Ep222: American Gnosis - Arthur Versluis PhD 3
Professor Arthur Versluis is the author of over 25 books on subjects ranging from Western esotericism, magic, Christian Theosophy, ancient mystery schools, and more.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
In this episode Arthur discusses his latest book ‘American Gnosis’ in which he explores the surprising connections between the Gnostic tradition and contemporary American spirituality, politics, and popular media.
Arthur shows the ways in which gnostic religious themes explicitly and implicitly express in political groups such as the dissident right, probes Eric Voegelin’s theories which propose links between gnosticism and left wing political movements, and explores the blend of cosmological and metaphysical gnosis in the writings of David Icke.
Arthur also details the key features of neognosticism, discusses the meme battles over the Matrix film’s ‘red pill’, and considers the overlaps between light work, conspiracy theories, and Tibetan Buddhism.
00:00 - Intro
01:19 - American Gnosis
02:17 - Origins of and surprises in the research
06:03 - An anecdote of American Gnosticism
08:02 - The gnosis of Twin Peaks
08:38 - Defining Gnosticism
12:18 - Emerging 20th century Neo-Gnosticism
14:30 - Cosmological vs metaphysical gnosis
17:19 - A surprising claim of awakening
21:26 - Crossover between Buddhist and Neo-Gnostic awakenings
23:40 - Political gnosis on the left and right
25:50 - Psychedelic gnosis
26:33 - Neo-gnosticism and the dissident right
29:31 - Is there neognosticism on the left?
34:01 - Are analyses in terms of whiteness and patriarchy neognostic in structure?
36:14 - Double-view of gnosticism on the right
40:44 - A problem in the American Buddhist world
42:23 - Struggle between the left and right over the symbolism of the Matrix’s red pill
49:22 - The pseudo-religion of the state and the 2nd reality
53:03 - Overreach of the label of ‘gnostic’
55:18 - The gnosis of David Icke
01:02:14 - Suicidal nihilism of neognosticism vs Icke’s metaphysical gnosis
01:06:02 - Lightwork and conspiracy theory overlap with Buddhism
01:13:33 - Entities and dark forces in Tibetan Buddhism
Previous episodes with Prof. Arthur Versluis:
https://www.guruviking.com/ep106-arthur-versluis-phd-conversations-in-apocalyptic-times/
https://www.guruviking.com/ep113-arthur-versluis-phd-2-american-gurus/
To buy ‘American Gnosis’, visit:
To find out more about Prof. Arthur Versluis, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James