Gnosticism In The Secret Book

Gnosticism was a prominent movement during the 2nd century that claimed that the demiurge was a lesser divinity held responsible for the creation of the universe. Gnostics taught and preached that matter is evil, and that salvation and return to the spiritual world can only be obtained through gnosis. Although the demiurge is linked to the material universe, which is evil, the demiurge itself is considered to be a consequence of something else. Sophia, or wisdom, an aeon of Christ Self-Originate, desired to create. The Secret Book according to John (BJn), written sometime before or around 180, describes John the Apostle gaining gnosis from Jesus. Formatted in the structure of a fairytale, the story of how Sophia disrupted harmony by engaging

in creative activity without consent of the Spirit was told. Sophia sprouted the beginning of evil in Gnosticism––however, though her actions led to the origination of evil, her character can not be defined as immoral.
In the BJn, inconceivable perfection is a way of expressing the divine principle. From this divine principle came a thought––Barbelo, who was feminine divine entity referred to as “she” but thought to represent both the father and mother. Barbelo and the Divine Principle brought forth Christ Self-Originate, who eventually created the last aeon, Sophia (wisdom). Sophia was the final and lowest emanation of God, and brought about instability in the Pleroma––she had a strong desire to create, but did not seek direction or consent from those above her:
She wanted to show forth within herself an image, without the spirit’s [will]; and her consort did not consent. And (she wished to do so) without his pondering: for the person of her maleness did not join the consent. (BJn 35 Layton)
As a result, she created Ialtabaoth, a “serpentine, with a lion’s face, and with its eyes gleaming like flashes of lightning…” (BJn 35 Layton). Sophia made a quick and thoughtless decision when deciding to create, and is responsible for the birth of the demiurge and the material world.
Though Sophia is related to rationality, miscarriage, and an impulsive desire to procreate, none of these actions in itself are inherently considered evil.

When Sophia decides to produce, she does not have intentions to bring evil into the world. She simply wished to “externalize ‘a thought she conceived from herself and her rational consideration’” and as a result, miscarries (Pleše 114). Sophia is considered a heroine in Gnostic myth. Wisdom is a rational, knowledgeable part of the Invisible Spirit, the spirit who has no boundaries or limitations. Sophia is a part of the whole, but this concept is beyond Sophia’s knowledge. Therefore, the wisdom Sophia represents is incomplete. Because Sophia’s thought to recreate came solely from her own desires, and was not in conjunction with the Invisible Spirit, her wisdom was automatically flawed. The way in which Sophia’s creation, Ialtabaoth, was formed differed in primary texts. The two main texts that discussed these series of events was the BJn and The Reality of Rulers (RR). In BJn, Ialtabaoth was the imperfect product of Sophia: “And compared to the image of its mother, it was misshapen, having a different form” (BJn 35 Layton). When Sophia realized the consequences of her actions, her immediate response was to cast Ialtabaoth away. As a result, Ialtabaoth stole power from its mother, and created the materialistic

realm:
This is the first ruler, and it took great power from its mother, retreated from her, and moved out of the place where it had been born. Taking possession (of another place), it made for itself other eternal realms (aeons) inside a luminous, fiery blaze, which still exists. And it become stupefied in its madness, which still is with it (BJn 36 Layton).
In the RR, Elelēth tells the story of the fall of Sophia and discusses the unfolding of the spiritual and material realm. Like in BJn, Sophia wanted to create without her partner, and what she made was a “heavenly likeness” (RR 94 Layton). This “heavenly likeness” serves as a veil, which separates the world above from the aeons below:
A veil exists between the superior realm and the inferior aeons. And shadow came into being beneath the veil, and that shadow became matter, and that shadow was cast apart…” (RR 74 Layton).
In RR, the shadow that is reflected beneath the veil is matter, and what Sophia created became a part of the matter. In both primary texts, Sophia produces Ialtabaoth due to her incomprehensibility. However, in BJn, Ialtabaoth steals power from Sophia and creates his own realm in the image of the original and incorruptible realm. He is envious and arrogant and claims that “’there is no other god apart from me’” (BJn 38 Layton). In RR, light is not stolen from Sophia. Instead, Sophia shines line into matter by stretching out her finger (RR 94). Ialtabaoth then uses this power to create his own realm and produce offspring. Likewise, Ialtabaoth declares himself the only god of infinite matter.
Gnostics believe that the physical is corrupt and a “less perfect” copy of the material realm, which is why Sophia is blamed for the origin of evil. The heinous creature that Sophia gave birth to, Ialtabaoth, is the creator––the demiurge––of the physical realm. Ialtabaoth is described to be ignorant with an egocentric nature who does not recognize the existence of the spiritual realm, from which he has been created. Ialtabaoth is ignorant, but not without power. He uses the power imparted to his mother to create. With help from his evil rulers, Ialtabaoth constructs a corrupt world with material bodies that enslave humanity. For example, Ialtabaoth created Adam as a means to enslave him in RR:
The rulers laid plans and said, “Come, let us create a human being that will be soil from the earth.” …they took [some soil] from the earth and modeled [their human being] after their body and [after the image] of god that had been shown forth [to them] in the waters. They said, “[Come, let] us lay hold of it by means of our modeled form, [so that] it may see its male counterpart […] and we may seize it by means of our modeled form” (RR 69 Layton).
However, Adam remained immobile after his creation, and Sophia used this to her advantage by tricking Ialtabaoth to breathing the power that he had stolen from her into Adam, which is how a portion of divinity spread throughout mankind.
Sophia represents the princess in the fairytale structure of BJn. As a fairytale, there is initial order, and prohibition enforced by the king. However, the princess violates prohibition, and the villain commits a theft, resulting in a deficiency. The princess, with the help of a hero, go on a quest in an effort to reclaim what was rightfully theirs, and recover and restore order. Sophia violates prohibition by not seeking consort before spontaneously procreating. She recognizes her mistake as soon as Ialtabaoth had taken her power: “She knew about the lack when the radiation of her light diminished” (BJn 38 Layton). However, with the help of Barbelo, and others, she is able to regain the light that was taken from her, and restore order. A princess’s mistake does not strip her of her royalty. Though she is blamed for her rash decision and the “dark miscarriage”, many Gnostics credit Sophia’s actions to her femininity and her strong sexual cravings. When referring to Sophia, many know her as the “abortive mother” or “light that has been darkened”. Her miscarriage led her to fall to the material world, but Sophia repented and sought forgiveness. Sophia was restored to the Pleroma, but a portion of her divinity remained in the material world.
The evil in Gnosticism is focused on the presence of matter––the material world is merely an imperfect copy of the spiritual realm. Though Sophia’s miscarriage led to the creation of the demiurge, which resulted in the construction of a corrupt physical realm, she remains a feminine hero in Gnostic myth.