DeConick A.D

73
THE GNOSTIC TRUE MAN
kings in their hands, and sometimes even displayed the heads of their slain
enemies to terrorize their subjects.
There is a revolutionary edge to the Gnostic vision of the gods, one
with political implications. Traditionally, kings and emperors were representatives
of the gods, tasked with maintaining cosmic and civil order.
When Gnostics characterize the traditional gods as demonic monsters in
Roman military uniform, they are implying that their political leaders, the
Roman power brokers, are demonic too. In Gnostic thought, the royals
and their officials are the bad guys, terrorizing the rest of us, lying to us,
and keeping us in servitude in the interests of their demonic overlords.
This vision shows that, to say the least, the Gnostics were dissatisfied
with their political leaders. They felt alienated and estranged. But even
more distressing is that they felt brutalized and terrorized by the Romans
in charge. Their helplessness and fear is palpable. They lived in a world of
barbaric colonialism. They lived with the constant presence of the Roman
military. They faced forced conscription, slavery, massive social inequality,
and overwhelming economic disparity.
Yet, as critical as the Gnostics were of the Roman government, they
were not incited to organize political coups or rebellions, which they
knew from experience would be futile. Their criticism remained veiled in
the narrative of religious stories. Instead of taking up arms against those
in power, the Gnostics chose a different strategy to handle their political
disaffection, alienation, and helplessness.
To gain a sense of control over their lives, they focused on the task
of overthrowing the cosmic powers. They believed that this cosmic coup
would be the ticket to improving their lives because it dealt with the brutality
and terror at its existential root. If they could control the source of
terror, the demonic overlords that their Roman leaders embodied, then
their public situation had to improve. For instance, to change their political
situation, the Hermetic Gnostics actually developed daily prayer cycles
that tried to break the king’s connection with the demons and to realign
him with the transcendent God (Corpus Hermeticum XVIII.8–16).
Since these demonic overlords also were responsible for the creation
of the human soul and body, overpowering the demons through ritual
purgation was cathartic and empowering for the Gnostics at the personal
level, too. These active ritual practices gave Gnostics the impression of an