The Sacred Text Book Club Podcast

This one goes somewhere we didn't expect. We wrap up our two-part series in Eugnostos the Blessed and the Sophia of Jesus Christ, and honestly, it gets rocky.

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This episode opens a new series inside Eugnostos the Blessed and its Christianized twin, the Sophia of Jesus Christ. We dig into how these two texts relate to each other, which one actually came first, and what changes once Jesus enters the picture. We also spend real time on the disciples named in this version of the story, what the risen Christ might have actually looked like, and a word study on "virgin" that completely re-frames how we've been taught to read it. This one raises more questions than it answers, in the best way, so expect at least a couple more parts before we're done.

What we studied

Carly reads from The Apocrypha Complete 100-Book Edition, the same anthology she used for the Apocryphon of John series.

Eileen reads from The Nag Hammadi Library, edited by James M. Robinson, which also includes both of these texts, translated there by Douglas M. Parrott, the same translator as the gnosis.org edition above.

Janae reads from Eugnostos the Blessed and The Sophia of Jesus Christ: free to read in Douglas M. Parrott’s translation at gnosis.org.

Physical copies can be found here:https://amzn.to/4qS94Ib

A Few Terms Worth Knowing

Eugnostos the Blessed: The earlier of these two texts, written without any Christian framing. Scholars generally agree it came first, and that its teachings were later placed into a dialogue between the risen Jesus and his disciples to create the Sophia of Jesus Christ.

Self-Father, Immortal Man, Son of Man, Son of Son of Man: A chain of divine emanation described in both texts. Some scholars map this loosely onto Genesis, the Self-Father to God, Immortal Man to Adam, and Son of Son of Man to Seth.

Find us on Substack and Instagram:

The Sacred Text Book Club: @thesacredtextbookclub

Carly: @wildravenbreathwork

Eileen: @eileenonlove

Janae: @theflowingphoenix

Got thoughts on this one? Questions, push back, a connection you saw that we didn’t? Come bring it into The Reading Room, our private Telegram community where the conversation keeps going between episodes. It’s where we go deeper, answer questions in real time, and hold live Q&A calls. Find out how to join at thesacredtextbookclub.substack.com

This is it, the finale of the Apocryphon of John series. Part four picks up with Noah, and this text has its own version of that story worth hearing for yourself.

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To protect the integrity of this group and keep our community safe and intimate, full episodes are reserved for paid members. Head to thesacredtextbookclub.com and sign up to get access to listen to full episodes wherever you stream your podcasts.

Part three picks up right where the story left off: Adam has been given breath and life, and now Eve is formed too, though not from a rib. We get into how this text tells Eve's creation entirely differently than Genesis, what happens when the veil first lifts for Adam and Eve, and the far darker turn the story takes once Yaldabaoth realizes what he's lost.

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To protect the integrity of this group and keep our community safe and intimate, full episodes are reserved for paid members. Head to thesacredtextbookclub.com and sign up to get access to listen to full episodes wherever you stream your podcasts.

Part two picks up right where Sophia's choice to create alone left off, and follows what happens next: the archons Yaldabaoth creates in his own image, Sophia's growing awareness of what she's lost, and the long, strange process of Adam's body being assembled piece by piece.

Subscribe to The Sacred Text Book Club to unlock the rest.

To protect the integrity of this group and keep our community safe and intimate, full episodes are reserved for paid members. Head to thesacredtextbookclub.com to sign up to get access to listen to full episodes wherever you stream your podcasts.

This episode kicks off a four-part series into the Apocryphon of John, one of the foundational texts of the Gnostic tradition, found in both the Nag Hammadi Library and the Berlin Gnostic Codex. We get into how this text was buried for almost two thousand years and rediscovered within our grandparents' lifetime, the unfamiliar vocabulary it introduces, and the story of Sophia, wisdom herself, choosing to create something entirely on her own for the first time. Give it a listen for the full unpacking, and stick with us through the rest of the series as the story keeps unfolding.

What we studied

Carly & Janae studied from Apocryphon of John (also called the Secret Book of John), found in the Nag Hammadi Library and the Berlin Gnostic Codex: free to read in the Waldstein and Wisse translation at gnosis.org.http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn-long.html

Eileen reads from The Nag Hammadi Library, edited by James M. Robinson, which includes this text translated by Frederik Wisse.

Other Books Mentioned

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels, mentioned by Eileen.

The Sophia Code: A Living Transmission from The Sophia Dragon Tribe by Kaia Ra, mentioned in conversation.

The Essene Gospel of Peace, mentioned by Eileen.

The Books of Enoch Deluxe Collection: 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, 3 Enoch & Bonus Gospels of Judas, Mary & Philip, mentioned by Eileen.

Physical copies can be found here:https://amzn.to/4qS94Ib

A Few Terms Worth Knowing

Monad: Greek for “the one.” The invisible, ultimate source in Gnostic theology, beyond ordinary description.

Aeon: A divine emanation from the Monad, understood in this tradition not as an idea but as a living being.

Demiurge: Greek for “craftsman.” The figure who fashions the material world, distinct from the true, invisible source above.

Pleroma: The “fullness,” the totality of the divine realm made up of all the Aeons together.

Barbelo: The first emanation of the Monad, described as androgynous and named Mother, Father, and First Man all at once. Even scholars don’t agree on one fixed definition, it points at something beyond ordinary categories.

Epinoia: Often translated “afterthought” or “insight.” A hidden spark tied to Sophia’s line, said to awaken understanding from within.

Yaldabaoth: The being Sophia creates on her own, without her divine counterpart. He goes on to shape the material world and rule over it.

Find us on Substack and Instagram:

The Sacred Text Book Club: @thesacredtextbookclub

Carly: @wildravenbreathwork

Eileen: @eileenonlove

Janae: @theflowingphoenix

Got thoughts on this one? Questions, push back, a connection you saw that we didn’t? Come bring it into The Reading Room, our private Telegram community where the conversation keeps going between episodes. It’s where we go deeper, answer questions in real time, and hold live Q&A calls. Find out how to join at thesacredtextbookclub.com

In this episode, we open our first real text study together, sitting inside the Vedic creation hymns and a couple of the Upanishads before turning to set them beside Genesis. We talk about what it felt like to first encounter a creation story that ends in a question instead of an answer, and how that changed the way each of us reads the scripture we grew up with. We also get into the story of Eve, a specific Hebrew word behind it that most translations quietly gloss over, and why that word might completely change how the creation of woman has been understood. Give it a listen for the full unpacking, the passages we read in full, and where each of us landed by the end.

What We Studied

Rig Veda 10.129 (the Nasadiya Sukta, or Hymn of Creation): free to read in Griffith’s translation at sacred-texts.com.https://sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv10129.htm

Aitareya Upanishad 1.1–1.3: free to read in Max Müller’s translation at sacred-texts.com.https://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe01/index.htmOr in a more modern translation here: https://texts.wara.in/vedas/upanishads/aitareya

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4: free to read in Müller’s translation here.https://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/upanishads/brihad.asp

Genesis 1 through 3: available in any Bible app or site you already use. If you want to go deeper into the Hebrew word behind “rib” (tsela), Bible Study Tools has a free lexicon entry.https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/tsela-3.html

Want to keep exploring beyond this episode? The Internet Sacred Text Archive’s Hinduism index is a great place to wander through the wider Vedic and Hindu textual tradition.https://sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm

Other Books Mentioned

Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven’t Tried Yet by Meggan Watterson, mentioned by Eileen.

Physical copies can be found here:https://amzn.to/4qS94Ib

Find us on Substack and Instagram:

The Sacred Text Book Club: @thesacredtextbookclub

Carly: @wildravenbreathwork

Eileen: @eileenonlove

Janae: @theflowingphoenix

Got thoughts on this one? Questions, pushback, a connection you saw that we didn’t? Come bring it into The Reading Room, our private Telegram community where the conversation keeps going between episodes. It’s where we go deeper, answer questions in real time, and hold live Q&A calls. Find out how to join at thesacredtextbookclub.substack.com

Join us in our community of humans looking to dig a little deeper and learn a little broader about life, love, theology, and our connection to each other through sacred text.

In our very first episode, we introduce ourselves and share the story behind this project, three very different upbringings that somehow landed us in the same place. We talk about how we found each other, why creation felt like the right place to begin, and what we each hope this space becomes. Give it a listen for the full story, and consider this your invitation to bring your own voice, questions, and push back along with us.

Find us on Substack and Instagram:

The Sacred Text Book Club: @thesacredtextbookclub

Carly: @wildravenbreathwork

Eileen: @eileenonlove

Janae: @theflowingphoenix