DeConick A.D

74
THE GNOSTIC TRUE MAN
internal locus of control. Even though the world they experienced around
them was chaotic and tumultuous, they could gain control over their own
bodies and selves.
So it is not surprising that most Gnostics focused on creating for themselves
extreme bodies, with serious regulations on diet and sex. These
regulations did not necessarily demand withdrawal from meat, wine, and
sex; they just had to be transgressive. They had to defy the normal expectations
of society. They had to subvert the order that the demonic
overlords wanted their Roman agents to maintain. To this end, different
Gnostic groups engaged in both libertine and ascetic behaviors.
Beyond the Borders
When it comes to attitude, transgression is the heart of Gnostic spirituality,
giving it its vitality and edge. It is what distinguishes Gnostic spirituality
from the ecstatic, which had been operating within the acceptable
boundaries of the old traditions for centuries.
This transgressive attitude means that the Gnostic did not always act
in ways that could be tolerated by those who aligned themselves with the
traditional forms of spirituality. They violated the conventional forms of
spirituality that were the bedrock of the ancient religions. These violations
on the part of the Gnostics, intentional or not, drew reactions from those
around them, who marked them as deviant and heretical.
I do not mean that their transgression was merely “different” or “less
tolerated.” Gnosticism was not just an alternative spirituality, and the movements
and religions it spawned were not just alternative religious groups
on the margins of acceptability. The transgression I am talking about runs
much deeper than this. It is “beyond the obvious” (see Wolfreys 2008, 1).
It cracks the code, crosses the line, steps outside convention. And when it
does so, it draws sanctions from others. A deviant group identification is
created for them (see Clinard and Meier 2008, 4–6).
The Gnostics literally turned ancient spirituality inside out and upside
down. They inverted the traditional orientations to such an extreme
degree that others around them viewed the Gnostics as heretics. Those
around them reacted to them as threatening and anointed them transgressors.
They were called beasts, poisonous asps, monsters, imposters, magicians,
charlatans, and liars. The amount of threatening language hurled