their reinterpretation of biblical passages and Gnostic texts, they offer a distinct perspective on the nature and destiny of the human soul.

28 The followers of Basilides refer “God visiting the disobedient unto the third and fourth generation” to reincarnations, but the followers of Valentinus maintain that the three places mean those on the left, while the “fourth generation” is their own seed, and “showing mercy unto thousands,” refers to those on the right. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)

It seems from this quotation that the followers of Valentinus did not agree with the followers of Basilides about a biblical verses, the followers of Valentinus rejected the teaching of reincarnation and instead understood this verses to allude to "those on the left" a Valentinian term used to refer to the psychical 

According to April D. DeConick in her book The Gnostic New Age "most Gnostics thought that the psyche, or soul, was mortal." (The Gnostic New Age, Page 21 )

This is true for the Jewish-Christian Gnostics like the Valentinians however some pagan Gnostics believed in the immortal soul. This study will look at those Gnostic texts which believe the soul is moral.

The concept  of the immortality of the soul comes from Greek philosophy it is not an idea found in Jewish-Christian scriptures known as the Holy Bible

So what is a Christian Gnostic understanding of the soul?

According to the Extracts from the Works of Theodotus found in the works of Clement of Alexandria, the "soul is a body" (Extract 14) it was created from "dust from the earth" with which "he fashioned a soul, earthly and material" (Extract 50) Therefore according to Valentinian Christians he soul is a natural or physical body:

14 The demons are said to be incorporeal, not because they have no bodies (for they have even shape and are, therefore, capable of feeling punishment), but they are said to be incorporeal because, in comparison with the spiritual bodies which are saved, they are a shade. And the angels are bodies; at any rate they are seen. Why even the soul is a body, for the Apostle says, "It is sown a body of soul, it is raised a body of spirit." (1cor 15:44) And how can the souls which are being punished be sensible of it, if they are not bodies? Certainly he says, "Fear him who, after death, is able to cast soul and body into hell." () Now that which is visible is not purged by fire, but is dissolved into dust. But, from the story of Lazarus and Dives, the soul is directly shown by its possession of bodily limbs to be a body. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)

Here the Extracts from the Works of Theodotus is quoting from 1 Corinthians 15:44 this is to show the soul is a body notice it says "is a body" not "has a body"

1cor 15:44 It is sown a body of the soul (literally in Greek - a soulical body) , it is raised a body of the spirit; if there is a body of the soul, there is also of the spirit:— 
45 Thus, also, it is written—The first man, Adam, became, a living soul, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 
46 Howbeit, not first, is the [body] of the spirit, but that, of the soul,—afterwards, that of the spirit. (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible)

Also  the Extracts from the Works of Theodotus shows that the soul can be destroyed in Gehenna

The Origin of the Soul

Do the Gnostic texts speak about the the origin of the soul?

Yes the gospel of Philip and the Extracts from the Works of Theodotus describe the creation of the soul:

50 “Taking dust from the earth”: not of the land but a portion of matter but of varied constitution and colour, he fashioned a soul, earthly and material, irrational and consubstantial with that of the beasts. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)

Adam’s soul came from a breath. The soul’s companion is spirit, and the spirit given to him is his mother. (Gospel of Philip).






Is there a distinction between soul and spirit

Yes like the Bible the Gnostic texts or apocryphal gospels make a distinction between soul and spirit

Then Peter answered, “Look, three times you have told us, ‘Be filled,’ but we are filled.”
The savior answered and said, “For this reason I have told you, ‘Be filled,’ that you may not lack. Those who lack will not be saved. To be filled is good and to lack is bad. Yet since it is also good for you to lack but bad for you to be filled, whoever is filled also lacks. One who lacks is not filled in the way another who lacks is filled, but whoever is filled is brought to an appropriate end. So you should lack when you can fill yourselves and be filled when you lack, that you may be able to fill yourselves more. Be filled with spirit but lack in reason, for reason is of the soul. It is soul.” (The Apocryphon of James)

The Soul is Temporary

Some apocryphal text speak about the death of the soul 

“He  knows about desire and what the flesh needs. Does it not desire the soul? The body does not sin apart from the soul just as the soul is not saved apart from the spirit. But if the soul is saved from evil and the spirit too is saved, the body becomes sinless. The spirit animates the soul but the body kills it. The soul kills itself. (The Apocryphon of James)

Heracleon was a Valentinian Gnostic in his Commentary on the Gospel of John he rejects the doctrine of the immortal soul

Fragment 40, on John 4:46-53 (In John 4:46, “So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose child was ill.) The official was the Craftsman, for he himself ruled like a king over those under him. Because his domain is small and transitory, he was called an “official,” like a petty princeling who is set over a small kingdom by the universal king. The “child” “in Capernaun” is one who is in the lower part of the Middle (i.e. of animate substance), which lies near the sea, that is, which is linked with matter. The child’s proper person was sick, that is, in a condition not in accordance with the child’s proper nature, in ignorance and sins. (In John 4:47, “When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his child , for it was at the point of death.”) The words “from Judea to Galilee” mean ‘from the Judea above.’. . . By the words “it was at the point of death,” the teaching of those who claim that the soul is immortal is refuted. In agreement with this is the statement that “the body and soul are destoyed in Hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The soul is not immortal, but is possessed only of a disposition towards salvation, for it is the perishable which puts on imperishability and the mortal which puts on immortality when “its death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54) [Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John]

So some Gnostic teachers say that the soul is mortal and can be annihilated completely at death and does not reincarnate. This is in harmony with proto-orthodox teachings of the second century:

Then I answered, "I am not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one thing and think another. I admitted to you formerly, that I and many others are of this opinion, and[believe] that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise. Moreover, I pointed out to you that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics, teach doctrines that are in every way blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish. But that you may know that I do not say this before you alone, I shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the arguments which have passed between us; in which I shall record myself as admitting the very same things which I admit to you. For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines [delivered] by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this [truth], and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians, even as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genist , Meristae,Gelilaeans, Hellenists, Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not hear me impatiently when I tell you what I think), but are[only] called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as God Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him. But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare. (Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 80)

So both the Gnostic and orthodox Christians did not believe in the doctrine of immorality of the soul, reincarnation or going to heaven

The Gnostics thought that the human soul is limited by language, emotion, and ethics, leaving us with an inadequate and false sense of who we really are. (The Gnostic New Age,Page 177)

When we realize that Gnostic spirituality is not focused on the liberation of soul but on the spirit, we find an innovation that makes its way into Gnostic myth and ritual performance. If the gods of this world are false, then the spirit has to come from wherever the true God lives. So we see in Gnostic thought the emergence of a transcendent realm that houses the true God and the human spirit. It is this spirit that descends down through the spheres and takes on a soul and a body in the process. Its liberation means purgation of the soul’s negativity and the body’s inclinations so that the spirit can become lighter and fl y home (The Gnostic New Age, Page)

sacrifice and redemption

The Gospel of Philip uses biblical terms like Resurrection ransom, redeem and sacrifice(s) if reincarnation is being taught in the gospel of philip than these terms would be meaning less

Christ came [53] to purchase some, to save some, to redeem some. He purchased strangers and made them his own, and he brought back his own whom he had laid down of his own will as a deposit. Not only when he appeared did he lay the soul of his own will as a deposit, but from the beginning of the world he laid down the soul, for the proper moment, according to his will. Then he came forth to take it back, since it had been laid down as a deposit. It had fallen into the hands of robbers and had been stolen, but he saved it. And he redeemed the good in the world, and the bad.

 is the sacrifice of [...], whom Death deceived. When he died, he bound them with the natures which are leading them astray. Yet he offered up offerings [...] cattle, saying, "I gave them to Death, and the angels, and the [...] demons [...] living offering [...]. I have offered up myself to you as an offering, together with those that are mine, to you yourself, (O) Father of the All, and those whom you love, who have come forth from you who are holy (and) living. And <according to> the perfect laws, I shall pronounce my name as I receive baptism now (and) forever, (as a name) among the living (and) holy names, and (now) in the waters. Amen."

 He included himself in the living offering, together with your offspring. He offered them up as an offering to the All. For it is not cattle that you will offer up for sin(s) of unbelief, and for the ignorances, and (for) all the wicked deeds which they will do [...]. And they do not reach the Father of the All [...] the faith ..

There are forces that do [favors] for people. They do not want people to come to [salvation], but they want their own existence to continue. For if people come to salvation, sacrifice will [stop]…and animals will not be offered up [55] to the forces. In fact, those to whom sacrifices were made were animals. The animals were offered up alive, and after being offered they died. But a human being was offered up to God dead, and the human being came alive. (Gospel of Philip)

The Resurrection

In the Gospel of Phillip, Philip makes a  great emphasis on resurrection of the body

Some people are afraid that they may arise from the dead naked, and so they want to arise in flesh. They do not know that it is those who wear the [flesh] who are naked. Those who are [able] to take it off are not naked.
“Flesh [and blood will] not inherit God’s kingdom.” What is this flesh that will not [57] inherit? It is what we are wearing. And what is this flesh that will inherit? It is the flesh and blood of Jesus.
For this reason he said, “One who does not eat my flesh and drink my blood does not have life within.” What does this mean? His flesh is the word and his blood is the holy spirit. Whoever has received these has food, drink, and clothing.
And I also disagree with others who say that the flesh will not arise. Both views are wrong. You say that the flesh will not arise? Then tell me what will arise, so we may salute you. You say it is the spirit in the flesh, and also the light in the flesh? But what is in the flesh is the word, and what you are talking about is nothing other than flesh. It is necessary to arise in this sort of flesh, since everything exists in it.
In this world those who wear clothes are superior to the clothes. In heaven’s kingdom the clothes are superior to those who wear them. (The Gospel of Philip)

The lord rose from the dead. He became as he was, but now his body was perfect. He possessed flesh, but this was true flesh. Our flesh isn’t true. Ours is only an image of the true. (The Gospel of Philip)

It is commonly said that the Gnostics denied the resurrection of the flesh on the ground that the flesh (being material) was evil and could have no part in the world of the spirit but Philip and the Treatise on the Resurrection addressed to Rheginus show that the situation is somewhat more complex.

the readers are warned in another saying in the Gospel of Philip "neither to fear nor to love the flesh" but at a distinction is apparently drawn between the true flesh and a flesh which is only an image of the true 

Flesh and blood are allegorized as the logos and the holy spirit. while literal flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom the word and holy spirit surely can

Ignatius identifies the flesh with faith and the blood with love (Trall 8 Ign Rom 8:3)

The exposition of john 6:53 forms the transition between the two parts of this saying and is possibly the link which connects them. The flesh and blood we now have will not inherit the kingdom but the flesh of Jesus is true flesh and will inherit.

"It is necessary to arise in this sort of flesh, since everything exists in it."

The idea is that the true believer must rise in this mortal flesh in order to put on immortality to be clothed with the heavenly garment

By the words “it was at the point of death,” the teaching of those who claim that the soul is immortal is refuted. In agreement with this is the statement that “the body and soul are destoyed in Hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The soul is not immortal, but is possessed only of a disposition towards salvation, for it is the perishable which puts on imperishability and the mortal which puts on immortality when “its death is swallowed up in victory.” [1 Corinthians 15:54] (Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John)

As Christ rose from the grave and had his mortal body changed to an immortalized body, so the true believer will share his reward (Phil. 3:21). Through baptism we associate ourselves with Christ's death and resurrection, showing our belief that we, too, will share the reward which he received through his resurrection (Rom.6:3-5). Through sharing in his sufferings now, we will also share his reward: "Bearing about (now) in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2 Cor. 4:10). "He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit" (Rom. 8:11). With this hope, we therefore wait for "the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23), through that body being immortalized.

For if you remember reading in the Gospel that Elijah appeared and Moses with him, do not think the resurrection is an illusion, but it is truth! Indeed it is more fitting to say that the world is an illusion, rather than the resurrection which came into being through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (From The Treatise on the Resurrection)

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the author here is defending the doctrine of the resurrection.


Those who seek reincarnation as eternal life are destined to die over and over again, return as a tree or a bug, or a rock, they fail to understand soul is the pearl of great price and Jesus saves souls from man's ignorant darkness, this is the sin, the flesh he is in kept alive by the instinctual spirit.

https://thegodabovegod.com/gnosticism-reincarnation-religion/

Why Gnostic Christians Should Not Use the Rosary!

Why Gnostic Christians Should Not Use the Rosary!

There are many websites claiming to be Gnostics on the internet most of them advocate the use of the rosary with prayers similar to those used by the Roman Catholic Church which have been adapted for a more Gnostic style. However not many people know the true origin of the rosary and how it was used as a spiritual weapon against Gnostic Christians this study will look into this:

Rosary a string of beads for keeping count in a rosary or in the devotions of some other religions, in Roman Catholic use 55 or 165 in number.

The term “rosary” Latin: rosarium, means "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"

The rosary was not used by Jesus, by His apostles, or by the early church fathers, nor is it referred to in the Gnostic Gospels.

A Troubled history

The original, lengthy prayer cycle is devoted to the Virgin Mary and was composed by St Dominic as an antidote to heresy at a time when the Catholic Church was seeking to crush the Cathar sect in what is now south-western France.

The crusade against the Cathars stands as one of the bloodiest episodes in Church history.

The Rosary was roundly cursed by Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century as "mere babbling, as stupid as it is wicked, nourishing a false confidence". (Pope updates ancient Rosary prayer BBC NEWS Monday, 21 October, 2002, 14:55 GMT 15:55 UK)

One Catholic website says "Our Lady gave Saint Dominic the Rosary as a weapon to combat the awful Cathar (Albigensian) heresy."

St. Dominic set up his headquarters in the town of Fanjeaux in 1206, becoming its parish priest and taking charge of its ancient church, Notre Dame de Prouille. In Fanjeaux, St. Dominic founded a convent for young women fleeing the vice and debauchery of the Cathar sect. Soon after, St. Dominic added monks to his growing community. From these small beginnings, he planted the seeds of what would later become the Dominican Order.

Church tradition tells us that, in the year 1208, St. Dominic had a vision of the Virgin Mary while praying in his church. The Blessed Mother reportedly taught him to pray the Rosary, telling him to use this weapon to defeat the heretics.

Aflame with enthusiasm, St. Dominic called on Catholics and heretics alike to pray the Rosary. By 1213, many Catholic Crusaders had taken St. Dominic’s advice. Devotion to the Rosary had spread among them like wildfire.


That year, a Crusader army under Simon de Montfort met a Cathar army under Raymond of Toulouse in the battle of Muret. The heretics were routed. Years later, when the Cathar heresy was finally extinguished, many Catholics attributed its defeat as much to St. Dominic’s zeal as to the Crusaders’ arms. (From a Catholic Website)


From a Cathar website:

Leo XIII claims that the Cathars were defeated not by human force, but by Mary's Rosary:

8. Moreover, we may well believe that the Queen of Heaven herself has granted an especial efficacy to this mode of supplication, for it was by her command and counsel that the devotion was begun and spread abroad by the holy Patriarch Dominic [Dominic Guzmán] as a most potent weapon against the enemies of the faith at an epoch not, indeed, unlike our own, of great danger to our holy religion. The heresy of the Albigenses had in effect, one while covertly, another while openly, overrun many countries, and this most vile offspring of the Manicheans, whose deadly errors it reproduced, were the cause in stirring up against the Church the most bitter animosity and a virulent persecution. There seemed to be no human hope of opposing this fanatical and most pernicious sect when timely succour came from on high through the instrument of Mary's Rosary. Thus under the favour of the powerful Virgin, the glorious vanquisher of all heresies, the forces of the wicked were destroyed and dispersed, and faith issued forth unharmed and more shining than before.


1891-09-22- SS Leo XIII - Octobri Mense: Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on September 22, 1891 On the Rosary


Leo does not explain why Mary's Rosary had so little effect before Catharism was exterminated by physical force - a long war of extermination followed by operations of the Inquisition over generations.


Leo still seems to accept that Catharism was descended from Manicheism, as the medieval Catholic Church held, but the modern Catholic Church doubts.


Pius XI elaborates on The Rosary and likens Catharism to Communism:

19. The Holy Virgin who once victoriously drove the terrible sect of the Albigenses from Christian countries, now suppliantly invoked by us, will turn aside the new errors, especially those of Communism, which reminds us in many ways, in its motives and misdeeds, of the ancient ones.

20. And as in the times of the Crusades, in all Europe there was raised one voice of the people, one supplication; so today, in all the world, the cities, and even the smallest villages, united with courage and strength, with filial and constant insistence, the people seek to obtain from the great Mother of God the defeat of the enemies of Christian and human civilization, to the end that true peace may shine again over tired and erring men.

BUT IS IT CHRISTIAN?

Does God’s Word authorize such repetitious praying? No. Jesus said: “But when praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. So, do not make yourselves like them, for God your Father knows what things you are needing before ever you ask him.” How well Jesus knew the human tendency to want to repeat prayers! And, in view of his warning, the fact that the use of the rosary is widespread among the people of the nations carries no weight with it whatsoever!—Matt. 6:7, 8.

Apologists for the rosary try to rob Jesus’ words of their effect by pointing to Revelation 4:8, in which the word “holy” appears three times: “Holy, holy, holy.” But it is quite different from repeating one word twice in a prayer for a total of three words to repeating the forty words in Hail Mary fifty-two times for a total of 2,120 words, not to say anything of the other repetitions involved. Repeating a thing twice for emphasis is done throughout the Scriptures and makes sense. Thus when Jesus was faced with his greatest test he prayed three times to Jehovah his Father. Likewise Paul three times asked God to remove a certain “thorn in the flesh.” There is nothing, however, in the Scriptures to indicate that Jesus and Paul had memorized these prayers or had used them at some other time in their lives. These prayers were born out of the serious trials they were undergoing.—Matt. 26:39-44; 2 Cor. 12:7.

But trying to remember all the various recitations required in saying the rosary and to repeat them in their proper order makes saying the rosary a memory test rather than a spontaneous expression of heartfelt prayer. Besides, one’s mind cannot help but wander when one has to say the same forty words fifty-three times in one prayer. Such repetition is but a variation of the prayer wheel of certain Oriental religions. It consists of a cylinder in which written prayers are placed. Each time the cylinder is revolved the prayers in it are supposed to have been repeated.

Nor is that all. The Hail Mary is said nine times as often as the Paternoster, or “Our Father,” fifty-three times as compared with six times. Is the prayer composed by men and directed to Mary nine times as important or effective as the prayer taught by Jesus and directed to God himself? The fact is that, look where we will in the Scriptures, not once do we read of anyone seeking access either to God or to Jesus by way of Mary.

NO BENEFITS

As for the benefits of indulgences promised those reciting the rosary: How can anyone gain such benefits when, look where we will in God’s Word, not a word do we find about a purgatory? On the contrary, we are plainly told the following: “The wages sin pays is death.” When man “goes back to his ground, in that day his thoughts do perish.” The dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” Man’s hope lies in a resurrection from the dead, “of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—Rom. 6:23; Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:5; Acts 24:15.

And regarding the forgiveness of our sins, we are assured that it is “the blood of Jesus his Son [that] cleanses us from all sin.” And “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:7, 9.

The repeating of fifty-three Hail Marys every time the rosary is recited flies in the face of Jesus’ express condemnation of saying the “same things over and over again.” Its widespread use outside of professedly Christian lands argues that its origin is pagan. And the same must also be said regarding its associated features, the exaltation of Mary, the offering of indulgences for saying the rosary, the crediting of victories to it and its claimed power to decrease purgatorial suffering. None of these find any support in the Scriptures, but they do find parallels in pagan religions.

In view of all these facts, can the rosary be said to be Christian? It cannot!

Not Biblical

Unsurprisingly, we are given various advice in the Bible, both about how we should, and how we should not pray.

In particular, we look to the words of Jesus himself, as reported in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 6, verses 5-13. Please, look at what Jesus said and then repeated, to clearly stress the importance of what he was saying (Matthew 6:7-8 AMP)

7 “And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8 So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

Can you see this? Jesus says “do not use meaningless repetition“. If you prefer the KJV, these two verses are even stronger

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

In the KJV, we are told even more clearly not to use vain repetitions as the heathens do.

Jesus then “doubles down”. First he castigates people who use vain/meaningless repetition and calls them unGodly, and then he tells us not to be like them.

Can this be any clearer? How can Jesus’ own words, speaking clearly and literally, be reconciled with 53 identical prayers in a row to the mother of Jesus (an unkind person would suggest that the act of praying to anyone other than the Father is in and of itself a heathenish act)?


One of the justifications for using a rosary is that it helps us to concentrate and gives us a format for our prayer. But do we need a necklace of beads to help us pray? No. We don’t. God offers us all the help we need, in the form of the Holy Spirit. In Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Rom 8:26-27), we are told (AMP)

26 In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.
27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.

We are also encouraged not just to “not repeat empty incantations”, but to make our requests specifically known. Philippians 4:6 (AMP) says

Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.

Summary

The word “Rosary” is not found in the Bible
The Rosary was created as a spiritual weapon to use against Gnostic Christians called the Cathai or the Albigensians for this reason alone Gnostic Christians today should reject the use of the Rosary.

Since gnosis does not come by repetitive praying Gnostics should not use the Rosary
Repetitive praying is a type of brainwashing or mind control 

at war prayer manual by Traci Morin:

Father God, I repent and renounce using Demons of candle burning, rosary prayers and idol worship to do evil or through ceremonies, and I take authority, dominion, bin and break and cast out all demonic spirits of curses to go to the pit of hell, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

How to Become a Gnostic

How to Become a Gnostic

Gnosticism is an age old spiritual path focused upon Gnosis, which means individual direct knowledge of the divine. If you've seen The Matrix, then you've seen pieces of art that embody Gnostic themes. If you want to become a gnostic, then you have to start with the basics and work your way up to changing your life and spirituality.

Steps 

1

Read, Contemplate, Read, Contemplate, and Read. Although Gnosticism embodies Gnosis which is divine knowledge rather than simple facts, being a Gnostic requires quite a bit of reading. Gnosticism arose in an ancient cultural matrix, involving a different world-view, and a different understanding of the practice of religion. At the bottom of this page there will be links to several excellent sources.



2
Find out if Gnostic views are for you. Although Gnostic myths are incredibly varied due to the very nature of the tradition, there are some key points that are common. Note, you don't have to accept all of these, but a majority of these represent traditional Gnostic thought, so it's a good idea to use these as a sort of starting point (taken from Stephan A. Hoeller's "Introduction to Gnosticism"):
There is an original and transcendental spiritual unity from which emanated a vast manifestation of pluralities.
The manifest universe of matter and mind was created not by the original spiritual unity, but by spiritual beings possessing inferior powers.
One of the objectives of these creators is the perpetual separation of humans from the unity (God).
The human being is a composite: the outer aspect is the handiwork of the inferior creatures, while the inner aspect is a fallen spark of the ultimate divine unity.
The sparks of transcendental holiness slumber in their material and mental prison, their self-awareness stupefied by the forces of materiality and the mind.
The slumbering sparks have not been abandoned by the ultimate unity; rather, a constant effort directed toward their awakening and liberation comes forth from this unity.
The awakening of the inmost divine essence in humans comes through salvific knowledge, called "gnosis".
Gnosis is not brought about by belief or by the performance of virtuous deeds or by obedience to commandments; these at best serve to prepare one for liberating knowledge.
Among those aiding the slumbering sparks, a particular position of honor and importance belongs to a feminine emanation of the unity, Sophia (Wisdom). She was involved in the creation of the world and ever since has remained the guide of her orphaned human children.
From the earliest times of history, messengers of Light have been sent forth from the ultimate unity for the purpose of advancing gnosis in the souls of humans.
The greatest of these messengers in our historical and geographical matrix was the descended Logos of God manifest in Jesus Christ.
Jesus exercised a twofold ministry: he was a teacher, imparting instruction concerning the way of gnosis; and he was a hierophant, imparting mysteries.
The mysteries imparted by Jesus (which are also known as sacraments) are mighty aids towards gnosis and have been entrusted by him to his apostles and their successors.
Through the spiritual practice of the mysteries (sacraments) and a relentless and uncompromising striving for gnosis, humans can steadily advance toward liberation from all confinement, material and otherwise. The ultimate objective of this process of liberation is the achievement of salvific knowledge and with it, freedom from embodied existence and return to the ultimate unity.

3
Spiritual Practice. Amassing facts is not enough, one must also practice to achieve gnosis:
Read Gnostic Scripture Gnostic scripture is a fairly wide category, and includes the Bible, Lost Gospels, Sethian literature, Valentinian literature, Early Syrian Christian literature, Hermetic literature, Mandaean literature, Manichaean literature, Cathar literature, Islamic mystical literature, Jewish mystical literature, and several more.
Pray often Prayer focuses the mind and also calls the attention of the divine unity which can impart grace for gnosis. Regular prayer is as vital for a Gnostic as meditation is for a Buddhist (in fact, meditation can be used in Gnosticism to great effect as well).
Practice and receive the sacraments These will be covered in the next major step.




4
Sacraments. Gnostic Christianity often uses the same seven sacraments used in the Orthodoxy, but with different liturgy and different applied meaning. These sacraments are: Baptism, Chrism (Confirmation), Holy Eucharist, Redemption, Bride-Chamber, Extreme Unction, and Healing. Redemption is considered the ultimate form of liberation and should not be undertaken by anyone wishing to incarnate again in a body. Bride-Chamber is a mystery that is usually conferred after death in the spiritual realm, however, it may take on some earthly form at a later time that God ordains. There are two lesser versions of these sacraments, and they may be taken as a form of preparation for these greater sacraments (Redemption and Bride-chamber). These are Penance and Matrimony (marriage). Unlike many churches, most Gnostic Churches allow anyone to partake of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist should be received often, and one should receive baptism and chrismation when one feels comfortable to do so. Note: You can contact a nearby Gnostic church for baptism and chrismation without being a member and travel there. These aren't rituals designed to make you a member of a physical church, but rather the body of Gnosis. The Eucharist can be performed solo and there are many ways of practicing it available on various websites and in several books.


5
Never stop practicing Gnosticism is a constant striving. You don't have to be a member of a church, or follow their liturgy to the word. You just have to understand the mysteries, perform them, pray often, and immerse yourself in writings that will assist you on your path to gnosis.





How to become a Christian according to the Gospel of Philip

https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Gnostic

The Gospel of Philip and Transubstantiation

The Gospel of Philip and Transubstantiation

Ignatius identifies the flesh with faith and the blood with love (Trall 8 Ign Rom 8:3)  My love has been crucified, and there is no fire in me that loves anything; but there is living water springing up in me, and which says to me inwardly, Come to the Father. I have no delight in corruptible food, nor in the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham; and I desire the drink, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life.

The Didache, written in the late-first or early-second century, referred to the elements of the Lord’s table as “spiritual food and drink” (The Didache, chapter 10). The long passage detailing the Lord's Table in this early Christian document gives no hint of transubstantiation whatsoever.

We thank Thee, holy Father, for Thy holy name which You didst cause to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You modest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Thou, Master almighty, didst create all things for Thy name's sake; You gavest food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to Thee; but to us You didst freely give spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Thy Servant.

Jesus often used metaphor in order to communicate a point. For example, he says “I am the door,” “I am the vine,” “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14) but people know that we don’t take such statement literally. After all, who believes that Christ is literally a door swinging on a hinge?

Does the Gospel of Philip teach the doctrine of Transubstantiation?

A superficial reading of the the Gospel of Philip may lead one to conclude that it teaches Transubstantiation with sayings like "The eucharist is Jesus" but this is not the case as we will see below

The master [did] everything in a mystery: baptism, chrism, eucharist, redemption, and bridal chamber.[For this reason] he said, “I have come to make [the lower] like the [upper and the] outer like the [inner, and to unite] them in that place.” [He spoke] here in symbols [and images].

Here the word mystery is musthrion 3466: μυστήριον meaning means ‘something hidden or secret’ – our word ‘mystery’.

a secret, of which initiation is necessary; in the NT: the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof; the Christian revelation generally; particular truths or details of the Christian revelation.

The word does not mean a "sacrament(s)"

The language surrounding ‘sacraments’ did not develop in the Church for some time. We hear of a ritual of baptism in the Christian community of the Acts of the Apostles, and of the ‘breaking of bread’ – the Eucharist (Acts 2:38, 41- 42). These celebrations were called by their name, there was no generic term for these experiences.

The Lord [did] everything in a symbolic secret: a baptism, and a anointing, and a eucharist, and a redemption, and a bridal chamber. [For this reason] he said, “I have come to make [the lower] like the [upper and the] outer like the [inner, and to unite] them in that place.” [He spoke] here in symbols [and images].

The Greek word musthrion, translated “symbolic secret,” has reference primarily to that which is known by those who are initiated.

GPh 67:27–30:“The Lord did everything like a symbolic secret: baptism, chrism, Eucharist, redemption and bridal chamber.”

It is clear, however, that this text does not speak about “mysteries” in the sense of sacraments, but about the hidden, symbolic meaning of the Saviour’s deeds in the world. (Einar Thomassen)

Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world cannot receive truth in any other way. There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is necessary to be born again truly through the image. How is it with the resurrection and the image? Through the image it must rise. The bridal chamber and the image? Through the image one must enter the truth: this is the restoration.

Flesh and Blood Symbolic 

24 Some are afraid lest they rise naked. Because of this they wish to rise in the flesh, and they do not know that it is those who wear the flesh who are naked. It is those who [...] to unclothe themselves who are not naked. "Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Co 15:50). What is this which will not inherit? This which is on us. But what is this, too, which will inherit? It is that which belongs to Jesus and his blood. Because of this he said "He who shall not eat my flesh and drink my blood has not life in him" (Jn 6:53). What is it? His flesh is the word, and his blood is the Holy Spirit. He who has received these has food and he has drink and clothing. I find fault with the others who say that it will not rise. Then both of them are at fault. You say that the flesh will not rise. But tell me what will rise, that we may honor you. You say the Spirit in the flesh, and it is also this light in the flesh. (But) this too is a matter which is in the flesh, for whatever you shall say, you say nothing outside the flesh. It is necessary to rise in this flesh, since everything exists in it. In this world, those who put on garments are better than the garments. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the garments are better than those that put them on. (Gospel of Philip)

The Gospel of Philip in particular shows that Valentinians understood the flesh and the blood of the Savior to be symbolic thus, for instance, the “flesh” is the Logos and the “blood” is the Holy Spirit

According to the Gnostic perspective, the "flesh" of the Savior is equated with the Logos, which means the divine Word or wisdom, and the "blood" is identified with the Holy Spirit. The Gnostic interpretation suggests that the true essence of Jesus' teachings lies in his spiritual wisdom (Logos) and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

This interpretation aligns with Gnostic beliefs, where attaining gnosis (hidden knowledge) and spiritual enlightenment are seen as the keys to salvation and union with the divine. Gnostics often approached religious concepts and biblical narratives allegorically, seeking to reveal deeper mystical insights.

Literally, the blood of Christ which was shed on Calvary would be of no use to them. It trickled down his side; it oozed from his hands and feet; it gushed from the spear gash; and fell on the ground and dried away like any other blood, and nobody could find it if they tried, and if they could, it would not be of any spiritual value.

Wisdom steers a middle course and aims to get that nice equilibrium of facts which results from a comprehensive study of the scriptures.

The 'blood of Christ' refers to the essence, or life-giving properties, of Jesus' teachings.

The spirit and the blood are one and the same:

Jesus shocked everyone by saying: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54).

Jesus tried in vain to explain that he was not speaking about drinking the blood that flows in his natural body.  He was talking of the “blood” that flows in his spiritual body.  He said: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63).

Rising naked and wearing the flesh: Some people fear rising naked, which could signify being stripped of the physical body. Instead, they wish to rise in the flesh, not realizing that those who "wear the flesh" are the ones who are actually naked. Here, "wearing the flesh" may refer to identifying too closely with the physical body and not recognizing the deeper spiritual reality.

"Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 15:50): The text quotes this verse from the New Testament, suggesting that the physical body alone cannot attain spiritual enlightenment or enter the kingdom of God.

"He who shall not eat my flesh and drink my blood has not life in him" (John 6:53): This quote from the Gospel of John is also interpreted symbolically. Here, Jesus' flesh is identified with the "word" or divine wisdom (Logos), and his blood is associated with the Holy Spirit. To "eat his flesh and drink his blood" symbolizes partaking in the spiritual essence of Jesus' teachings and receiving the Holy Spirit.

"His flesh is the word, and his blood is the Holy Spirit": The text explicitly explains that Jesus' flesh is the Logos (the divine word or wisdom), and his blood is the Holy Spirit. Both are seen as spiritual essences, not to be taken literally as physical elements.

The Gospel of Philip indeed presents a symbolic interpretation of Jesus' flesh and blood, equating them with the Logos (the divine Word or wisdom) and the Holy Spirit, respectively. This symbolic understanding is central to the Gnostic perspective on Jesus and the Eucharist.

The Flesh as the Logos: In the Gnostic view, the Logos represents divine wisdom, the creative force, and the guiding principle of the universe. It is the embodiment of spiritual truth and knowledge. The Gospel of Philip associates the flesh of Jesus with the Logos, implying that the true essence of Jesus lies in his teachings and divine wisdom. The emphasis is on the spiritual aspect of Jesus, rather than his physical body.


The Blood as the Holy Spirit: Similarly, the Gospel of Philip identifies the blood of Jesus with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, in Gnostic thought, is the divine presence that brings spiritual enlightenment and transformation. It is the active force that awakens the divine spark within individuals and leads them to gnosis, or hidden knowledge. By equating Jesus' blood with the Holy Spirit, the Gospel of Philip emphasizes the role of spiritual enlightenment and divine revelation in understanding the true essence of Jesus.

Symbolic Eating and Drinking: The passage in the Gospel of Philip, "He who shall not eat my flesh and drink my blood has not life in him" (John 6:53), takes on a symbolic meaning in Gnostic thought. Rather than endorsing a literal consumption of Jesus' physical body and blood, the passage suggests partaking in the spiritual essence of Jesus' teachings (flesh as the Logos) and receiving the transformative power of the Holy Spirit (blood as the Holy Spirit).

Rejecting Transubstantiation: The Gnostic understanding of the Eucharist as a symbolic communion with Jesus' spiritual essence (Logos and Holy Spirit) stands in contrast to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation teaches that the substance of the bread and wine literally changes into the physical body and blood of Christ during the consecration of the Eucharist. The Gnostic interpretation in the Gospel of Philip rejects this literal transformation in favor of a symbolic and spiritual understanding of the Eucharist.

Conclusion: The Gospel of Philip's teaching that the flesh and blood of Jesus are symbolically associated with the Logos and the Holy Spirit reflects the Gnostic emphasis on hidden knowledge, spiritual enlightenment, and the inner Christ. This symbolic interpretation of Jesus' teachings and the Eucharist highlights the Gnostic belief in the spiritual nature of Christianity, diverging from the traditional understanding of sacraments and transubstantiation found in orthodox Christianity.

For more information on this saying from the Gospel of Philip see:

Valentinian Teaching on the Resurrection
What is the blood and Flesh of Christ

13 He is “heavenly bread” and “spiritual food” furnishing life by food and knowledge, “the light of men,” that is, of the Church. Therefore those who ate the heavenly bread died, but he who eats the true bread of the Spirit shall not die. The Son is the living bread which was given by the Father to those who wish to eat. “And my flesh is the bread which I will give,” he says, that is, to him whose flesh is nourished by the Eucharist; or better still, the flesh is his body, “which is the Church,” “heavenly bread,” a blessed Assembly. And perhaps just as the elect are essentially derived from the same substance, and as they will also attain the same end. . .(Extracts from the Works of Theodotus and the So-Called Oriental Teachings at the Time of Valentinu)

The excerpt you provided appears to be from "Excerpta ex Theodotus" or "Extracts from the Works of Theodotus," which is a Gnostic text attributed to Theodotus and is associated with the teachings of Valentinus, a prominent Gnostic teacher of the 2nd century. It contains Gnostic interpretations of spiritual concepts, including references to "heavenly bread," "spiritual food," and the Eucharist. Let's break down the key points:

"Heavenly bread" and "spiritual food": In this context, these terms likely refer to the spiritual nourishment and knowledge that the Gnostic community believes they receive through their mystical understanding of Jesus' teachings and the hidden truths of existence.

"The light of men": This phrase is likely interpreted allegorically to represent the illumination and enlightenment provided to the Gnostic community through their Gnosis or spiritual knowledge.

"The Son is the living bread which was given by the Father": This statement reflects the Gnostic belief that Jesus, the Son, is the one who imparts spiritual life and knowledge to those who seek it.

"And my flesh is the bread which I will give": Here, the Gnostic interpretation of Jesus' words about his flesh as the bread may refer to the spiritual significance they attribute to the Eucharist or communion. It suggests that partaking in the Eucharistic ritual symbolizes nourishment by the true spiritual essence embodied by Jesus.

"The flesh is his body, 'which is the Church'": The Gnostic understanding may equate the true body of Christ not with the physical form but with the spiritual essence of the Church, which is the assembly of the enlightened believers.

"Perhaps just as the elect are essentially derived from the same substance": This phrase likely highlights the Gnostic belief in the spiritual unity and divine origin of the enlightened ones or the elect within their community.

57 The eucharist is Jesus. For he is called in Syriac "Pharisatha," which is "the one who is spread out," for Jesus came to crucify the world.

this saying does not prove much just that Jesus is the eucharist that's all 

eucharist literally thanksgiving, actually the Lord's Last Supper 

spread out has a double meaning breaking of bread and the death on the cross

  

Men too walk long distances but do not get anywhere, When evening came for them, they saw neither city nor village, neither creation nor nature, power and angel. In vain have these miserable men taken trouble over the Eucharist'

Segelberg suggests that this passage 'might be a criticism of the eucharistic practices of the Church,' and renders 'Men too walk long distances but do not get anywhere' (15-17) and 'In vain have these miserable men taken trouble over the Eucharist' (20-21). This interpretation is certainly valid in that the passage is a condemnation of unproductive effort. (Gospel of Philip, R. McL. Wilson)

The Eucharist of the Churches lacks pneuma or spirit it does not give life. Therefore those who have frequently taken communion have nevertheless not received anything but when the evening of life comes then they are as un-spiritual as when they began life. Their church is a donkey church. ( Segelberg)


For more information on this saying from the Gospel of Philip see
Jesus the Measurement Spread Out

,106 The cup of prayer contains wine and water, for it represents the blood for which thanksgiving is offered. It is full of the holy spirit, and it belongs to the completely perfect human. When we drink it, we take to ourselves the perfect human. The living water is a body, and we must put on the living human. Thus, when one is about to go down into the water, one strips in order to put on the living human.

The cup represents Jesus at the last supper

Priest or Holy Man

114 The priest is completely holy, down to his very body. For if he has taken the bread, he will consecrate it. Or the cup or anything else that he gets, he will consecrate. Then how will he not consecrate the body also?

In the Coptic the word "priest" is not used, the word used is a "holy man" or a "saint" it is a dishonest translation to use the word "priest" it changes the meaning of the text. The Valentinians did not have a priesthood. According to Tertullian, "Today one man is bishop and tomorrow another; the person who is a deacon today, tomorrow is a reader; the one who is a priest is a layman tomorrow. For even on the laity they impose the functions of priesthood." ( Tertullian Against the Valentinians 1) He goes on to relate that even women could take the role of bishop, much to his horror. 

From the Quote from Tertullian we can see that the Valentinian congregations were organised autonomously.

The correct word to be used is "holy man" or "saint" this is seen from the translations by Thomas Paterson Brown and R. McL. Wilson:

The holy man is holy altogether, down to his body. For if he has received the bread he .will make it holy, or the cup, or anything else that he receives, purifying them. And how will he not purify the body also? (Gospel of Philip R. McL. Wilson Translation)

How does a person purify the body? The answer is given in the Gospel of Truth: 'Through the unity shall each one find himself Through knowledge he will purify himself from diversity into unity, swallowing up the matter in him like a flame, darkness by light, death by life.' He who is holy is capable of making everything holy, even to the body. (Gospel of Truth)

according to Philip a believer becomes 'not a Christian but a Christ at the anointing

The saint respresents Jesus' flesh He must consecrate the bread which is his body. Likewise the saint represents the blood of Christ  the saint or holy person must consecrate the blood

Eating Blood

Eating or drinking blood is forbidden

Acts 15:19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

When they had said these things in the prayer, they embraced each other and they went to eat their holy food, which has no blood in it. (The Prayer of Thanksgiving The Nag Hammadi Library)


104. Furthermore, thus it is regarding the Bread with the Cup and the Chrism: there is nonetheless another (sacrament) exalted over these (Gospel of Philip)

Holy communion

communion, kept secret--There are times when it is to our own spiritual benefit and to God's glory to keep things concealed and, like Mary, to ponder them in our heart until the due time for expression. There are joys of the Spirit that are secret between a man and his Lord. One feels a sense of condemnation and depletion if he talks too freely about his communion with the Lord.

Christians have lost the mystical meaning of the communion service. The object of the ritual was to enable the worshipper to establish oneness with the Deity, to symbolically die and rise again from the dead and have a new life with the Deity in a new world. This was a well-cultivated theme in many religions of the day. The people believed that by drinking the blood and eating the bread it would be possible to absorb the qualities of the Deity.

But what is the mystical meaning that Jesus was seeking to convey to us? Communion is union in consciousness with God. It is more than an intellectual thought or a feeling even though these are included. In a moment of union the soul is quickened and we are exhilarated both mentally and emotionally. This is especially true when an individual first begins the practice of communion or silent meditation.

The communion service that Jesus instituted is contained in His words, “When you pray, go within your closet and shut the door and pray to your Father Who is in secret.” Many people reach out in thought and feeling to a god they think is out in space. But the true God, the Source of Creativity and Intelligence, is within you. Of course, God is omnipresent, but your place of contact or communion with Him is within your consciousness. What happens or can happen in a true communion service? The soul can experience a feeling of security and peace even though outer circumstances may seem to indicate turmoil and instability.

Gnostics and Transubstantiation

Gnostics and Transubstantiation

What is Transubstantiation?

Regarding transubstantiation, The Encyclopædia Britannica (9th Ed.) states: “The Church of Rome teaches that the whole substance of the bread and wine in the Eucharist is converted by consecration into the Body and Blood of Christ, in such a manner that Christ in His entirety, including his human soul and His divine nature, is contained in the elements; and that with such a thorough transmutation that not only is the whole Christ contained in the wine as well as the bread, but with the same completeness in each particle of the bread, and in each drop of the wine.” The Council of Lateran of 1215 pronounced accursed any who would in any way doubt transubstantiation.

The Catholic Church glories in the mystery of transubstantiation, describing the elements in the moment of consecration as being "switched aside with the speed of a lightening flash, and its place is taken by what looks like a line of fire--a single thread of communication, reaching up, without division or alteration, to the Lord Christ Himself." This is ironic, since the formulation of the doctrine of transubstantiation is traditionally attributed to St. John and St. Ignatious for the sole purpose of keeping the idea of the union of God's spirit with flesh in Jesus before the minds (and eyes) of the early Christians in order to battle the heretical dualisms of the Doceticism.

Transubstantiation is completely unbiblical, being a doctrine that grew out of the Docetic controversies of the mid second century and gradually developing to full flower in the 4th century. Those who believed in Doceticism claimed that Jesus did not have literal flesh and blood, it only appeared that way. The early post-apostolic Christians countered that Jesus indeed had ordinary human flesh and blood and they began to emphasize this in the Lord's Supper.

Note not all Gnostics believed in Doceticism see the post  Non-Docetic Teachings in the Nag Hammadi Library

Some Gnostics sects refused to break bread altogether: 

Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 110): “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1).

Are there some Gnostic who reject the doctrine of Transubstantiation?

Yes in the early Church, before 200AD, both Gnostics and the church took the same symbolic view of the bread and juice. But those Gnostics who did partake of the Table of the Lord, were openly criticized by the church as being inconsistent.

"How can they (Gnostics) be consistent with, themselves when they say the bread for which they give thanks is the body of their Lord and the cup his blood, if they do not say he is the Son of the Creator of the world? ... Let them either change their views or avoid offering the bread and wine. But our view is in harmony with the eucharist, and the eucharist confirms our view". (Irenaeus, Against Heresies IV.xviii.4, 5)

Irenaeus refutes the Gnostics on the basis that the Lord would not use "evil material things" like bread and juice in the Lord's Supper. Had Irenaeus argued that the bread and juice Transubstantiated (changed) into something different from what they appear, the Gnostics would have agreed, saying this change was essential because Jesus did not have physical flesh either!

"Irenaeus has the realist terminology but not the realist thought. There is no conversion of the elements. Indeed, if there were any change in the substance of the elements, his argument that our bodies-in reality, not in appearance-are raised would be subverted." (Early Christians Speak, Everett Ferguson, 1981, p 114)

A generation after Irenaeus, Tertullian (160–225) used the same arguments against the Gnostic heretic Marcion. However, Tertullian provided more information into how the eucharistic elements ought to be understood. Tertullian wrote:

“Having taken the bread and given it to His disciples, Jesus made it His own body, by saying, ‘This is My body,’ that is, the symbol of My body. There could not have been a symbol, however, unless there was first a true body. An empty thing or phantom is incapable of a symbol. He likewise, when mentioning the cup and making the new covenant to be sealed ‘in His blood,’ affirms the reality of His body. For no blood can belong to a body that is not a body of flesh” (Against Marcion, 4.40).

From this it may be inferred that the Valentinians celebrated the Eucharist with bread and a cup. This conclusion is confirmed by the Gospel of Philip and the Eucharistic prayers in NHC XI, 43–44. The Gospel of Philip in particular shows that Valentinians could speak without difficulty about partaking of the flesh and the blood of the Savior in the Eucharist, because they gave a symbolic meaning to these words: thus, for instance, the “flesh” is the Logos and the “blood” is the Holy Spirit.

But what is this, too, which will inherit? It is that which belongs to Jesus and his blood. Because of this he said "He who shall not eat my flesh and drink my blood has not life in him" (Jn 6:53). What is it? His flesh is the word, and his blood is the Holy Spirit. He who has received these has food and he has drink and clothing. (The Gospel of Philip)

What is the Blood of Christ? The Gospel of Philip

When they had said these things in the prayer, they embraced each other and they went to eat their holy food, which has no blood in it. (The Prayer of Thanksgiving, The Nag Hammadi Library)

The Didache, written in the late-first or early-second century, referred to the elements of the Lord’s table as “spiritual food and drink” (The Didache, chapter 10). The long passage detailing the Lord's Table in this early Christian document gives no hint of transubstantiation whatsoever.

We thank Thee, holy Father, for Thy holy name which You didst cause to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You modest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Thou, Master almighty, didst create all things for Thy name's sake; You gavest food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to Thee; but to us You didst freely give spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Thy Servant.

The Cathars and Transubstantiation

Cathars & Bogomils the True Christians

[Talk Gnosis] The Lost Teachings of the Cathars

The Cathars a  proto-Protestant sect which denied transubstantiation, purgatory, prayers for the dead and the invocation of saints (prayers to saints) and also that the Cathars held to the unique authority of scripture. Cathars also read the Bible in and rejected most Catholic sacraments. The Cathars also denied infant baptism, as they felt that infants are not able to understand the meaning of baptism

The Cathars are another famous sect in history that denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The Cathars also refused the sacrament of the eucharist saying that it could not possibly be the body of Christ.

The term “transubstantiation” was used against the Cathars at the fourth Lateran Council in 1215. It was at this council that the teaching of the Cathars was formally condemned.

The doctrine of transubstantiation, first formally declared at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, looks suspiciously like a way of contradicting Cathar teaching on the impossibility of combining earthly and spiritual elements

Cathar teachings shared by the Waldensians became defining features of Protestant belief. Many of these teachings follow from the rejection of Roman Catholic "tradition" in favour of scripture. Protestants, like Cathars, rejected the medieval Roman doctrine of transubstantiation and infant baptism.

The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation was formally propounded in 1215 based on contemporary philosophical notions that were later discredited. The Cathar practise of blessing bread before meals by contrast is identical to the practice of the earliest Christians at communal meals called agapes (abandoned by mainstream churches in the second or third centuries when their own agapes degenerated into disreputable occasions)

Matthew records the words our Lord used at that  time: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and  blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,  and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the  cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,  Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new  testament [ie covenant], which is shed for many for  the remission of sins” (Matt 26:26–28).

From their frequent use at the Memorial  Meeting these words are well known to us, as they  are to most church goers because they are frequently  quoted at Holy Communion or Mass services also.  The Roman Catholic Church claims that when the  priest quotes the words “this is my body” the wafer  of bread he is holding miraculously becomes the  flesh of Jesus, and that when he quotes the words  “this is my blood” the wine becomes the blood of  Jesus. A few moments thought should be sufficient  to realize that this is not what our Lord intended  when he used the words himself – after all, he was  actually present bodily with the disciples as he  spoke the words!

Bullinger makes this pithy statement about the  phrase “this is my body”:

“Few passages have been more perverted than  these simple words. Rome has insisted on the literal  or the figurative sense of words just as it suits her  own purposes, and not at all according to the laws of  philology and the true science of language.” (Figures of  Speech Used in the Bible, page 738)

The language used by the Lord is not unusual  nor is it overly cryptic. These phrases are simple  cases of metaphor. Exactly the same construction  is used in many places in the New Testament in  phrases which present no difficulty to understand.  For example:

• I am the door of the sheep (John 10:7)
• I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman (John 15:1)
• That Rock was Christ (1 Cor 10:4)
• The seven heads are seven mountains (Rev 17:9).

In each case no reader would assume that the words  are meant to be read as literally true – our Lord is not  a literal door, vine or rock, but he is all of these things  in a symbolic or figurative sense. The same linguistic  logic should be applied to the Lord’s statements in  Matthew 26 about the bread and the wine.

Whether transubstantiation is fact or fiction depends upon the meaning of Jesus’ words at Matthew 26:26, 28 (Cath. Confrat.), where he is quoted as saying, among other things, “This is my body,” “this is my blood of the new covenant.” Is it reasonable and consistent with the rest of the Bible to hold that these words indicate that an incomprehensible mysterious miracle of the greatest magnitude had taken place? No, it is not.

The fiction of transubstantiation is opposed to one of the most basic teachings of the Bible, the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as noted at Matthew 20:28 and 1 Timothy 2:5, 6. As the apostle Paul shows at Hebrews 9:22, “Unless blood is shed, there can be no remission of sins.” (Knox) Transubstantiation involves an admittedly “bloodless sacrifice” and therefore cannot wipe out sins as claimed.

Then too, Paul, at Hebrews chapters 9 and 10, repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ died only once, that only one sacrifice is needed. It is therefore a denying of Paul’s words to hold that other sacrifices are needed, and it is blasphemy to hold that imperfect men can create the divine Christ afresh daily and sacrifice him

And if Jesus, by saying, ‘this is my body, my blood,’ miraculously changed the bread and wine into his very flesh and blood, performing the most noteworthy miracle of his ministry, surely this would not only have been explicitly stated but made paramount throughout the Christian Greek Scriptures. But transubstantiation is not even mentioned, let alone discussed, because it is not a fact but only fiction. It is not taught in the Bible.

The Cathars .

The Cathars or Albigenses have been identified as proto-Protestant by people such as Jean Duvernoy and John Foxe[1][2] among others.[] The debate over the relationship with Albigenses and Protestants has been a matter of theological interest and controversy in history.[3] The comparison of Protestantism and Albigensianism was mainly important among French Protestants while German Protestants rarely discussed the Cathars. Affiliations with Catharism and Protestantism have been criticized by many historians, and those arguing for an affiliation between Protestants and Cathars have historically relied upon the presupposition that Cathar theology has been misinterpreted by the medieval Catholic church.


John Foxe believed that the Albigenses were similar to reformed theology, he praised the Albigenses as martyrs.[4] Today the Cathars are still seen as protestant precursors by some Baptists, particularly those who adhere to the theory of Baptist successionism.


What has appealed to some Protestants about the Albigenses was their rejection of transubstantiation, purgatory, crucifix, prayers for the dead, the invocation of saints and also that the Cathars held to the unique authority of scripture. Cathars also read the Bible in the vernacular languages and rejected most Catholic sacraments. The Cathars also denied infant baptism, as they felt that infants are not able to understand the meaning of baptism

The term “transubstantiation” was used against the Cathars at the fourth Lateran Council in 1215. It was at this council that the teaching of the Cathars was formally condemned.

The Cathars also refused the sacrament of the eucharist saying that it could not possibly be the body of Christ.

The following is a quote taken from the Inquisitor Bernard Gui's experiences with the Cathar practices and beliefs:

Then they attack and vituperate, in turn, all the sacraments of the Church, especially the sacrament of the eucharist, saying that it cannot contain the body of Christ, for had this been as great as the largest mountain Christians would have entirely consumed it before this. They assert that the host comes from straw, that it passes through the tails of horses, to wit, when the flour is cleaned by a sieve (of horse hair); that, moreover, it passes through the body and comes to a vile end, which, they say, could not happen if God were in it

"They spared their branches," says Gibbon, "over the face of Europe." United in common hatred of idolatry and Rome; they were connected by an ecclesiastical organization of over-seers and presbyteries, usually styled elders and pastors. The French called them "Bulgarians" by way of reproach, meaning thereby "unnatural sinners". Their catholic enemies also falsely styled them Manichaeans, and charged them with contempt of the Old Testament, and the denial of the body of Christ, either on the cross or in the bread and wine. They repudiated the catholic dogmas connected with the cross and eucharist; but they took both bread and wine, discerning by "the testimony of the anointed Jesus which they held," the representation therein of his broken body and blood, shed for remission of the sins of the many (Matt. 26:28). "A confession of simple worship and blameless manners," says Gibbon, "is extorted from their enemies; and so high was their standard of perfection, that the increasing congregations were divided into two classes of disciples, of those, who practised, and those who aspired. It was in the country of the Albigeois, in the southern provinces of France,

The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation was formally propounded in 1215 based on contemporary philosophical notions that were later discredited. The Cathar practise of blessing bread before meals by contrast is identical to the practice of the earliest Christians at communal meals called agapes (abandoned by mainstream churches in the second or third centuries when their own agapes degenerated into disreputable occasions)

The Lord's Supper

Matthew 26:27  And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins.

Luke 22:20  And the cup in like manner after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, [even] that which is poured out for you.

God's covenant with mankind, through His perfect expression, Christ Jesus. This contract was completed through Jesus Christ's breaking the bread and blessing the cup. The bread symbolizes the flesh or body that is spiritual knowlege, or the wisdom. The wine symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ, or spiritual life .

By mentally eating the flesh and spiritually drinking the blood of Jesus Christ we install within our consciousness the eternal truth of the Gospel and drink of the waters of eternal life.

bread of life--The word of Truth that imparts new vitality to mind and body. "Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually" (2 Sam. 9:7).

blood of Christ--The life contained in God's Word