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Simon Magus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the film, see Simon Magus (film).
Simon Magus
Σίμων ὁ μάγος
Relief of Simon Magus at the gate of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse.
TitleMagus
Personal
ReligionGnosticism
NationalitySamaritan
Known forFounder of Gnosticism
Organization
Founder ofSimonianism

Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: Simon Magus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.[1] The act of simony, or paying for position, is named after Simon, who tried to buy his way into the power of the Apostles.

According to Acts, Simon was a Samaritan magus or religious figure of the 1st century AD and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Evangelist. Simon later clashed with Peter. Accounts of Simon by writers of the second century exist, but are not considered verifiable.[2][3] Surviving traditions about Simon appear in orthodox texts, such as those of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius, where he is often described as the founder of Gnosticism,[4][5][6][7] which has been accepted by some modern scholars, [8][9] while others reject claims that he was a Gnostic, maintaining that he was merely considered to be one by the Church Fathers.[10][11]

Justin, who was himself a 2nd-century native of Samaria, wrote that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of a certain Simon of Gitta, a village not far from Flavia Neapolis. Irenaeus believed him to have been the founder of the sect of the Simonians.[12][13][14][15] Hippolytus quotes from a work he attributes to Simon or his followers the Simonians, Apophasis Megale, or Great Declaration. According to the early church heresiologists, Simon is also supposed to have written several lost treatises, two of which bear the titles The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter.

In apocryphal works including the Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, and the Epistle of the Apostles, Simon also appears as a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will. He is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Samaritan" due to his malevolent character.[16] The Apostolic Constitutions also accuses him of "lawlessness" (antinomianism).[17]

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Transcription

[Gary] Simon the Magician. Have you ever heard of him? Well this obscure historical person may have had a profound impact on what you think is biblical Christianity. Simon came from the Middle East, but his religious cult would spread over a wide area creating a conspiracy that perverted the teachings of Jesus. His megalomania drove him to claim that he was god. His followers met in secret conclaves practicing strange rituals for centuries after his death. Sometimes it is difficult to separate historical fact from fable. Well in this case, the truth is stranger than fiction. Today, we're going to explore how an ancient cult influenced modern Christianity - maybe even your Christianity. Join us in exploring, "The Strange Tale of Simon the Magician." [Announcer] Join our host, Gary Petty and his guests, as they help you understand your future on Beyond Today! [Gary] Years ago, I had a long conversation with a prominent member of a mainstream Christian church. He claimed that Jesus freed him from having to obey any biblical law. He explained that as long as he loved in the spirit, physical actions - well, they didn't even matter. So I countered his argument by saying that God's law says, "Don't commit murder." (Exodus 20:13) And asked him, "Do you think a Christian can break this law, commit murder, and this is acceptable to God?" His reply really surprised me. He said, "Well you know, many husbands and wives love each other, but in a fit of rage murder their spouse." He believed that God didn't judge a Christian who committed murder in such cases, because God knew that in the killer's heart he really loved the murdered spouse. Now before you say that this man's beliefs are ridiculous and non-Christian, are you sure you don't have some beliefs that are different than what Jesus taught? I really want to challenge you with the next question: Has your church actually been influenced by an ancient pagan cult? Today, we're going to answer this question by looking at the life and times of a man who is mentioned in the biblical book of Acts - a man who left his mark on a counterfeit Christianity - maybe even your Christianity. Jesus' disciples were busy spreading the gospel. A Christian leader named Philip traveled to Samaria, an area that's not far from Jerusalem, and many people began to respond to his message. The Samaritans were outcasts from Jewish society. They mingled biblical teachings with paganism to create a unique, sort of paganized Judaism. Well there, Philip came in contact with a religious leader known as Simon the Magician. Simon had a large following among the Samaritans because he performed "miracles" though demonic power. Many of Simon's followers believed Philip's message about Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. They even began to be baptized (Acts 8:12-13). And then, Simon himself professed to be a Christian and he too was baptized. Upon hearing of this interest in Jesus as the Christ, the apostles Peter and John traveled to Samaria to instruct the new converts and to lay hands upon them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17-19). Now, when Simon saw that God's Spirit was given to people, he offered the apostles money if they would give him this power. This is where we get the English word simony, which means the selling and buying of religious offices. Now let's take a minute, and really look at this biblical story, and then explore how this practically unknown person may have influenced your religious views. Simon was a very religious man who was attracted to the belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Now remember, he was publicly baptized as a Christian. Now when he saw that authentic Christianity also involved receiving the Spirit of God, he wanted that power. Simon recognized a core issue in his life that we all share. He understood that he was somehow incomplete. Now before, he had been practicing pagan rites that tapped into demonic powers, but he couldn't begin to experience the real power of the Almighty God. The biblical account doesn't say that Simon wanted to give up his pagan religion or even change his way of life. What he wanted was power (Acts 8:19). He didn't want to submit to God, he wanted to become his own god. And remember, that is exactly what he did in his life. The apostles rejected Simon as a man of - they called him a man of bitterness (Acts 8:23). The "Magician" disappeared from the biblical account. Now this doesn't mean that Simon vanished. He would continue to lead his religious cult, adding elements of the teachings of Jesus to his pagan-Jewish mixture. Simon and his cult would be part of a movement to create a paganized Christianity that in many ways had little to do with the real Jesus. For hundreds of years after Simon's death, his cult appears in historical records. You know, he even occasionally pops up in modern culture. Some of you may even remember, Jack Palance played a somewhat theatrical Simon in the 1954 movie, The Silver Chalice. > Did you hear the crowd when I came in? "Hail Simon!" they shouted. They sensed the moment of my greatness and are ready to accept me. >> Fly Simon! > I am god! >> Fly in the name of Caesar into His everlasting glory. [Gary] At the heart of Simon's heresy was the belief that he could receive power from God without changing his ways to please God. The Simonian cult was part of a religious movement known as gnosticism. Now, one of the main tenets of this movement is that biblical laws and morality are all made invalid by a new enlightened freedom. For gnostics, true religion is found in the power of secret knowledge. With this secret knowledge you discover the truth - -now listen, but it is a truth that comes from within. If this sounds a little bit familiar it is because it is a main tenet of the New Age movement. But just like the Christians in the first century, many Christians today hear the same message that it is possible to receive the power of God without submitting to God. In the New Testament, when they confronted this wrong teaching, it was called lawlessness. Now "law" is one of those words that cause many Christians to sort of cringe. I mean, maybe you've heard that obedience to law is anti-grace. It's anti-love. The truth is, you will never really experience the love of God until you know how God defines love. The foundation of the teachings of Jesus is love. But have you ever asked yourself: What did Jesus mean by love? Was He speaking of a sort of indefinable emotion? And that's how a lot of people see love when we talk about the Bible or about Jesus - sort of this indefinable emotion, this feeling. Well you know, a man came to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" (Matthew 22:25-36) Now, Jesus had the perfect opportunity to claim, now listen, love erases all of God's laws. Instead, He responded, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38) Now, did Jesus simply make up this foundational principle of life? Well, no. It is a quote from the Old Testament book of the law, known as Deuteronomy. You see, to love God is total, unreserved trust, surrender and obedience. And Jesus said this is the first of all the laws. Now in answer to the man who asked about the law, Jesus went on to say, "And the second" - or second law - "is like it: [and] 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:39-40). Now once again, Jesus quotes from the Old Testament. Notice, He doesn't say that to love your neighbor is an indefinable feeling. He says that loving neighbor is behaving towards others as you would want them to treat you. And this, these two commandments, this is the core of authentic Christianity - and they are laws. Now, it is absolutely true that no one can receive salvation through any law - I mean even God's law. The purpose of law is to define good and bad behavior. We are all saved - and this is important to understand - we are all saved by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the lawless teachings of Simon, which crept into early Christianity, continues to this day to cheapen the grace of God. Do you want to experience the real grace of God? Well if you do, one important step is to get your free study guide: The Church Jesus Built. If you want to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ then you must know what He taught. His people, His Church, must reject the teachings of the great conspiracy started by false teachers like Simon the Magician. If you are serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ then you must read, The Church Jesus Built. You can read it online at BeyondToday.tv or get a free copy sent to your mailbox by calling: 1-888-886-8632. Remember that. You can write it down: 1-888-886-8632. Or, you can write to us with your request to the address that's on the screen right now. So, please contact us (Beyond Today, PO Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254). Magician, Simon the Magician, lawlessness... this may seem rather meaningless to you. Now as a Christian, you are under grace and love which are anti-law. Is that what you think? Think about that. The law of God was done away when Jesus came, right? Is this what you hear from your pulpit? If it is, I want you to listen very carefully to what I am about to read from the New Testament. The apostle Paul prophesied about a man who will deceive the entire world before the second coming of Jesus Christ. He described this man this way: "...for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Paul then writes - now listen, "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work..." (2 Thessalonians 2:7). The lawless approach to God, as taught by Simon, will be prevalent at the return of Jesus Christ. Now notice, Paul wrote that it was already present in his day. Are you guilty of substituting cheap grace for the real love towards God and neighbor taught by Jesus Christ? Do you know that this false idea may be actually in your church, even though it claims to be Christian? I mean, does your church teach that the law of God was nailed to the cross? Or that love in your heart means that you don't have to obey God? Or, do you believe a gospel based on the belief that all truth must come from within - just trust your heart? Well, are Simon's teachings in your church? Most likely, in one way or another, yes! Go ask your pastor about these things. Check out your beliefs against the Bible! These ideas, prevalent in the New Age movement and far too many Christian pulpits, are not based in the teachings of Jesus, but a false interpretation of the Bible that can be traced back to an obscure pagan cult from the time of the earliest Christians. Why would God inspire this story of Simon to appear in the Bible? It's a very short story. What are we to learn from a pagan who tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit? The story of Simon the Magician is in Scripture to help us - you and I - it's to help us avoid those exact same pitfalls. Simon wanted to be like God. He wanted to satisfy that spiritual hunger that we all experience. He wanted to be respected as a spiritual leader. But he wanted all this without a willingness to love God or submit to God. Simon disappeared from the biblical narrative after Acts 8, but he continued to lead a religious movement that mixed elements of paganism, Judaism and Christianity. His cult would exist for hundreds of years and have an effect on the formation of mainstream Christianity. So we've seen that at the heart of the Simonian cult, and the larger movement known as gnosticism, was a belief that biblical laws and morality are to be rejected by the enlightened mind, discovering truth through secret knowledge. Now this concept, it's what the New Testament writers call lawlessness. So it's very important that we take right now some time, to look at what Jesus said about lawlessness. And we're going to look in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." "Many will say to Me in that day," - Now what He means here is when He returns. When Jesus Christ returns to gather His elect, to gather His people, He says many will come to Him and say, "'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'" - the name of Jesus Christ - "And then [Jesus declares] to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:21-23). Let's take a second to allow those words to really sink in. Jesus said that when He returns there will be people who claim to be His followers whom He will reject. That's right! Jesus Christ is going to reject some people who do great works in His name. Why? Because they practice lawlessness. The old Simonian lie will be alive and believed by people claiming to be followers of Jesus at the time of His return. Don't get caught up in it yourself! Remember, even Simon claimed to be a Christian and he was baptized. Now have you ever heard this message that I just said taught as part of the gospel brought by Jesus? It's in the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 7 - look it up. Because it's a frightening statement. Are you in danger of being rejected by Jesus Christ when He returns? You know, Christ doesn't want to reject anyone, but He - remember in His own words - He said He will not accept lawlessness. We read earlier that Jesus taught that all of the teachings of the Old Testament are based in two great laws from the Old Testament: love God and love neighbor. Love is the basis of God's law. Now, the law of God defines good behavior and bad behavior. It defines love! The Ten Commandments aren't anti-love or anti-grace. They define the most basic behaviors of love. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not murder. Now this doesn't mean that Christianity is simply a matter of ritualistically keeping a set of rules. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expanded the meaning of the word love beyond the simple letter of the law. He said that the law says, "do not murder." And then He told His followers to obey the law by learning not to hate. You see, hatred is the root cause of murder. So let's go back to the man who argued that the law against murder was erased by Jesus, and how a Christian could commit murder, but not be judged by God as long as he somehow had "love" in his heart. Well, this is nothing more than the old lie of lawlessness taught by Simon. It is impossible to hack a person to death, or gun them down, while you're loving that person in your heart while you're in some fit of rage. Simon the Magician, and other gnostic leaders, may have influenced your Christianity more than you know. You know, it is time - now, to return to the true teachings of Jesus Christ - His love, His laws, His morality, His doctrines, His prophesies, His teachings about the Father. It's time to discover the real power of God's Spirit - right now, in your life. Go dust off your Bibles and read the teachings of Jesus Christ. Even in Simon's death, his whole life is just shrouded in myth. One story claimed that in order to prove his divinity, he was buried alive so he could be resurrected after three days and nights. Where did he get that from? Well, according to the account, he's still buried there today. The Acts of Peter, written toward the end of the second century, claimed that Simon deceived many by flying around like a giant bird until Peter called upon God and Simon fell to the ground and broke his leg. Following an operation he died. His life, his teachings, his death - just a bizarre mixture of insanity and myth. Now, we're going to discuss how the lawlessness of Simon the Magician is still prevalent in Christianity today with our Beyond Today panel, but first let me tell you about today's free offers that can help you discover authentic Christianity as taught in the pages of your Bible. The Church Jesus Built is a detailed study guide that explains what the Bible means by Church and God's purpose for the creating a Church. There is an entire chapter explaining the origins of the conspiracy leading to this counterfeit Christianity. Now if you desire to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ, then you need to order your free copy of: The Church Jesus Built. Go online to download a free copy at BeyondToday.tv or call: 1-888-886-8632. And when you do, we will also send you a free subscription to The Good News magazine. This bi-monthly magazine will help you live a happier, more productive life - all the while preparing you for eternal life in God's family - in His Kingdom. You'll receive helpful articles on family life, doctrine, prophecy and analysis of today's confusing world news. Call us today for both of these free offers, or write to us at the address on your screen (Beyond Today, PO Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254). We've been discussing the conspiracy of Simon the Magician and the effects his cult had on early Christianity. Many people are surprised that many of the teachings he had then, still exist today and still affect Christianity today. Well to further expose this conspiracy, we are joined by fellow Beyond Today hosts, Darris McNeely and Steve Myers. People would be surprised that there's still lessons we need to learn about the life of this obscure person of Simon in Acts 8. [Steve] It's an amazing story. When you consider right at the very beginning of Christianity, right when the New Testament Church was beginning to take off, here is this conspiracy against it that Simon is at the heart of, and immediately it takes a hard left turn away from the truth. And I think many don't realize that that was right at the very beginning, and so then what became mainstream Christianity really was off track right from the start. [Darris] It's interesting that God inspired Luke to record this one story just once and nothing else is mentioned about this man in the entire New Testament. When you look at the story, and you see that he wanted to buy the Holy Spirit because he saw that it was by the laying on of hands that people received the gift of the Holy Spirit, you have there a perfect example of people, of an idea, a religion that wants to take a shortcut toward the most important matter - that really all religion has tried to do but only the Bible shows us how. And that is to have the power of God within us. That is what the Holy Spirit is - God's power within us, Christ living His life within us. And that's what Simon tried to buy. And I think that that is one of the great lessons - not only shows the positive way by which God gives His Spirit but that you can't buy that. There's nothing cheap about that. There's no shortcut to that. You must follow what God lays down in His Scripture. God gives His Spirit, it says, to those who obey Him. And there's no shortcut to obedience. [Gary] Well it's amazing when you think about, if you read about the Simonian cult and what Simon did the rest of his life. He declared himself to be a God. [Darris] Yes. [Gary] He couldn't receive the power from God so he declared himself to be a god. And the result is, is he created the strangest - even by Roman standards - it was a strange cult and strange beliefs, but he had been baptized a Christian. So he claimed to have a Christian, be a Christian and his cult was Christian, and of course it wasn't. [Steve] Yeah, and some of those subtleties I think that we miss if we don't really notice what was going on. Darris mentioned about the Holy Spirit given through the laying on of hands. I had a circumstance come up a while back where a friend of mine was baptized - which was a very good thing. And I said, that's great! And I asked him, did you have hands laid on you? Because that's the example that's given there. And, was dead silence, because he hadn't. And I wonder how many Christians today follow what's actually written or have they been skewed in what they believe thinking that there's shortcuts to getting where the Bible teaches the facts, the truth, and yet their practice is something totally different. I think it is important to think about that. [Gary] Because in that story, when you think about that story, Simon was baptized. But none of the people who were baptized received the Spirit until the apostles came and laid hands on them. So it shows that those two things are connected together, and unfortunately a lot of people today do not even believe in baptism. They are even too, that far from what the Scripture says. What are some of the lessons we can learn or what are some of the teachings of Simon, you just mentioned one, that we still find that are existed today? We talked about lawlessness a little bit... [Steve] There are so many plain statements in the Bible that contradict the teachings of Simon. If you look at 1 John 5:3, it says very plainly that love is keeping the commandments. This is the love of God, it says, keeping His commandments. So you can't separate the love of God which many would say yes, I love God - but you need to keep His commandments! And in fact, it goes on to say those commandments are not burdensome. And so, commandment-keepers are Christians and Christians have to keep the commandments if they truly love God. [Gary] Now, I am going to say something here that may seem very, very strange. We want you to order our free study guide, The Church Jesus Built, but while you are waiting for it to come, we want you - before you even read this - pick up your Bible and read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And pray, and ask God to open your mind to His Word, and then we can help you sort through it. When you order, The Church Jesus Built, we will also send you a free subscription to The Good News magazine. This will help you discover the authentic Christianity taught by Jesus Christ. Call: 1-888-886-8632, or go online to download a free copy at BeyondToday.tv. Nearly 300 years after Peter confronted Simon, a Catholic bishop named, Eusebius lamented that the Simonian cult still existed. Now he wrote, "It is an astonishing fact that this is still the practice of those who to the present day belong to his (this) disgusting sect. Following in.... [Simon's] footsteps they slip into the church like a pestilential and scabby disease, and do the utmost damage to all whom they succeed in smearing with the horrible, deadly poison concealed on them" (The History of the Church by Eusebius.) Simon's greatest heresies were infecting Christianity hundreds of years after he is mentioned in the book of Acts. This is one of the reasons God inspired Luke to record these events. Remember, Christians will be combating the "mystery of lawlessness" until the return of Jesus Christ. And what this means, if you are serious about Christianity, it is time to remove all vestiges of Simon the Magician from your beliefs and become a living stone in the Church Jesus is building. Join us next week on Beyond Today as we continue to discover the gospel of the Kingdom. We also invite you to join us in praying, "Thy Kingdom come." For Beyond Today, I'm Gary Petty. Thanks for watching. [Announcer] For the free literature offered on today's program, go online to BeyondToday.tv. Please join us again next week on Beyond Today!

History

 
Gnostic concepts
Gnostic sects and founders
Proto-Gnosticism
Judean / Israelite
Christian Gnosticism
Syrian-Egyptian
Alexandrian
Roman
Persian Gnosticism
Chinese Gnosticism
Islamic Gnosticism
Modern
Scriptures
Texts
Codices
Influenced by
Influence on

Acts of the Apostles

Peter's conflict with Simon Magus by Avanzino Nucci, 1620. Simon is on the right, wearing black.

The canonical Acts of the Apostles features a short narrative about Simon Magus; this is his only appearance in the New Testament.

But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power [Gr. Dynamis Megale] of God."[18] And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost." But Peter said unto him, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought [Gr. Epinoia][19] of thine heart may be forgiven thee, for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." Then answered Simon, and said, "Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me."

— Acts 8:9–24[20]

Josephus

Josephus mentions a magician named Atomus (Simon in Latin manuscripts)[21] as being involved with the procurator Felix, King Agrippa II and his sister Drusilla, where Felix has Simon convince Drusilla to marry him instead of the man she was engaged to. Some scholars have considered the two to be identical,[22] although this is not generally accepted, as the Simon of Josephus is a Jew rather than a Samaritan. Robert McNair Price has spoken on the speculation by academics Ferdinand Christian Baur and Hermann Detering that Simon may be identified with Paul the Apostle.[23]

Justin Martyr and Irenaeus

Justin Martyr (in his Apologies, and in a lost work against heresies, which Irenaeus used as his main source) and Irenaeus (Adversus Haereses) record that after being cast out by the Apostles, Simon Magus came to Rome where, having joined to himself a profligate woman of the name of Helen, he gave out that it was he who appeared among the Jews as the Son, in Samaria as the Father and among other nations as the Holy Spirit. He performed such signs by magic acts during the reign of Claudius that he was regarded as a god and honored with a statue on the island in the Tiber which the two bridges cross, with the inscription Simoni Deo Sancto,[24] "To Simon the Holy God" (First Apology, XXVI). However, in the 16th century, a statue was unearthed on the island in question, inscribed to Semo Sancus, a Sabine deity,[25] leading some scholars to conclude that Justin Martyr confused Semoni Sancus with Simon.

Myth of Simon and Helen

Justin and Irenaeus are the first to recount the myth of Simon and Helen, which became the center of Simonian doctrine.[citation needed] Epiphanius of Salamis also makes Simon speak in the first person in several places in his Panarion, and the implication is that he is quoting from a version of[clarification needed] it, though perhaps not verbatim.[24]

As described by Epiphanius, in the beginning God had his first thought, his Ennoia, which was female, and that thought was to create the angels. The First Thought then descended into the lower regions and created the angels. But the angels rebelled against her out of jealousy and created the world as her prison, imprisoning her in a female body. Thereafter, she was reincarnated many times, each time being shamed. Her many reincarnations included Helen of Troy, among others, and she finally was reincarnated as Helen, a slave and prostitute in the Phoenician city of Tyre. God then descended in the form of Simon Magus, to rescue his Ennoia, and to confer salvation upon men through knowledge of himself.[24]

"And on her account", he says, "did I come down; for this is that which is written in the Gospel 'the lost sheep'."

— Epiphanius, Panarion, 21.3.5[26]

For as the angels were mismanaging the world, owing to their individual lust for rule, he had come to set things straight, and had descended under a changed form, likening himself to the Principalities and Powers through whom he passed, so that among men he appeared as a man, though he was not a man, and was thought to have suffered in Judaea, though he had not suffered.[24]

"But in each heaven I changed my form," says he, "in accordance with the form of those who were in each heaven, that I might escape the notice of my angelic powers and come down to the Thought, who is none other than her who is also called Prunikos and Holy Ghost, through whom I created the angels, while the angels created the world and men."

— Epiphanius, Panarion, 21.2.4[27]

But the prophets had delivered their prophecies under the inspiration of the world-creating angels: wherefore those who had their hope in him and in Helen minded them no more, and, as being free, did what they pleased; for men were saved according to his grace, but not according to just works. For works were not just by nature, but only by convention, in accordance with the enactments of the world-creating angels, who by precepts of this kind sought to bring men into slavery. Wherefore he promised that the world should be dissolved, and that those who were his should be freed from the dominion of the world-creators.[24]

In this account of Simon there is a large portion common to almost all forms of Gnostic myths, together with something special to this form. They have in common the place in the work of creation assigned to the female principle, the conception of the Deity; the ignorance of the rulers of this lower world with regard to the Supreme Power; the descent of the female (Sophia) into the lower regions, and her inability to return. Special to the Simonian tale is the identification of Simon himself with the Supreme, and of his consort Helena with the female principle.[28]

Hippolytus

In Philosophumena, Hippolytus retells the narrative on Simon written by Irenaeus (who in his turn based it on the lost Syntagma of Justin). Upon the story of "the lost sheep", Hippolytus comments as follows:[24]

But the liar was enamoured of this wench, whose name was Helen, and had bought her and had her to wife, and it was out of respect for his disciples that he invented this fairy-tale.[29]

Also, Hippolytus demonstrates acquaintance with the folk tradition on Simon which depicts him rather as a magician than Gnostic, and in constant conflict with Peter (also present in the apocrypha and Pseudo-Clementine literature). Reduced to despair by the curse laid upon him by Peter in the Acts, Simon soon abjured the faith and embarked on the career of a sorcerer:[24]

Until he came to Rome also and fell foul of the Apostles. Peter withstood him on many occasions. At last he came ... and began to teach sitting under a plane tree. When he was on the point of being shown up, he said, in order to gain time, that if he were buried alive he would rise again on the third day. So he bade that a tomb should be dug by his disciples and that he should be buried in it. Now they did what they were ordered, but he remained there until now: for he was not the Christ.[30]

Simonians

Main article: Simonians
Illustration of the Simonian philosophy

Hippolytus gives a much more doctrinally detailed account of Simonianism, including a system of divine emanations and interpretations of the Old Testament, with extensive quotations from the Apophasis Megale. Some believe that Hippolytus' account is of a later, more developed form of Simonianism, and that the original doctrines of the group were simpler, close to the account given by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (this account however is also included in Hippolytus' work).[citation needed]

Hippolytus says the free love doctrine was held by them in its purest form, and speaks in language similar to that of Irenaeus about the variety of magic arts practiced by the Simonians, and also of their having images of Simon and Helen under the forms of Zeus and Athena. But he also adds, "if any one, on seeing the images either of Simon or Helen, shall call them by those names, he is cast out, as showing ignorance of the mysteries."[24]

Epiphanius

Epiphanius writes that there were some Simonians still in existence in his day (c. AD 367), but he speaks of them as almost extinct. Gitta, he says, had sunk from a town into a village. Epiphanius further charges Simon with having tried to wrest the words of St. Paul about the armour of God[31] into agreement with his own identification of the Ennoia with Athena. He tells us also that he gave barbaric names to the "principalities and powers", and that he was the beginning of the Gnostics. The Law, according to him, was not of God, but of "the sinister power". The same was the case with the prophets, and it was death to believe in the Old Testament.[24]

Cyril of Jerusalem

The death of Simon Magus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle

Cyril of Jerusalem (346 AD) in the sixth of his Catechetical Lectures prefaces his history of the Manichaeans by a brief account of earlier heresies: Simon Magus, he says, had given out that he was going to be translated to heaven, and was actually careening through the air in a chariot drawn by demons when Peter and Paul knelt down and prayed, and their prayers brought him to earth a mangled corpse.[32][24]

Apocrypha

Acts of Peter

The apocryphal Acts of Peter gives a more elaborate tale of Simon Magus' death. Simon is performing magic in the Forum, and, in order to prove himself to be a god, he levitates into the air above the Forum. The apostle Peter prays to God to stop his flying, and he stops mid-air and falls into a place called "the Sacra Via" (meaning "Holy Way" in Latin), breaking his legs "in three parts". The previously non-hostile crowd then stones him. Now gravely injured, he has some people carry him on a bed at night from Rome to Ariccia, and is brought from there to Terracina to a person named Castor, who has been banished from Rome, on account of accusations of sorcery levelled against him. The Acts then continue to say that he died "while being sorely cut by two physicians".[33]

Acts of Peter and Paul

Another apocryphal document, the Acts of Peter and Paul gives a slightly different version of the above incident, which was shown in the context of a debate in front of the Emperor Nero. In this version, Paul the Apostle is present along with Peter, Simon levitates from a high wooden tower made upon his request, and dies "divided into four parts" due to the fall. Peter and Paul are then imprisoned by Nero, who further orders that Simon's body be kept carefully for three days, in case, Christ-like, the magician should rise again.[34]

Pseudo-Clementine literature

The Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions and Homilies give an account of Simon Magus and some of his teachings in regards to the Simonians. They are of uncertain date and authorship, and seem to have been worked over by several hands in the interest of diverse forms of belief.[24]

Simon was a Samaritan, and a native of Gitta. The name of his father was Antonius, that of his mother Rachel.[35] He studied Greek literature in Alexandria, and, having in addition to this great power in magic, became so ambitious that he wished to be considered a highest power, higher even than the God who created the world. And sometimes he "darkly hinted" that he himself was Christ, calling himself the Standing One. Which name he used to indicate that he would stand for ever, and had no cause in him for bodily decay. He did not believe that the God who created the world was the highest, nor that the dead would rise. He denied Jerusalem, and introduced Mount Gerizim in its stead. In place of the Christ of the Christians he proclaimed himself; and the Law he allegorized in accordance with his own preconceptions. He did indeed preach righteousness and judgment to come.[24]

There was one John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus in accordance with the law of parity; and as Jesus had twelve Apostles, bearing the number of the twelve solar months, so had he thirty leading men, making up the monthly tale of the moon. One of these thirty leading men was a woman called Helen, and the first and most esteemed by John was Simon. But on the death of John he was away in Egypt for the practice of magic, and one Dositheus, by spreading a false report of Simon's death, succeeded in installing himself as head of the sect. Simon on coming back thought it better to dissemble, and, pretending friendship for Dositheus, accepted the second place. Soon, however, he began to hint to the thirty that Dositheus was not as well acquainted as he might be with the doctrines of the school.[36][24]

Dositheus, when he perceived that Simon was depreciating him, fearing lest his reputation among men might be obscured (for he himself was supposed to be the Standing One), moved with rage, when they met as usual at the school, seized a rod, and began to beat Simon; but suddenly the rod seemed to pass through his body, as if it had been smoke. On which Dositheus, being astonished, says to him, "Tell me if thou art the Standing One, that I may adore thee." And when Simon answered that he was, then Dositheus, perceiving that he himself was not the Standing One, fell down and worshipped him, and gave up his own place as chief to Simon, ordering all the rank of thirty men to obey him; himself taking the inferior place which Simon formerly occupied. Not long after this he[clarification needed] died.[37]

The encounter between Dositheus and Simon Magus was the beginnings of the sect of Simonians. The narrative goes on to say that Simon, having fallen in love with Helen, took her about with him, saying that she had come down into the world from the highest heavens, and was his mistress, inasmuch as she was Sophia, the Mother of All. It was for her sake, he said, that the Greeks and Barbarians fought the Trojan War, deluding themselves with an image of truth, for the real being was then present with the First God.[38][24] By such allegories Simon deceived many, while at the same time he astounded them by his magic. A description is given of how he made a familiar spirit for himself by conjuring the soul out of a boy and keeping his image in his bedroom, and many instances of his feats of magic are given.[24]

Anti-Paulinism

The Apostles Paul and Peter confront Simon Magus before Nero, as painted by Filippino Lippi.

The Pseudo-Clementine writings were used in the 4th century by members of the Ebionite sect, one characteristic of which was hostility to Paul, whom they refused to recognize as an apostle.[39][28] Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792–1860), founder of the Tübingen School, drew attention to the anti-Pauline characteristic in the Pseudo-Clementines, and pointed out that in the disputations between Simon and Peter, some of the claims Simon is represented as making (e.g. that of having seen the Lord, though not in his lifetime, yet subsequently in vision) were really the claims of Paul; and urged that Peter's refutation of Simon was in some places intended as a polemic against Paul.[28] The enmity between Peter and Simon is clearly shown. Simon's magical powers are juxtaposed with Peter's powers in order to express Peter's authority over Simon through the power of prayer, and in the 17th Homily, the identification of Paul with Simon Magus is effected. Simon is there made to maintain that he has a better knowledge of the mind of Jesus than the disciples, who had seen and conversed with Jesus in person. His reason for this strange assertion is that visions are superior to waking reality, as divine is superior to human.[40][24] Peter has much to say in reply to this, but the passage which mainly concerns us is as follows:[24]

But can any one be educated for teaching by vision? And if you shall say, "It is possible," why did the Teacher remain and converse with waking men for a whole year? And how can we believe you even as to the fact that he appeared to you? And how can he have appeared to you seeing that your sentiments are opposed to his teaching? But if you were seen and taught by him for a single hour, and so became an apostle, then preach his words, expound his meaning, love his apostles, fight not with me who had converse with him. For it is against a solid rock, the foundation-stone of the Church, that you have opposed yourself in opposing me. If you were not an adversary, you would not be slandering me and reviling the preaching that is given through me, in order that, as I heard myself in person from the Lord, when I speak I may not be believed, as though forsooth it were I who was condemned and I who was reprobate. Or, if you call me condemned, you are accusing God who revealed the Christ to me, and are inveighing against Him who called me blessed on the ground of the revelation. But if indeed you truly wish to work along with the truth, learn first from us what we learnt from Him, and when you have become a disciple of truth, become our fellow-workman.[24]

The anti-Pauline context of the Pseudo-Clementines is recognised, but the association with Simon Magus is surprising, according to Jozef Verheyden, since they have little in common.[41] However the majority of scholars accept Baur's identification,[42] though others, including Lightfoot, argued extensively that the "Simon Magus" of the Pseudo-Clementines was not meant to stand for Paul.[43] More recently, Berlin pastor Hermann Detering (1995) has made the case that the veiled anti-Pauline stance of the Pseudo-Clementines has historical roots, that the Acts 8 encounter between Simon the magician and Peter is itself based on the conflict between Peter and Paul.[44] Detering's belief has not found general support among scholars, but Robert M. Price argues much the same case in The Amazing Colossal Apostle:The Search for the Historical Paul (2012).[45]

Identification of Simon as the Apostle Paul

Since Ferdinand Christian Baur in the 19th century, scholars including Hermann Detering and Margaret Barket have concluded that the attacks on "Simon Magus" in the 4th-century Pseudo-Clementines may be attacks on Paul. Detering takes the attacks of the Pseudo-Clementines as literal and historical, and suggests that the attacks of the Pseudo-Clementines are correct in identifying "Simon Magus" as a proxy for Paul of Tarsus,[46] with Simon-Paul originally having been detested by the church, and the name changed to Paul when he was rehabilitated by virtue of forged Epistles correcting the genuine ones.[47] Robert Price has stated his agreement with this assertion.

Anti-Marcionism

There are other features in the portrait which are reminiscent of Marcion. The first thing mentioned in the Homilies about Simon's opinions is that he denied that God was just.[48] By "God" he meant the creator god. But he undertakes to prove from the Jewish scriptures that there is a higher god, who really possesses the perfections which are falsely ascribed to the lower god.[49] On these grounds Peter complains that, when he was setting out for the gentiles to convert them from their worship of many gods upon earth, Satan had sent Simon before him to make them believe that there were many gods in heaven.[50][24]

Druidism

In Irish legend Simon Magus came to be associated with Druidism. He is said to have come to the aid of the Druid Mog Ruith. The fierce denunciation of Christianity by Irish Druids appears to have resulted in Simon Magus being associated with Druidism. The word Druid was sometimes translated into Latin as magus, and Simon Magus was also known in Ireland as "Simon the Druid".[51]

Medieval legends, later interpretations

The church of Santa Francesca Romana, Rome, is claimed to have been built on the spot where Simon fell. Within the Church is a dented slab of marble that purports to bear the imprints of the knees of Peter and Paul during their prayer. The fantastic stories of Simon the Sorcerer persisted into the later Middle Ages,[52] becoming a possible inspiration for the Faustbuch and Goethe's Faust.[53]

The opening story in Danilo Kiš's 1983 collection The Encyclopedia of the Dead, "Simon Magus", retells the confrontation between Simon and Peter agreeing with the account in the Acts of Peter, and provides an additional alternative ending in which Simon asks to be buried alive in order to be resurrected three days later (after which his body is found putrefied).[54][55]

See also

References

  1. ^ 8:9–24
  2. ^ Knight, Kevin (2012). "Simon Magus". newadvent.org. Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 August 2016. it is difficult or rather impossible to extract from them any historical fact the details of which are established with certainty
  3. ^ "Simon Magus | Samarian magician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  4. ^ "CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, I.23 (St. Irenaeus)". www.newadvent.org.
  5. ^ Caesarea), Eusebius (of Caesarea, Bishop of (5 May 1894). "The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea, in Palestine". George Bell & Sons – via Google Books.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Hippolytus: Refutation of All Heresies can be found in Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers (1919; reprint ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971), 5:74–81, for the part we need about Simon.
  7. ^ Ferreiro, Alberto (5 May 2018). Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval And Early Modern Traditions. Brill. ISBN 978-9004144958 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Rudolph 1977, pp. 312 ff.
  9. ^ Haar 2003, p. 306.
  10. ^ Antonia Tripolitis Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2002 ISBN 9780802849137 p. 125
  11. ^ Alberto Ferreiro Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval And Early Modern Traditions BRILL, 2005 p. 53
  12. ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Simon Magus". www.newadvent.org.
  13. ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Justin Martyr". www.newadvent.org.
  14. ^ Dictionary of Christian Biography, Vol. 4, p. 682.
  15. ^ Hastings' Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, Vol. 2, p. 496.
  16. ^ Mark J. Edwards "Portraits: Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire" Clarendon Press, Oxford (1997) page 69
  17. ^ Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, vi. § 4, 16.
  18. ^ "Geburah, or Dynamis, was an appellative or metonym of "The Divine Glory" among the apocalypticists, and with this very meaning entered the Gospels in the famous passage: 'You shall see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Dynamis [Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62].' Although in rabbinic sources of the first and second centuries the name Dynamis was widely used as a synonym for God Himself, the esoteric use continued in the circles of the Merkabah mystics. ... This term must have had wide usage, since according to the Acts of the Apostles 8:10 even the Samaritan Simon Magus claimed to be the Great Dynamis: ἡ δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ καλουμένη μεγάλη." Scholem, p. 67.
  19. ^ "LÜDEMANN (1989: 96-98) has raised the question whether, on the basis of Luke's own knowledge of the tradition, Luke had made some ironic allusion to Helen as Simon's ἐπίνοια in his reference to the state of Simon's heart: ἡ ἐπίνοια τῆς καρδίας (8:22). If so, as LÜDEMANN argued, the two essential elements of Gnostic Simonian religion are already found in Acts: 'the god Simon and his syzygos, ἐπίνοια.'" Haar 2003, p. 82.
  20. ^ Acts 8:9–24
  21. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20:7, §2.
  22. ^ Hilgenfeld, Ketzergeschichte, p. 170; Albert, Die Ersten Fünfzehn Jahre der Christlichen Kirche, p. 114, Münster, 1900; Waitz, in Zeitschrift für Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, v. 128; Price 2012.
  23. ^ "Dr . Robert Price - the True Identity of St. Paul". YouTube. 17 November 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Simon Magus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 126–130.
  25. ^ Semoni Sanco Deo. Gruter, vol. 1, p. 95, n. 5.
  26. ^ Williams, vol. 1, p. 60.
  27. ^ Williams, vol. 1, p. 58.
  28. ^ a b c Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Salmon, George (1911). Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C. (eds.). Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century (3rd ed.). London: John Murray. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  29. ^ Hippolytus, Refutation of all Heresies, 6, 19.
  30. ^ Hippolytus, Refutation of all Heresies, 6, 15.
  31. ^ (Ephesians 6:14–16)
  32. ^ Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, vi. 15.
  33. ^ "The Acts of Peter". www.earlychristianwritings.com.
  34. ^ Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
  35. ^ Recognitions, Book 2.
  36. ^ Clementine Homilies, ii. 23.
  37. ^ Clementine Recognitions, ii. 11.
  38. ^ Cf. Plotinus, Ennead II, 9, 10: "They first maintain that the Soul and a certain 'Wisdom' [Sophia] declined and entered this lower sphere . . . Yet in the same breath, that very Soul which was the occasion of descent to the others is declared not to have descended. 'It knew no decline,' but merely illuminated the darkness in such a way that an image of it was formed upon the Matter. Then, they shape an image of that image somewhere below — through the medium of Matter or of Materiality . . . and so they bring into being what they call the Creator or Demiurge, then this lower is severed from his Mother [Sophia] and becomes the author of the Cosmos down to the latest of the succession of images constituting it." MacKenna trans., p. 230.
  39. ^ As the Peregrinations of Peter. Epiphanius, Panarion, 30.15.1. Williams, vol. 1, p. 131.
  40. ^ Clementine Homilies, xvii. 5; 14.
  41. ^ "The decision [in the Pseudo-Clementines] to associate Paul with Simon Magus is surprising since they have little in common. It is generally accepted that this association represents a later stage in the development of Ps.-Clem. and was an attempt to do away with or adapt some of the criticisms that had been aimed at Paul." Verheyden, p. 333.
  42. ^ "Baur's view that Simon is Paul has occasionally been questioned ..." Bockmuehl, p. 102.
  43. ^ "... letters (beginning of the second century AD, which give no evidence of strife between Peter and Paul) were spurious and late ... The idea of a revival of Baur's thesis appears to be quite self-conscious and explicit". Pate, p. 439.
  44. ^ Hermann Detering, The Dutch Radical Approach to the Pauline Epistles
  45. ^ Price 2012.
  46. ^ Hermann Detering, The Dutch Radical Approach to the Pauline Epistles
  47. ^ See also: F C Baur; A. Hilgenfeld; Hermann Detering, "The Falsified Paul: Early Christianity in the Twilight" - 1995 (translated into English in 2003); and J.R.Porter, The Lost Bible, pg 230.
  48. ^ Clementine Homilies, ii. 14.
  49. ^ Clementine Homilies, iii. 10; 38.
  50. ^ E.g. Clementine Homilies, iii. 3; 9; 59.
  51. ^ Spence, Lewis (1999). The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain. Courier Corporation. p. 36. ISBN 9780486404479.
  52. ^ Sometimes with Mug Ruith. MacKillop, p. 337.
  53. ^ "Surely few admirers of Marlowe's and Goethe's plays have an inkling that their hero is the descendant of a gnostic sectary, and that the beautiful Helen called up by his art was once the fallen Thought of God through whose raising mankind was to be saved." Jonas, p. 111.
  54. ^ Power, Chris (2 August 2012). "A brief survey of the short story part 42: Danilo Kiš". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  55. ^ Taylor, Benjamin (1995). Into the Open: Reflections on Genius and Modernity. NYU Press. pp. 107 n.1. ISBN 9780814782132.

Bibliography

  • Gruter, Janus (1707). Inscriptiones antiquae totius orbis romani, in absolutissimum corpus redactae. Amsterdam: Franciscus Halma.
  • Mead, G.R.S. (1892). Simon Magus. London: Theosophical Publishing Society.
  • Legge, Francis (1964) [1914]. Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, From 330 B.C. to 330 A.D. (Two volumes bound as one ed.). New York: University Books. LCCN 64-24125.
  • Plotinus (1921). Psychic and Physical Treatises: Comprising the Second and Third Enneads. Vol. 2. Stephen MacKenna. London: P.L. Warner, publisher to the Medici Society.
  • Jonas, Hans (2001) [1958]. The Gnostic Religion (3rd ed.). Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-5801-7.
  • Scholem, Gershom (1965). Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition. Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
  • Rudolph, Kurt (1977), Die Gnosis: Wesen u. Geschichte e. spätantiken Religion, Leipzig: Koehler & Amelang.
  • Williams, Frank (1987). The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Vol. 2 volumes. Leiden; New York; København; Köln: E.J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07926-7.
  • Lüdemann, Gerd (1989). Early Christianity according to the Traditions in Acts: A Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
  • MacKillop, James (2004) [1998]. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860967-4.
  • Pate, C. Marvin (2000). The Reverse of the Curse: Paul, Wisdom, and the Law.
  • Haar, Stephen Charles (2003), Simon Magus: The First Gnostic?, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-017689-6.
  • Verheyden, Jozef (2004), "Demonization of the Opponent", in Hettema, Theo L.; van der Kooij, Arie (eds.), Religious Polemics in Context.
  • Cartlidge, David R. (Fall 2005). "The Fall and Rise of Simon Magus". Bible Review. 21 (4): 24–36.
  • Bockmuehl, Markus (2010). The Remembered Peter: In Ancient Reception and Modern Debate. Mohr Siebeck.
  • Price, Robert M. (2012), The Amazing Colossal Apostle: The Search for the Historical Paul, Signature Books, ISBN 978-1-56085-216-2

External links

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