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sophiaserpentia) wrote2003-04-01 12:21 pm
sophiaserpentia) wrote2003-04-01 12:21 pm
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Hmm, I haven't written about scripture for a while. The idea of struggling with or against turbulence has been on my mind lately, as I contemplate the effectiveness of my actions and the sphere of influence I want to exemplify in my own life.
The usual interpretation of this verse insinuates merely that the primary struggle is not against human enemies but against demons. The Gnostic reading goes much deeper, as is readily obvious.
"Spirits of wickedness in the heavens" suggests a reference to the planets as agents of fortune. This view of the planets as evil survives today in Mandaeism (whose surviving adherents reside today in southern Iraq; may the principle of mercy protect them). I suggest though not a literal struggle against the planets but against the imposition of fate.
"Cosmic Rulers of the Darkness of this aion": Aiwn could refer to "age" or "world" or "realm" or "facet of the divine," and in a sense all of them apply simultaneously. Darkness is that which prevents one from seeing; and in the Valentinian reading the "cosmic rulers of darkness" would be the agents of illusion who like Mara the Tempter weave a cloak of deceit around us.
Exousia: This is an interesting term that any student of the New Testament can't but wonder over. In many instances this refers to the "authority" by which Jesus spoke, a kind of forceful charisma that astounds his listeners. It refers to the ability to give commands and have them carried out, or the power of choice, the ability to do as one pleases. IOW it refers to agents possessing free will.
Archons: Specifically the Greek word arxh implies the principle of dominion. There is no "victory" against the forces of nature, any more than one can prevail against the wind by huffing and puffing against it. The archons are deluded though in thinking they have ultimate dominion over Earth. In this sense they represent us, when we have surrendered to the illusion that we have dominion.
Strugging with (not necessarily against) fate, free will, illusion, and dominion sounds like a metaphysical struggle, not against demons but against conceptual errors that separate us from clearer awareness of what is. In a sense what this means is that we struggle with our own ego, our sense of importance and of self-determination. This struggle, writ large, appears like a cosmic struggle between a liberator (Christ or Buddha) and a weaver of illusion (the Tempter).
It seems to me that in the end we learn how to carve a course that matches the watercourse way -- because this is the way of things.
[Ephesians 6:12] Our struggle is not with blood and flesh, but with the archons, with the exousias, with the cosmic rulers of the darkness of this aion, with the spirits of wickedness in the heavens. (Adapted from Young's Literal Translation)
The usual interpretation of this verse insinuates merely that the primary struggle is not against human enemies but against demons. The Gnostic reading goes much deeper, as is readily obvious.
"Spirits of wickedness in the heavens" suggests a reference to the planets as agents of fortune. This view of the planets as evil survives today in Mandaeism (whose surviving adherents reside today in southern Iraq; may the principle of mercy protect them). I suggest though not a literal struggle against the planets but against the imposition of fate.
"Cosmic Rulers of the Darkness of this aion": Aiwn could refer to "age" or "world" or "realm" or "facet of the divine," and in a sense all of them apply simultaneously. Darkness is that which prevents one from seeing; and in the Valentinian reading the "cosmic rulers of darkness" would be the agents of illusion who like Mara the Tempter weave a cloak of deceit around us.
Exousia: This is an interesting term that any student of the New Testament can't but wonder over. In many instances this refers to the "authority" by which Jesus spoke, a kind of forceful charisma that astounds his listeners. It refers to the ability to give commands and have them carried out, or the power of choice, the ability to do as one pleases. IOW it refers to agents possessing free will.
Archons: Specifically the Greek word arxh implies the principle of dominion. There is no "victory" against the forces of nature, any more than one can prevail against the wind by huffing and puffing against it. The archons are deluded though in thinking they have ultimate dominion over Earth. In this sense they represent us, when we have surrendered to the illusion that we have dominion.
Strugging with (not necessarily against) fate, free will, illusion, and dominion sounds like a metaphysical struggle, not against demons but against conceptual errors that separate us from clearer awareness of what is. In a sense what this means is that we struggle with our own ego, our sense of importance and of self-determination. This struggle, writ large, appears like a cosmic struggle between a liberator (Christ or Buddha) and a weaver of illusion (the Tempter).
It seems to me that in the end we learn how to carve a course that matches the watercourse way -- because this is the way of things.