It is a theme in Gnostic writings that the 'soul' is trapped in the physical body, and the aim of life is to find release from that trap. The state of the soul is thus bound up with that of the spirit and the body. This is clearly a cause of sadness for the soul, but there is a way out by the path of repentance. What is repentance?
Technically, repentance is a change of mind, not a turning away from what the Church calls sin. The Greek word translated "repentance" is metanoia, and the meaning is simply "a change of mind." Part of the way back through the Gates of Darkness that locks the soul in its imagined prison is, therefore, through a change in preconceived ideas.
[And now for a week's vacation.]
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteIndeed, but don’t you also think the Hebrew (OT ) repentance idea meant it must be sincere enough to be demonstrated in substantive changes in mindset and subsequent actions. I thought that idea also permeated the NT and Gnostics mindset from which they took their cue ?
Hi Lindsay,
DeleteYes, I do. The point is, I think, that simply indicating regret is necessary but not enough. To make amends, the follow-up process, applies as much towards oneself and God - if you lean toward that latter - as much as to those around you that you have hurt.