Astronomy and Politics Through the Lens of Epistemology
How do We Know What We Know?
What is Our Method of Evaluating Truth?

On May 17, 2018 at her press briefing םמ C-SPAN, Nancy Pelosi attacked Trump for referring to MS 13 gang members as “animals”.  She wondered if the president believed “we are all God’s children” or not.  She went on to describe that all humans have a “divine spark” and it is this term I wish to address here.

 

Pelosi’s comment typifies an example of Gnostic thinking.  The “divine spark” is a mystical term used primarily by Gnostics and Western traditions that have adopted the philosophy, i.e., that each human contains within themselves a portion of God.  It turns up in New Age religions and some “Christian” cults. It's nothing new.  Its theology has been espoused by Gnostic Christians as early as the first century and was considered heretical by Paul and John the Apostle.

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The Wikipedia article on “Divine Spark” spells out the idea of this view:

 

In these theologies, the purpose of life is to enable the Divine Spark to be released from its captivity in matter and reestablish its connection with or simply return to God who is perceived as being the source of the Divine Light. In the Gnostic Christian tradition, 

Christ is seen as a wholly divine being which has taken human form in order to lead humanity back to the Light.

 

The terms “divine spark” and “divine light” are synonymous and linked the Christian Gnostic view of the late first century.  The terms are core beliefs in todays New Age Movements and other aberrant Christian groups. Their beliefs are only a regurgitation of Gnostic theology.  A twisted interpretation of scripture is even used to justify their theological position. I cite for example (with commentary), https://spiritualexperience.eu/divine-spark/ (SE), where they say in the article, “Divine Spark—The Divine Light Within You”,

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SE: There are important verses in The Holy Bible that suggest that is that divine light in every human soul. Firstly, Genesis 1:26 describes how God  mage (sic “made”) every human being in His image. But this refers to our souls, not our physical body.

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Don:  The first setup is the claim that the Bible supports the idea that there is a divine light in every human soul (no scripture directly suggest this).  The example to support this idea is from Gen. 1:26.  Then they make the huge leap of logic by equating “image” with “souls” and even setting it apart from the physical body.  This was the main point of Paul and John was making against this kind of heresy.  Gnostics considered the physical body to be evil and was not resurrected.   It was only the soul that was elevated to the realm of the spirit.  John said of this, “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist…” (I John 4:3)

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SE: God is pure light. And we have a portion of that pure light in our souls. Also in Genesis, when Adam was created, God asked all of his angels to put a little angel spark in the human body. But it didn’t move. Then God decided to put a portion of himself in the vessel. Then Adam woke up. And from his eyes radiated God’s glory. Which made even the angels fear him. This kind of makes me think of the saying that “The eyes are the mirror of the soul”.

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Don:   There is no biblical support that says angels “put a little spark in the human body.”  The spark “didn’t move”?  Maybe they mean “activate”?  God, it appears, made a mistake, so he had to put a portion of Himself in the body.  This appears as Midrashic fodder borrowed by the spiritualist to inject (isogenesis) their own interpretation into the scriptures.  Eyes being the mirror of the soul lacks any connectivity to the subject.

Note: isogenesis is a term meaning to inject interpretive ideas into the text because of associative connection.  It is considered bad hermeneutics.   It’s a good skill for writing science fiction but not for a historian.  On the other hand, exegesis is a good hermeneutical means of interpretation—allowing scripture to interpret scripture.

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SE: Even Jesus Christ refers to the Divine Spark in The Bible. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says “The Kingdom of God is within you.” Therefore, God is the soul or spirit, not in the matter or material things.

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Don: There is no logical connection between “the Kingdom of God” and the “Divine Spark” or even implied by scripture.

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SE: Another definition of the Divine Spark can be Jesus Christ himself. Who is considered and avatar of the light. Who suffered for us, so we can be able to enter the kingdom of God.

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Don: this implies one of the tenants of Gnostic theology, i.e., that Jesus was a spirit in essence.  Thus He becomes an avatar entering into a physical body to suffer so we can make it into the kingdom of God.  The caveat is we have to ignite that spark.

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To an educated evangelical, this appears at pure heresy and leads to the source of truth coming from within one’s “self”.  This is directly the opposite of what Jesus actually said:

 

Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: Mat 15:17-19.

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Friedman examines this influence from Gnostic theology using Mchael Servetus’ book published in the 16th century.  Servetus was burned at the stake under the watch of John Calvin and those who adhered to his theology, which, ironically, happened to be shared with the Catholic Church. (For detailed study on the “divine spark” or “light” originating with the Gnostics, see Michael Servetus: A Case Study in Total Heresy, by Jerome Friedman,1978).

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Further discourse on Gnosticism and the Divine Light are given in the classic work The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. Note:  Pagels is a feminist always addressing the male/female gender issue of leadership.  In addition, she seems to indirectly elevate some of the Gnostic Gospels to “inspired” levels although she does not say so.

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Nevertheless, the point is that the concept is still alive and well today.  New Agers, liberals, and Progressives frequently refer to the divine spark whenever they want to appear religious and, more to the truth of the matter, believe the Great Lie that they shall be as gods—if they can just ignite that divine spark in themselves and others.

In an article from the Barna Group, Americans Draw Theological Beliefs From Diverse Points of View says,

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…three-quarters of adults (74%) agree that, “when people are born they are neither good nor evil – they make a choice between the two as they mature.” In other words, the concept of original sin is rejected by most Americans in favor of a rational choice approach to human nature. At least seven out of ten members of every demographic segment examined accepts the notion of choice over that of original sin. (Ref. subheading “Sin and Salvation. 

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Note that total depravity cannot be addressed without including Original Sin: the two are inseparably linked.  For further reference on total depravity, see the article on Ligonier.

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Bible verses on Total Depravity:

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Rom 5:12 19—Sin came into the world through one man and deth through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.

Also Ecclesiastes 7:29; Romans 5:7-8

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Are there any exceptions?

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There is no one who does not sin.  2 Chron 6:38

For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.  Romans 11:32 & c.f. Gal 3:22

Also, note Ps 143:2; Isaiah 53:6; Rom 3:9-12; 1 John 1:8,10

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Are People good deep down (where that spark of God is)?

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For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person (c.f. Matt 15:19).

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Are men totally depraved?

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The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can understand it? Jer 17:9 (also see Titus 1:15-16; Eccl 9:3; Rom 1:28-31; Eph 4:17-18; Jer 10:7,8,14; Matt 15:19; Gen 6:5; 8:21; Prv 10:20; 28:26.]

 

As we have seen in the language of the modern Gnostics, their redefining or misuse of the meaning of words are not exclusive to their religion.  We also see it prevalent in the language of politicians.  Politicians often use faulty language employing equivalencies and glittering generalities to avoid commitments to their constituents.  Words or terms often have different meaning than what most of the populace think, thus misleading in their intentions.  Ignoring the fact that man without Christ in their lives will never be perfected, they continue to strive for that elusive utopia called “the best in man.”

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Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!  Isa_5:21 

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Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Col 2:11

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