Gospel of Philip

The Elements  and Inhabitants of the Bridal Chamber Let not the Bridal Chamber be for animals, slaves, or harlots. Rather, let it be for those both free and virginal! Indeed we have been begotten and brought into being by the aid of the Sacred Spirit, and then we were reborn by means of the Anointed One. In both cases it is Spirit who has anointed us, and having thus been reborn, we are now “married” beings. No one can see the reflection of themselves in water or in a mirror without light, and no one can see that light without water or a mirror to reflect it. To see one’s true self, it is necessary to be immersed in both—the light as well as the water, and the light is present in the oil of anointing. SYNOPSIS This analogue is perhaps the early beginnings of interiorized monasticism with its emphasis on “chastity” understood now perhaps in a new way.  The phrase virginal beings is contrasted with these three (animals, slaves, harlots) which are, it seems, symbolic humans...

The New Embodiment In the days when the feminine Eve was held within the masculine Adam, there was no death, but when they were separated out from one another, then death came into existence. But if, once again, she returns inward and he receives her inside, death shall cease to be. When the Master cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me,” he was separated below from that which was above—from what had originally been begotten together and brought forth by God through the Sacred Spirit. But then the Master rose from death, and was as he had been before, except now he came in a body that had been perfected. He was still incarnated (embodied) in flesh, but this time in a new kind of flesh, which in our present incarnation we have not yet reached, remaining only images of what is real. SYNOPSIS Perhaps this is a theological and historical aside or a further reflection on cause and effect, as well as a glimpse into how the early Jewish community viewed the res...