I've honestly tried to understand it. There are a number of esotericists who I respect who are very committed to Gnosticism in its most dualistic forms, including a lot of people at one of the fringes of the Independent Sacramental Movement. At the end of the day, though... yeah. Your comment, "Who would want to believe in them?" basically summarizes it.
And maybe there are Divine Sparks who are simpatico with Yaldabaoth and those Divine Sparks end up being Gnostics when they are incarnated.
I think this is a really good point. It also raises another interesting point-- it isn't just "gods" or "a god" that one resonates with, but an entire cosmology. This has the odd implication that Gnostics resonate, not just with Sophia, Christ, or the Pleroma, but, as you say, with Yaldabaoth and his archons as well. That would suggest that the same is true about more mainstream forms of Christianity. And that in turn makes sense of something that I find completely baffling, which is why so many Christians seem to be absolutely in love with the thought of Satan tormenting people in Hell. On some level, they've accepted Satan every bit as much as they've accepted Christ!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-11-29 03:06 am (UTC)I think this is a really good point. It also raises another interesting point-- it isn't just "gods" or "a god" that one resonates with, but an entire cosmology. This has the odd implication that Gnostics resonate, not just with Sophia, Christ, or the Pleroma, but, as you say, with Yaldabaoth and his archons as well. That would suggest that the same is true about more mainstream forms of Christianity. And that in turn makes sense of something that I find completely baffling, which is why so many Christians seem to be absolutely in love with the thought of Satan tormenting people in Hell. On some level, they've accepted Satan every bit as much as they've accepted Christ!