Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief

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In his picture, (compatible with the approach of de Benoist and the other European neo-pagans, who are not mentioned in the text) the destruction of the Second Temple led to the creation of the Jewish mentality, in which temporal triumph (a la Rome and other normal people) is replaced by an eventual otherworldly triumph after the destruction of `this world' -- i.e., apocalypse. Like his hero D. H. Lawrence, he suggests that the Jews co-opted the personal transformation offered by pagan mysteries into an endlessly pre-empted national triumph and fleshly rebirth in a new world. His analysis of `the redeemer complex' is intriguing, as is his use of it to explain how Christianity `triumphed' -- by first violently destroying pagan cultures, "turning them into victims," then offering a "reformulated justification of the victim role" which promised that "they would ultimately be saved," a brilliant way to co-opt victims into future victimizers. And his suggestion that the origins of contemporary suicide terror lie in the Jewish Dead Sea cultists is profound, not cheap and easy sensationalism. As my friend Alisdair Clarke has speculated on his Aryan Futurism blog, is there not the suggestion of something deadly, radioactive perhaps, an ageless evil, almost Lovecraftian, sleeping under the sand of that quarrelsome land with its dead sea and endless tribal violence? There's a lot on the Web about John Lamb Lash. Some of the data is contradictory. On the one hand, he's represented as an autodidact, as a college dropout. On the other, a PhD is attributed to him. There's even disagreement about his birthdate. Given the sketchy, eccentric character of this book I strongly suspect he had little academic training. Lash is capable of explaining the mind-bending concepts of Gnosticism and pagan mystery cults with bracing clarity and startling insight. . . . [His] arguments are often lively and entertaining.”—Los Angeles Times Over the years, John tended to concentrate closely on three areas: the wisdom and culture of indigenous peoples, shamanism, and mysticism. His approach throughout was experimental rather than merely intellectual. Having undergone inexplicable (some would say "paranormal") experiences from the age of four, he sought the origin of such events. To do so, he delved into both "the structure and dynamics of the psyche" (C. G. Jung's phrase) and the racial and cultural contexts in which such events occured. Over time, his investigation in the fields of anthropology, ethnology, ethology, history of religions, and cognitive psychology broadened to include the arts, literature, and the Humanities. His biographical studies -- the Irish painter George Russell (AE) and the Russian poet Velimir Khlebnikov, to cite but two of many examples -- convinced him that the highest achievements in the Humanities were often based in "occult" or mystical experiences. Eventually, John was able to interface evidence of human creativity with mystical and religious needs and drives, and place them together in a synthetic framework,

Hard going, stimulating, never, never dull. The only book I've ever read a second time as soon as I'd finished the first read. Similarly if you are sitting on the fence regarding this idea or have some knowledge of the Gnostics, Dead sea scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts, the 44 omitted Biblical gospels, this book brings them all together in a way that is a real wake up call. More seriously, Lash avoids all discussion or mention (although I'm going by his unreliable index here, see below) of the mysteries of Mithras, even though this was an official religion of the Empire (before Christianity), gave Christianity a run for its money, and last left us the most extensive records of all the mystery religions (such as the famous Mithraic Liturgy, available in the Mead anthology Lash constantly refers to). Could this omission be due to the fact that the Mithras cult does not fit into his simple patriarchal Christianity vs. Goddess/Gaian mystery paradigm? With the Sophia myth, humanity already inherits the earth. The potential of the human is to evolve eternally. Evolve psychologically. Conscious evolution with the planet and with the cosmos. This is the basic essential teaching of the Gnostic/Mystery/Indigenous teachings and world views. Go read some Huna books by Serge Kahili King or Wasserman (Bowl of Light). Read 'Grandfather' by Tom Brown Jr. Read 'Opening of the Way' by Isha Schwaller de Lubicz. Even 'Pagan Christ' by Tom Harpur. Go learn the contrasting models. And if you are really brave read 'Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson' by Gurdjieff. There is more truth in Beelzebub's Tales than in the old or new testament.In Not in His Image John Lamb Lash explains how a little-known messianic sect propelled itself into a dominant world power, systematically wiping out the great Gnostic spiritual teachers, the Druid priests, and the shamanistic healers of Europe and North Africa. Early Christians burned libraries and destroyed temples in an attempt to silence the ancient truth-tellers and keep their own secrets. But as Lash reveals the truth cannot be hidden or destroyed. In September 2018 John launched Nemeta.org. Intended primarily as a platform for the restoration of the Humanities, the Sophianic School of Arts and Sciences echoes the sacred calling of the ancient Mysteries: to guide humanity toward excellence in moral and creative expressions. It presents the instrument of what John calls "the living Gnosis today." His legacy, in short, can be regarded as a rather grandiose play for sanity. No one honestly facing the state of the world in 2021 can deny that the stakes of that game are exceedingly high.

Anyone who has ridiculed the idea of alien visitations in our past will find themselves re-evaluating their concepts. The key contrast is that between what the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths promise for following Their God versus what the Gnostics believed and knew about humanity and the cosmos. With the Abrahamic Yahweh believers you get a reward in a heaven after death. You get to inherit the earth or parts of the earth. We should focus on Christianity given the way history was essentially driven by the Roman Catholic then the Protestant branches and dogma. We are facing a potential end to humanity and society because of the book of Revelations and the salvationist promise. The idea that the Archons can only promise a false heaven. The book is not entirely without merit. The critique of Abrahamic 'dominator' religions as being anti-nature is certainly worthy of consideration, Christianity in particular having a poor historical record, its orientation being otherworldly. Its advocacy of deep ecology is something I appreciate. This is definitely not a book for those unfamiliar with European antiquity and the history of religions, nor is it worthy of the attention of those who do have such familiarity. Alas, Mr. Lash, as Housman said of incompetent textual critics, "the world is no feather bed for the repose of sluggards." If you want convince anyone but the most credulous, or the already convinced, you will have to do more work than this.This book contains a heady mix of history, science, theology, anthropology, myth, and the author's personal testimony of Mystical experience. Above and beyond the several points it develops, this books presents a case for awe. This poses a dilemma, however, because the case for awe cannot be proven by scholarly method, yet that is the approach the author has taken in his argument. Readers of this book will fare more easily with this work if they bear in mind that the author frames his argument in scholarly terms, but the basic convictions from which Lash writes neither derive from, nor rely on, scholarly proof and academic method. In the 15th Anniversary Edition, Lash doubles down on his original argument against redemptive ideology and authoritarian deceit. He shows how the Gnostics clearly foresaw the current program of salvation by syringe, and places the Sophianic vision of life centrally in the battle to expose and oppose the evil agenda of transhumanism, making this well-timed update more relevant than ever. Fully revised and with a new preface by the author, this timely update is perfect for readers of The Immortality Key.

Alas, although I obviously endorse much of this book, I find that it fails utterly, when judged as a work of scholarship. Lash, whatever his real qualifications might be, writes like an autodidact, with all of the related faults. No wonder the King of Autodidacticism, Colin Wilson, contributes a blurb saying `Lash's historical and anthropological erudition are [sic!] breathtaking." I'm afraid that grammatical solecism is typical of the book's problems.With clarity, author John Lamb Lash explains how a little-known messianic sect propelled itself into a dominant world power, systematically wiping out the great Gnostic spiritual teachers, the Druid priests, and the shamanistic healers of Europe and North Africa. Early Christians burned libraries and destroyed temples in an attempt to silence the ancient truth-tellers and keep their own secrets. I came to this book with high hopes, as there are all too few works which take full blooded `anti-Abrahamic' approach to the subject, preferring to try and amalgamate Gnosticism and mystery religions to some grand new age vision shared by Greeks and Jews, Hindus and Christians. And Lash starts off doing a pretty good job, showing just how crazy and evil the Jewish `god' is, along with his later Christian and Islamic transformations. John presents to us a documented history of the effect religion has had on society, its origins and our morals by revealing our belief system from before 'religion' and the Church took hold and turned us into who we are today. First, Lash exhibits the bad habit of citing only evidence that supports him, rather than dealing with (apparent) anomalies. Thus, he suggests that the patriarchal god arises from the Jewish patriarchal family, as if most, if not all, pagan societies were not. Tell that to the Roman pater familias! John Lamb Lash (b. 1945 New York City) has been called the true successor of Mircea Eliade and the rightful heir of Joseph Campbell. Unlike those two world-class academics, John is a self-educated free-lance scholar who specializes in directive mythology: that is, the application of myth to life, rather than its mere interpretation. He is a leading exponent of the power of myth to direct individual experience and drive historical events over the long term.