{"id":10719,"date":"2026-07-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10719"},"modified":"2025-12-15T10:55:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T10:55:48","slug":"looking-at-peter-burfeinds-book-2014-gnostic-america-part-8-of-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10719","title":{"rendered":"Looking at Peter Burfeind&#8217;s Book (2014) &#8220;Gnostic America&#8221; (Part 8 of 26)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>0120 This makes me wonder:&nbsp;&nbsp;How far can the Gnostic push and pull go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the personal level, here is one endpoint:&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self switches place with superego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0121 In order to imagine this, let me return to the working model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide13-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide13-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide13-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide13-2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>0122 As the Gnostic caress begins, the Self and the ego are put into conflict.&nbsp;&nbsp;The superego is not able to produce&nbsp;<em>a normal context where the ego can freely act in the Name of the Self<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ego gets blamed for&nbsp;<em>the irresponsibility of the Self<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, the Self is not acting responsibly or irresponsibly.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self is just&nbsp;<em>encountering the feelings generated by id<sup>fantasy<\/sup><\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self acts according to&nbsp;<em>its likes and dislikes under the influence of distant alternate actuality: the perspective of Sophia<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0123 Note how both the superego<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;(directly) and Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub>&nbsp;(virtually) contextualize the actuality of&nbsp;<em>ego [responsible for, free to act in the Name of] Self<sub>2a<\/sub><\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The logic of thirdness (denoted with the subscript \u201c3\u201d for superego and \u201cc\u201d for Sophia) is exclusive.&nbsp;&nbsp;The superego consists of&nbsp;<em>internalized \u201cdo and don\u2019t\u201ds and \u201cyes and no\u201ds<\/em>&nbsp;that exclude other options.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sophia is a perspective that operates to exclude Yaltabaoth and the Establishment, just as she, in the origin myth, hid the half-lion half-snake in a cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0124 The superego<sub>3c<\/sub>&nbsp;relies on&nbsp;<em>the already poised desires of id<sup>rea1<\/sup><sub>1a<\/sub><\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;After all, id<sup>real<\/sup><sub>1a<\/sub>&nbsp;wants to keep&nbsp;<em>material me<\/em>&nbsp;alive, uninjured and satiated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0125 Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub>&nbsp;relies on&nbsp;<em>the ever-experimenting desires of id<sup>fantasy<\/sup><\/em><sub>1a<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub>&nbsp;will inspire a gestural-body feeling<sub>1b<\/sub>&nbsp;that will fool the ego<sub>2a<\/sub>&nbsp;into putting her message<sub>1b<\/sub>&nbsp;into words.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other times, the ego<sub>2a<\/sub>&nbsp;will note&nbsp;<em>an item in the world out there<\/em>&nbsp;that is immediately rejected by id<sup>real<\/sup>, but appeals to id<sup>fantasy<\/sup>.&nbsp;&nbsp;In these cases, the Self<sub>2a<\/sub>&nbsp;becomes more aware of&nbsp;<em>a call to be contextualized by Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub><\/em>, rather than by the superego<sub>3a<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0126 Sometimes, Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub>&nbsp;will appear in an origin myth that is so ancient that no one knows how old it is or where it came from.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some say that it came from prehistoric Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0127 Sophia appears as Personified Wisdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;As her call strengthens, the superego<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;becomes less and less effectual and more and more like Yaltabaoth and the Establishment<sub>2b<\/sub>.&nbsp;&nbsp;These situation-level actualities are not about context.&nbsp;&nbsp;They are not about perspective.&nbsp;&nbsp;They are about&nbsp;<em>rules and laws<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>getting on with the world of material concerns<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, the superego<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;is virtually situated by the mindless rationality<sub>3b<\/sub>&nbsp;of the current age<sub>3c<\/sub>.&nbsp;&nbsp;No wonder it<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;acts more and more like deterministic natural laws and rigid social norms when under the pressure of Sophia\u2019s message.&nbsp;&nbsp;The superego can become as mindless as Yaltabaoth and the Establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0128 At the moment of Self-contextualization, the superego<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;becomes&nbsp;<em>a parody of what it once was<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The superego<sub>3a<\/sub>becomes the actuality<sub>2a<\/sub>&nbsp;that it sought to control.&nbsp;&nbsp;It<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;replaces the ego<sub>2a<\/sub>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ego<sub>2a<\/sub>&nbsp;replaces the Self<sub>2a<\/sub>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self<sub>2a<\/sub>ascends<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;under the illumination of Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;becomes the new content-level normal context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0129&nbsp;<em>The personal-level nested form<\/em>&nbsp;now recapitulates the cosmic levels of the Gnostic origin myth.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;puts&nbsp;<em>the actuality of the superego and ego<\/em>&nbsp;into a normal context, just as Sophia<sub>2c<\/sub>&nbsp;puts&nbsp;<em>Yaltabaoth and the Establishment<sub>2b<\/sub><\/em>into perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I call the result,&nbsp;<em>the elite model of the Gnostic origin myth<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide14-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide14-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide14-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Slide14-1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>0130&nbsp;<em>The expert in Gnostic rites and myth<\/em>&nbsp;may reach&nbsp;<em>Self-actualization<\/em>. Or, should I say,&nbsp;<em>Self-contextualization?<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self becomes master of&nbsp;<em>the actuality of the person<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The person is reduced to&nbsp;<em>a shell of conditioning and concerns for material well-being<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The shell is just&nbsp;<em>a random actuality,<\/em>&nbsp;existing within&nbsp;<em>the normal context of the Self<sub>3a<\/sub><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In sum,&nbsp;<em>my own superego(ego(id<sup>real<\/sup>))<sub>2a<\/sub><\/em>&nbsp;is reduced to a thing.&nbsp;&nbsp;The body is merely a tool (and therefore, can be used as an instrument for erotic and other pleasures according to the will of the Self).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0131 This reduction is unimaginable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the world of ancient Rome,&nbsp;<em>Gnostic adepts<\/em>&nbsp;could not be missed.&nbsp;&nbsp;They were freaks.&nbsp;&nbsp;They could be&nbsp;<em>walking talking skeletons<\/em>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<em>attractive magicians capable of seducing anyone with their charms<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;They were experts in Sophia\u2019s secret knowledge and they did not need any certificates to prove it.&nbsp;&nbsp;They literally embodied&nbsp;<em>the reduction of the superego to a shell of actuality<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0132 The modern Self does not follow these ancient ways.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead,<em>&nbsp;the damned actuality of my own superego(ego(id<sup>real<\/sup>))<sub>2a<\/sub><\/em>&nbsp;is projected onto others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a modern elite Gnostic accuses others, the modern Gnostic reveals&nbsp;<em>the fixation that his Self<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;refuses to contextualize<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If that actuality<sub>2a<\/sub>&nbsp;is cruelty, the elite Gnostic Self<sub>3a<\/sub>&nbsp;will accuse others of cruelty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Gnostic elite can never acknowledge, in his Self<sub>3a<\/sub>,&nbsp;<em>the cruelty that he projects onto others<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0133 If that is not enough, educational certificates substitute for&nbsp;<em>the embodiment of secret knowledge<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Professors in state-funded universities and similar experts<\/em>&nbsp;occupy well-paid and secure positions, irrespective of their conditioning and material concerns.&nbsp;&nbsp;Their positions are tenured.&nbsp;&nbsp;So, it seems that&nbsp;<em>their own conditioning and material concerns<\/em>&nbsp;can be admitted.&nbsp;&nbsp;But, they cannot be admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0134 Instead,&nbsp;<em>the actuality of their own superego [causes] ego(id<sup>real<\/sup>)<\/em>&nbsp;is projected onto others.&nbsp;&nbsp;In particular, it is attached to&nbsp;<em>those who can never attain elite status<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0135&nbsp;<em>Uneducated (rather, uncertified) folk<\/em>&nbsp;will always be&nbsp;<em>slaves to their superego<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among these are&nbsp;<em>the people who hold traditional views of how (now infiltrated) institutions work<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;These idiots actually think that&nbsp;<em>marriage is about children<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>churches are about worshipping the one true God<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>These ego-driven morons<\/em>&nbsp;actually believe&nbsp;<em>the old-time mission statements<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;They will be barred from attaining elite positions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gnostics promote Gnostics.&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>Laws on affirmative action<\/em>&nbsp;do the rest.&nbsp;&nbsp;The little folk are shuttled off to clerical positions by&nbsp;<em>Gnostic alliances internal and external to any penetrated institution<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0136 Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Little folk will always be ego-driven.&nbsp;&nbsp;Their superegos are intact.&nbsp;&nbsp;They will never be members of the Gnostic elites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0137&nbsp;<em>The implications of this projection<\/em>&nbsp;go far in explaining academic and television theories of cultural conflict.&nbsp;&nbsp;Academic theories are substantiated by&nbsp;<em>surveys worded in order to produce statistically significant evidence<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Television theories are substantiated by&nbsp;<em>a theatrical example broadcast over and over again<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0138 These theories go like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The un-enlightened non-elites<\/em>&nbsp;are conditioned to respond to any situation like the stupid morons that they are.&nbsp;&nbsp;Social conditioning is internalized as the superego. The superego causes the ego.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ego is&nbsp;<em>the way that the person applies its conditioning to \u2018what is encountered\u2019<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ego will always be informed by&nbsp;<em>an ignorant and inadequate reality principle in the normal context of a rigid and traditional superego<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The proposed contiguity between conditioning and response, that is, the causation between superego and ego(id<sup>real<\/sup>),&nbsp;<\/em>is called \u201cscientific\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, this&nbsp;<em>renvoi<\/em>&nbsp;accomplishes only one thing.&nbsp;&nbsp;It supports theories manufactured by an elite Gnostic community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0139 Here is a familiar example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whenever a big and tragic event happens, the event will be attributed on television (over and over again) to&nbsp;<em>some prior conditioning or undesirable ego-related thing<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, the gun is blamed for a shooting incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The involved person<\/em>s are reduced to examples of&nbsp;<em>the proposed super-ego [causes] ego(id<sup>real<\/sup>) actuality of conditioning and response<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Gnostic elites assert, \u201cOf course, if we outlawed guns, the shooting incident would never have occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(This reduction ignores&nbsp;<em>the incidents that would be potentiated if guns were outlawed<\/em>, such as incidents characteristic of a totalitarian state.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0140 Television elites pontificate these wish-filled theories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Their Self-promoting announcements<\/em>&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;<em>their elite status<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0141 This same mind-trick works for big and happy events, like a public ceremony where victims forgive their offender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The televisionairies say, \u201cThe offender did it only because he was conditioned&#8230; oh look&#8230; here is something that explains the event. The victims are conditioned by&nbsp;<em>the builder gods and their establishment<\/em>&nbsp;to forgive the faults of others.&nbsp;&nbsp;This explains why<em>&nbsp;the victims are fools for publicly forgiving their offender<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, they are no different than the offender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>0142 Here is a take-home lesson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Any presentation of a personal-level dyad of super-ego [causes] ego(id<sup>real<\/sup>)<\/em>&nbsp;should serve as a clue that&nbsp;<em>this particular condescending individual considers herself or himself to be a member of the Gnostic elite<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>The immaterial Self<sub>3a<\/sub><\/em>brings&nbsp;<em>an exercise in apparent scientific material causality<sub>2a<\/sub><\/em>&nbsp;into relation with&nbsp;<em>the potential of id<sup>fantasy<\/sup><sub>1a<\/sub><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>0120 This makes me wonder:&nbsp;&nbsp;How far can the Gnostic push and pull go? On the personal level, here is one endpoint:&nbsp;&nbsp;The Self switches place with superego. 0121 In order to imagine this, let me return to the working model. 0122 As the Gnostic caress begins, the Self and the ego are put into conflict.&nbsp;&nbsp;The superego [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Looking at Peter Burfeind&#039;s Book (2014) &quot;Gnostic America&quot; (Part 8 of 26) - An Archaeology of the Fall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10719\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking at Peter Burfeind&#039;s Book (2014) &quot;Gnostic America&quot; (Part 8 of 26) - An Archaeology of the Fall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"0120 This makes me wonder:&nbsp;&nbsp;How far can the Gnostic push and pull go? 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