Gospel of Truth - Joy.. and Ignorance..

"Written in Greek in the mid-second century, between 140-180 CE, the Gospel of Truth was found among the documents at Nag Hammadi in Egypt and exists in its totality in Coptic translation. In addition, Irenaeus refers to a Gospel of Truth read among Valentinians in his tract Against Heresies 3.11.9.

Scholars have advanced arguments for assigning the work to Valentinos himself, rather than to one of his students. The debate is ongoing."

The Gnostic Bible, Compiled and Edited by Willis Barnstone & Marvin Meyer

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Blog Author's Note: The Gospel of Truth is a meaty, stick-to-your-bones kind of fanfare for readers. It is not light religious cuisine. In several online sources for the text I have found a very common problem- headings. Or a lack thereof. The interpretations are all the same however they do not possess the subject headings of the printed version in the Gnostic Bible.

Because the Gospel of Truth is such heavy reading I prefer to keep the headings and separate the book out into easier-to-swallow 'chapters.' Each chapter or section is never very long but the use of sectional headings is important when searching for topic matter. Also, if one attempts to read the book as one long tract they will end up with a migraine to end all migraines. It is truly best to enjoy, instead, the book as a fine sipping wine. In very small doses.

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Joy To Those Who Know The Father

The gospel of truth is joy to those who have received from the Father of truth the gift of knowing him by the power of the Logos, who has come from the Pleroma and who is in the thought and the mind of the Father; he it is who is called "the Savior," since that is the name of the work which he must do for the redemption of those who have not known the Father. For the name of the gospel is the manifestation of hope, since that is the discovery of those who seek him, because the All sought him from whom it had come forth. You see, the All had been inside of him, that illimitable, inconceivable one, who is better than every thought.

Ignorance Of The Father Brings Error

This ignorance of the Father brought about terror and fear. And terror became dense like a fog, that no one was able to see. Because of this, error became strong. But it worked on its hylic substance vainly, because it did not know the truth. It was in a fashioned form while it was preparing, in power and in beauty, the equivalent of truth. This then, was not a humiliation for him, that illimitable, inconceivable one. For they were as nothing, this terror and this forgetfulness and this figure of falsehood, whereas this established truth is unchanging, unperturbed and completely beautiful.

For this reason, do not take error too seriously.

Thus, since it had no root, it was in a fog as regards the Father, engaged in preparing works and forgetfulnesses and fears in order, by these means, to beguile those of the middle and to make them captive. The forgetfulness of error was not revealed. It did not become light beside the Father. Forgetfulness did not exist with the Father, although it existed because of him. What exists in him is knowledge, which was revealed so that forgetfulness might be destroyed and that they might know the Father, Since forgetfulness existed because they did not know the Father, if they then come to know the Father, from that moment on forgetfulness will cease to exist.