Against Heresies: Book II

GIVEN THE SITUATION: these deluded men claim that they rise above the Creator (Demiurge); and since they assert themselves to be superior to the God who made and adorned the heavens, the earth, and everything in them, and insist that they are spiritual even though they are shamefully carnal due to their immense impiety—declaring that He, who has made His angels spirits, is clothed with light like a garment, and holds the circle of the earth as if in His hand, before whom its inhabitants are counted like grasshoppers, and who is the Creator and Lord of all spiritual substances, is of an animal nature—they truly and undoubtedly reveal their own madness. As if struck by thunder, even more than those giants mentioned in [heathen] myths, they raise their opinions against God, inflated by a vain presumption and unstable glory. All the hellebore on earth would not be enough to cleanse them of their profound foolishness.

A SUPERIOR PERSON SHOULD BE PROVEN BY THEIR ACTIONS: How, then, can they show themselves superior to the Creator? (For the sake of argument, I have to address this blasphemous comparison between God and foolish men, often using their own teachings to refute them; may God be merciful to me for this venture, as I do not aim to compare Him to them but to expose and counteract their insane beliefs.) These people, whom many foolish individuals admire greatly as if they could offer something more valuable than the truth itself, interpret the Scripture's phrase "Seek, and you shall find" to suggest that they are above the Creator. They claim to be greater and better than God, labeling themselves spiritual and the Creator as merely animal. They assert that this distinction allows them to ascend above God, entering the Pleroma while He remains in an intermediate place. Let them, therefore, prove themselves superior to the Creator through their actions, as a superior person should be validated not by words but by actual deeds.

WHAT WORK: then, will they claim to have accomplished through themselves by the Saviour, or by their Mother, either greater, more glorious, or more filled with wisdom, than those created by Him who arranged everything around us? What heavens have they established? What earth have they founded? What stars have they called into existence? Or what lights of heaven have they caused to shine? In what orbits have they placed them? Or, what rains, frosts, or snows, each suited to the season and every specific climate, have they brought upon the earth? And again, in contrast, what heat or dryness have they set over against them? What rivers have they made to flow? What fountains have they brought forth? With what flowers and trees have they adorned this earthly world? Or, what multitude of animals have they formed, some rational, and others irrational, but all adorned with beauty? And who can list, one by one, all the remaining things created by the power of God and governed by His wisdom? Or who can fathom the greatness of that God who made them? And what can be told of those existences above heaven that do not pass away, like Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, and Powers beyond number? Against which of these works, then, do they stand opposed? What can they show as having been made through themselves, or by themselves, since they too are the creations of this Creator? For whether the Saviour or their Mother (to use their own words, which are false) used this Being, as they claim, to make an image of those things within the Pleroma, and of all those beings she saw around the Saviour, she used him (the Demiurge) because he was, in a sense, superior to her and better suited to achieve her purpose through his means; for she would not create images of such important beings through an inferior, but rather a superior, agent.

4. For, note that they themselves, according to their own statements, existed as a spiritual concept because of the contemplation of those beings arranged as satellites around Pandora. And indeed, they remained useless, with the Mother achieving nothing through them—an idle concept, owed their existence to the Saviour, and fit for nothing, as nothing seems to have been done by them. But the God who, according to them, was produced, while they argue is inferior to them (for they claim he has an animal nature), was nevertheless the active agent in everything, efficient, and suitable for the tasks at hand, so that through him, the images of all things were made; and not only were the visible things formed by him, but also all invisible things—Angels, Archangels, Dominations, Powers, and Virtues—[by him, I say,] as being superior and capable of fulfilling her desire. Yet it seems the Mother achieved nothing through them, as they themselves acknowledge; so one might fairly consider them as an abortion resulting from their Mother's painful labor. No midwives assisted her, and therefore they were cast out as an abortion, useful for nothing, and formed to accomplish none of the Mother's work. Yet they describe themselves as superior to Him by whom such vast and admirable works have been created and organized, even though by their own logic, they are shown to be wretchedly inferior!

It is as if there were two iron tools or instruments—one that the workman continually uses and handles, crafting whatever he desires and showcasing his art and skill, and another that remains idle and unused, never being set to work or contributing to any creation. Then, if someone claimed that the idle and unused tool was superior in nature and value to the one the artisan actually uses and by which he gains his reputation, such a person would rightly be considered foolish and not in their right mind. Similarly, those who believe themselves to be spiritual and superior, while considering the Creator as possessing a lesser, animal nature, claim they will ascend on high and enter the Pleroma to be with their own husbands (since they themselves identify as feminine), but argue that God, the Creator, is of inferior nature and thus remains in an intermediate place. They do so without offering any evidence for their claims, for the better person is proven by their works, and all works have been accomplished by the Creator. Meanwhile, they have nothing reasonable to show as their own accomplishments and are suffering from the greatest and most incurable madness.

IF: however, they argue that, while all material things, such as the heavens and the entire world beneath them, were indeed formed by the Demiurge, yet all things of a more spiritual nature—those above the heavens, like Principalities, Powers, Angels, Archangels, Dominations, Virtues—were brought about by a spiritual process of birth (which they claim themselves to be), then, first of all, we prove from the authoritative Scriptures that all these mentioned things, visible and invisible, have been made by one God. For these men are not more reliable than the Scriptures; nor should we abandon the declarations of the Lord, Moses, and the rest of the prophets, who have proclaimed the truth, in favor of them, who indeed speak nothing sensible, but rave about untenable opinions. Secondly, if those things above the heavens were indeed made through their means, then let them tell us the nature of invisible things, recount the number of Angels, the ranks of Archangels, reveal the mysteries of the Thrones, and explain the differences between Dominations, Principalities, Powers, and Virtues. But they can say nothing about them; therefore, these beings were not made by them. On the other hand, if these were made by the Creator, as is indeed the case, and are of a spiritual and holy nature, then it follows that He who created spiritual beings is not Himself of an animal nature, and thus their dreadful system of blasphemy is destroyed.

THE EXISTENCE OF SPIRITUAL BEINGS IN THE HEAVENS IS CLEARLY STATED THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES: Paul specifically confirms that there are spiritual things when he says he was caught up into the third heaven, and also when he was taken to paradise and heard indescribable words that it is not lawful for a man to speak.

But what benefit was there for him, either in entering paradise or being taken to the third heaven, since all these things are still under the power of the Demiurge, if, as some claim, he had already begun to witness and hear those mysteries said to be above the Demiurge? For if it is true that he was becoming familiar with that realm above the Demiurge, he would not have remained in the regions of the Demiurge, and that without fully exploring even these (for, according to their way of speaking, four heavens still lay before him if he were to approach the Demiurge, and thus see all seven beneath him); but perhaps he might have been admitted into the intermediate place, that is, into the presence of the Mother, so he might receive instruction from her about the things within the Pleroma.

For that inner man within him, which spoke through him, as they say, although invisible, could have reached not only the third heaven but even the presence of their Mother. For if they claim that they themselves, their [inner] man, immediately ascend above the Demiurge and go to the Mother, then all the more must this have happened to the [inner] man of the apostle; for the Demiurge would not have stopped him, being, as they assert, already subject to the Saviour.

But if he had tried to stop him, the effort would have been in vain. For it is not possible that he could have been stronger than the Father’s providence, especially when the inner man is said to be invisible even to the Demiurge.

But since Paul described his own ascent to the third heaven as something significant and outstanding, it cannot be that these people ascend above the seventh heaven, for they certainly are not superior to the apostle.

If they claim they are better than he is, let them prove themselves by their actions, for they have never claimed anything like [what he describes happening to himself]. For this reason, he added, “Whether in the body or out of the body, God knows,” so that the body might neither be considered to have shared in that vision, as if it could participate in those things it had seen and heard; nor, conversely, that anyone should say he was not taken higher because of the body’s weight.

Thus it is allowed even without the body to witness spiritual mysteries, which are the works of God, who made the heavens and the earth, formed man, and placed him in paradise, so that those who, like the apostle, have attained a high level of perfection in the love of God might witness them.

THIS BEING: therefore, also created spiritual things, of which the apostle was made a spectator up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words that are impossible for a human to express, since they are spiritual. He Himself bestows gifts on the worthy as He chooses, for paradise is His; and He is truly the Spirit of God, not an animal Demiurge, otherwise He would never have created spiritual things.

But if He really has an animal nature, then let them tell us who created spiritual things.

They have no proof to offer that this was done through the labor of their Mother, as they claim. Not to mention spiritual things, these men cannot even create a fly, a gnat, or any other small and insignificant animal without following the law established from the beginning, by which animals have been and are naturally produced by God—through the deposition of seed in those of the same species. Nor was anything formed by the Mother alone; they claim that this Demiurge was produced by her and that he was the Lord (the author) of all creation.

They maintain that the Creator and Lord of all that has been made has an animal nature, while they claim they themselves are spiritual—though they are neither the authors nor lords of anything, not only of things outside themselves but not even of their own bodies! Moreover, these men, who call themselves spiritual and superior to the Creator, often suffer much bodily pain, completely against their will.

THEREFORE: we rightly accuse them of having strayed far and wide from the truth. For if the Savior created what has been made through him (the Demiurge), then he is shown to be not inferior but superior to them, as he is found to be the creator of even them; for they also belong among created things. How, then, can it be argued that these people are spiritual, but that he who created them is of a lesser nature? Or, again, if (which is indeed the only true assumption, as I have shown with numerous clear arguments) He (the Creator) made all things freely, by His own power, and arranged and completed them, and His will is the substance of all things, then He is revealed to be the one and only God who created all things, who alone is Omnipotent, and who is the sole Father shaping and forming all things, visible and invisible, those that can be perceived by our senses and those that cannot, heavenly and earthly, “by the word of His power;” and He has arranged all things by His wisdom, while He contains all things, yet He Himself cannot be contained by anyone: He is the Former, He is the Builder, He is the Revealer, He is the Creator, He is the Lord of all; and there is no one besides Him, or above Him, nor has He any mother, as they falsely claim; nor is there a second God, as Marcion imagined; nor is there a Pleroma of thirty Aeons, which has been shown to be a pointless assumption; nor is there any being like Bythus or Proarche; nor are there a series of heavens; nor is there a virginal light, nor an unnameable Aeon, nor, in fact, any of those things which are wildly dreamed up by these, and by all the heretics.

But there is only one God, the Creator—He who is above every Principality, Power, Dominion, and Virtue: He is the Father, He is God, the Founder, the Maker, the Creator, who made those things by Himself, meaning through His Word and Wisdom—heaven and earth, and the seas, and all things within them: He is just; He is good; He is the one who formed man, who planted paradise, who made the world, who caused the flood, who saved Noah; He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of the living: He is whom the law proclaims, whom the prophets preach, whom Christ reveals, whom the apostles make known to us, and in whom the Church believes.

He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: through His Word, who is His Son, He is revealed and manifested to all to whom He is revealed; for only those know Him to whom the Son has revealed Him.

But the Son, eternally co-existing with the Father, from the beginning, always reveals the Father to Angels, Archangels, Powers, Virtues, and all to whom He wishes that God be revealed.