it is interesting to think about modern capitalism and how very Platonist it can get. it really does seem that Plato's ideas and methodological approach casts a very long shadow indeed 👀

Where do we go for the shirts?

@@beepboop204 Plato would hated capitalism for all the reasons he hated democracy

Plotinus sounds like absolute fool how can a world with so much evil be considered beautiful, the men's ignorance must have been without limit

Justin, ❤ this channel, could you explain the differences in these stories about Pistis Sophia? The Gnostic interpretations and many people’s interpretations of Pistis Sophia don’t reconcile with the actual discourse in The Pistis Sophia 1-6, in this manual it was clear she was run out of the 13th and lured into the chaos, that was formed by Adamas/self will/ 3rd triple light power. He despised her for pursuing the mysteries of light and not his mysteries of Congress. It was he that emanated the chaos and yaldabaoth, the light that lured her. Adamas is the demiurge in this discourse of 1st Mystery. In further her plunge into the chaos and error was by the will of the 1st commandment . It is the story of faith,wisdom,power and grace for today’s generation to unlock the embedded vestures within the soul. It is about how we got here and how we get home. It is a manual that few understand with a casual read. Can you do a deeper dive and a comparative ? The Pistis Sophia is a self stated source teaching, much deeper and more detailed than people understand. Thanks

Yep, it really gives the lie to any monolithic conception of "Christian vs Pagan" because both were actually (1) internally diverse and (2) a species of one might be intellectually closer to a species of the other, e.g., proto-orthodoxy (Origen, etc., even though he got canceled later) and Plotinus are closer to one another (c.f., Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius) than to Platonising Sethianism. But yes, it was a honor to work with you all - thanks so much for your brilliant exposition of a difficult topic. Here's to working together for years to come!

This is so true, not just in terms of elite philosophical schools, but on regional, urban, and rural levels. I think there's a tendency among classicists to present a pan-Mediterranean polytheism (I use polytheism in place of paganism here as I feel paganism is a tad anachronistic in the period). I recently started reading Frankfurter's Religion in Roman Egypt, he makes the point that just as there were Christianities and Judaisms, there was also a diverse and intersecting array of polytheism. This becomes especially pronounced in the wake of cultural interaction which happened through the spread of Hellenism.

@@AnnhilateTheNihilist pagan isn't atheist in modern speech. Atheists already existed at the time of Jesus and have most likely existed as long as theism has, additionally pagan religions still exist and are practiced currently and most certainly aren't atheists (not most of us anyway)

I do appreciate this guy in turning me on to areas I need to explore so I can connect the dots of TRUTH. Plotonic beliefs are one. Pluto is circling back around coincidentally. It is the first time in modern history and coincides somewhat with the “founding” of America (not discovery). Think LAND GRANTS and the demi-liars who received those grants. Our people were put out after being murdered and enslaved by invaders. The “Irish” were not treated so well. We mainly descend from those “Irish” Celts who were here FIRST. He also ALWAYS let me know what NOT to believe in. It is hard to watch his condescending scoffing attitude but you do have good presentations of documents and charts. People: The soul is the MATERIAL BODY & MIND. Worry about CONNECTION TO SPIRIT and your HIGHER SELF. We need to free ourselves from the shackles of the material and LEAVE this existence. That’s deliverance to the true promised land. People: FREE YOURSELVES FROM THAT HUMAN JEALOUS RAGING MURDERING RAPlNG MONSTER YAHWEH. ACTUALLY READ THE OLD TESTAMENT. He was no god! Same for his Wife, Ashera but they might actually have been one in the same. What god gets married, has children and gets DIVORCED?? Yahweh was just a man or woman who was basically some type of feudal Lord. DO NOT BE FOOLED! ESCAPE THE MIND-SOUL BONDAGE. Thank the most high Gods of the Universe that only 31% of Americans Trust the “Church” realizing it is NONSENSE to ENSLAVE. JUDEO & “CHRISTIAN” HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER. We have become our own jailers and their conversion by the sword is no longer required. Stockholm Syndrome has a hold on us. We are Indo in origin. Hinduism is WAY CLOSER but it is actually Vedic belief we belong to. Look to the Sanskrit as Latinized “new” languages DID A 180 IN THE TRANSLATION OF KEY WORDS. The Avatar of Jesus Christ as a Risen Master, came to earth MANY times. Jesus Christ Superstar was created by those who killed him or her. Christ NEVER spoke Hebrew or Aramaic. If anything we would call his/her language OLD GREEK. The new languages are gutter language for the uneducated masses. You are TRAPPED only by the SOUL MIND and garbage belief systems. IT IS GIGO. The Kabbalah is closer but it is pure plagiarism as is New Age nonsense. Hermeticism and Vedic belief was there WAY BEFORE. I like to look to the ROOT & THE SOURCE.

@@AnnhilateTheNihilist Doesn’t mean Atheist. FAR FROM IT.

Thanks, I'm just blessed to have such a wonderful community of creators to work with. And, yes, I think Irenaeus and Plotinus are on the money ;)

had no idea your channel existed, subbed

@@simonmagus2199 the power of collabs revealed!

@@TheModernHermeticist the best collabs on KZfaq for a fact!

@@simonmagus2199 this channel is insane. The historical accuracy, the quality scripting, the wit and humor, the video aesthetic is all superb. And the content itself of course is always highly interesting.

Thanks, friend - It's wonderful to share this platform with you. Looking forward to working together more in the new year - hope you are enjoying being home!

best beef

Great text.

It's on the list but that text is a beast!

How do you think people get it wrong, in your experience?

@@TheEsotericaChannel in these cases, people are always looking for a new antagonist, or just a new source of spiritual power to revere. People who casually "chase" mythologies get burned out and then ultimately disillusioned as they miss out on any meaning or lesson and realize that it's yet another shadow that cannot soothe their existential loneliness. I see the internet getting more and more extreme with their "beliefs" which is why I love your channel so much because you give us meaning with "boring" schools of thought.

Yeah, that sounds really tiring. I'm glad I don't really have a dog in pretty much any of these fights.

​​​@@dougiescare yeah I've noticed that too. it's like they're trying out these obscure esoteric religions like clothes, just because they think it would sound cool to be able to tell people "I'm a gnostic" or "I'm a hermeticist" after only skimming the wikipedia entry, and not even really understanding what it's about. the whole new age, anti-intellectual, anti-science movement is really bothersome, which is why having channels like this one - academic, scholarly, learned discussion - is so rare and valuable

@@dougiescare Thanks for perfectly summarising my experiences as well. Chasing mythologies is a good thing, but applying philosophy and using this information in a creative, meaningful way is a very hard task at hand. It needs a very broad perspective coupled with creative intellect, which is truly a divine Gift for those who search tirelessly for the highest Truth and higher, broader ontological levels of harmony. For me personally, the concept of Tikkun in Lurianic Kabbalah helped me find a meaning and a goal. Because abstract advaita metaphisics lacks concepts such as goal or meaning, but living as a human requires an eschatological goal as well.

Thanks for the comments, though nearly all of the early anti-gnostic polemics by the proto-orthodoxy were written well before they had state power. By the 4th century, Arianism was their concern, not gnosticism.

I do wonder. How is this in any way applicable to daily life?

Try to live by the 4 cardinal virtues, introspect and try to find reconciliation between the opposites within yourself, think/reflect on it all ("everything"). Sit in silence and allow yourself to experience the devine. Learn your lessons and eventually get off the wheel and make your way back to The One. If you don't learn your lessons by the time you're dead, have another go. This is what I got from this in a nutshell.

Nice, and I agree. I don't think I understand the "recurrent theme" of denegrating Gnosticism. To me, it almost makes Gnosticism seem more alluring, lol. For a relatively modern, somewhat sympathetic take of Gnosticism, I recommend "The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels. Cheers, Happy New Year, Love and God bless

Manichaeism did fine with it until sustained persecution, some interpretations of buddhism and definitely Jainism also do fine with it, in another sense, though of course dharmic religions treat the issue differently, broadly speaking

could be, who knows? We don't even know if they did these things. I think some did.

Yep, might even be able to bring the scholar that worked on it on the channel. Got to meet him last year - great guy!

I have a hard time reading him because he's a terrible writer made worse by Porphyry's "editing." But yep, he's super interesting!

@@TheEsotericaChannel I know Plotinus only in English translation. What makes his writing bad? Organization? Grammar? Is he writing in a second language, like an ESL student? This sounds as if I want to argue, but I'm not qualified in Greek!😆 I really do want your opinion.

@@AdeebaZamaan Plotinus was losing his vision and had Porphyry write and Compile the Enneads most of the writings of Porphyry appear to be, according to some experts, lecture notes and jottings of what Plotinus was teaching.

Both "The One" and "old man in the sky" are literally true, just One is the Father, and the other the Son, the image.

Sorry to hear about your depression - it's hard for a lot of us these days! You can find the "table of contents of the Großschrift" here - en.wikialpha.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fschrift - good luck, and from one content creator-educator to another, thanks for what you do!

As far as nous can perceive...

@@TheEsotericaChannel >Limiting Nous to perceptions Even all three major Schools of Buddhism would disagrees with limiting ultimate Mind with "can perceiving", such as the Buddhist precepts of the inconceivability of Buddha's mind

@@yaanno I find the Thomas Taylor translations of Porphyry to be extremely fascinating, whereas Plutarch is kinda dull; the complete opposite haha

@@jamesh2514 i like them both. the new translations are great, Taylor's style is a bit more poetic, great tho. of course Porphyry's works are mostly lost in time which is a pity. i'm not surprised reading his mocking notes on christians and many "sects" :)