Life After Death_ A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion - Alan Segal [335]
The Gnostics
THE GNOSTIC Gospel of Mary suggests that all the resurrection appearances were by means of visions, dreams, and ecstatic trance.35 That is not to say that the Gnostics dismiss the dreams and ecstatic trance; rather the opposite, they value them the more highly. It is that they refuse to believe that Jesus continues to be physically present because the body is not destined for eternal life. Only the spirit has that privilege.
As Pagels points out, the Letter of Peter to Philip, discovered at Nag Hammadi, relates a different kind of appearance of Jesus:
A great light appeared, so that the mountain shone from the sight of him who had appeared. And a voice called out to them saying: “Listen …I am Jesus Christ, who is with you forever. (134.10-18)36
A voice comes out of the light, certainly not a physical body. In The Wisdom of Jesus Christ the disciples are gathered on a mountain after Jesus’ death. Again, Jesus appears as a voice coming out of the light, this time as an invisible spirit who then appears as the great angel of light. Yet another passage appears in the Gospel of Philip where believers are warned against rising in the flesh and even from thinking that any one position is correct:
Certain persons are afraid that they may arise (from the dead) naked: therefore they want to arise in the flesh. And they do not know that those who wear the flesh are the ones who are naked. Those who […] to divest themselves are not naked. Flesh [and blood will not] inherit the kingdom [of God]. What is this flesh that will not inherit it? The one that we are wearing. And what too is this flesh that will inherit it? It is Jesus’ flesh along with his blood.
Therefore he said, “He who does not eat my flesh and drink my blood does not have life within him.” What is meant by that? His “flesh” means the Word, and his “blood” means the Holy Spirit: whoever has received these has food, and has drink and clothing. For my part I condemn (also) those others who say that the flesh will not arise. Accordingly both positions are deficient. (56:20-57: 10)37
Several interesting moves are made in this short passage. The Gospel of Philip argues against ordinary Christians, who believe in fleshly resurrection. It explicitly argues for a spiritual resurrection and offers an allegorical interpretation of the “flesh” and “blood” in the Eucharist. Then, he concludes that both fleshly and spiritual resurrection doctrines are deficient to those who have the full truth.
In like fashion, Jesus appears differently to different disciples. Jesus can appear in whatever form he likes but he is not a body or a physical presence in the ordinary way. He is rather spiritually present and the composition of the resurrection body is adiaphora, a matter of indifference:38
Jesus tricked everyone, for he did not appear as he was, but appeared in such a way that he could be seen. And he appeared to all of them he [appeared] to [the] great as someone great, he appeared to the small as someone small. He [appeared] [to the] angels as an angel and to human beings as a human being. For this reason he hid his discourse from everyone. Some saw him and thought they were seeing their own selves. But when he appeared to his disciples in glory upon the mountain, he was not small (for) he became great: or rather he made the disciples great so that they might be able to see that he was great. (Gos. Phil. 57:28-58:9)39
To those who have seen Christ and therefore seen themselves, these arguments are unnecessary. If one understands Jesus as a human being, one is merely underscoring one’s humanity. But, it stands to reason that if one views Christ as an angel, one has been transformed into an angel. Thus, Gnosticism explicitly connects the nature of the savior with the transcendent value of the self.