Pneumatic (Gnosticism)

The pneumatics ("spiritual", from Greek πνεῦμα, "spirit") were, in gnosticism, the highest order of humans, the other two orders being psychics and hylics. A pneuma saw itself as escaping the doom of the material world via the secret knowledge. Outsiders could only know these secrets by joining a gnostic group. To be gnostic is to believe in three planes of existence: the pure unknown (demiurge), the material world of coitus and comfort, and the pure spiritual realm of ascension or escape.

Descriptive term in Religious studies

In the academic study of religion and mysticism more generally, pneumatic has been used as a classification term to define similar trends in wider contexts. For example, Joseph Weiss describes "A Circle of Pneumatics in Pre-Hasidism", in the context of Jewish mysticism. Here the pneumatic group have minor prophetic powers ("Ruah Ha-qodesh" in Jewish parlance), such as revealing the sins of their fellows. However they decide to renounce use of this, probably in response to communal suspicion in the wake of the Sabbatean Kabbalistic heresy. The Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism, seeks recognition in the group, but is initially hindered by his lower status as a Baal Shem exorcist.

External links

• The Gnosis archive