Authoritative Teaching
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The Authoritative Teaching is a gnostic tractate of the Nag Hammadi Library placed in Codex VI.[1] The text is dated around the 3rd century AD.[2]
Overview
Authoritative Teaching is considered a Gnostic text because it makes implications that the soul is initially a divine entity that has been placed on the immoral Earth to face the trials of evil and regain its elevated place in the heavens through the attainment of knowledge.[3]
The text gives a metaphoric teaching about a soul (her) from a divine world that comes to see the material world but gets distracted and creates earthly attachments. Some of the metaphorical identities that the soul is given include a prostitute, a contestant, a bride, an invalid, a fish, and wheat.[3] However, God the father watches over the soul and warns the soul of earthly attachments.[2] These attachments are Lust, Pride, Greed, Fraud, Ignorance, Envy, & Vanity.[4]
