Brethren of The Free Spirit - Scriptural Justification

Scriptural Justification

Although not orthodox in interpretation, many of the ideas of the Free Spirit can be seen echoed in the Bible. In their preaching and literature followers of the Free Spirit (or rather those accused of being so) often drew justification, inspiration and imagery from Scriptural sources.

For instance, ideas of the 'indwelling' in Man of the Holy Spirit, the possibility of a union between Man and God in this life, an egalitarian relationship to God among humanity and the impossibility of sin once a union with God through Love has been established can be (and was) extrapolated from the following extracts:

"Beloved, now we are the Sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. Whosoever commiteth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the Law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins: and in Him is no sin. Whoesoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whoesoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him" (First Epistle of John 3:2–6)

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe in me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, my Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (Gospel of St John 17:20–23)

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on their handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in the heaven above..." (Acts 2:17–21)

The egalitarian vision of the Free Spirit which recognised no barriers of race, class or gender before God can be interpreted from the words of St Paul:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Jesus Christ. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:28–29)

Similarly the idea of the journey towards union with God as an inner one can be interpreted from this passage in the Gospel of Luke:

"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Gospel of Luke 17:20–21)

Perhaps the clearest use of the Bible in a text associated with the Free Spirit is that found in Marguerite Porete's The Mirror of Simple Souls. Compare, for example, this passage from John's Epistle:

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love cometh of God. And every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love... If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is made perfect in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given of his spirit... Whoesoever confesseth that Jesus is the son of God, in Him dwelleth God, and he in God... For God is love, and He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him... For as He is, even so are we in this world" (First Epistle of John 3)

With Porete's words in her work:

"I am God, says Love, for Love is God and God is Love, and this Soul is God by righteousness of Love. Thus this precious beloved of mine is taught and guided by me, without herself, for she is transformed into me, and such a perfect one, says Love, takes my nourishment" (The Mirror Of Simple Souls. Trans: Ellen Babinsky 1993)

All these strands of thought, coupled with a visionary, millenarian view of universal Christian redemption are perhaps found in the words of Paul in Athens in Acts:

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of Heaven and Earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He needeth anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from any of us; for in Him we live, and move and have our being; as certain of your poets have said, for we are also His offspring" (Acts 17:24–28)

A peculiarity of some of the writings and doctrines of the Free Spirit movement is in their echoes of Gnostic ideas in texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip. Imagery of the need to be 'naked' or purified before encountering salvation, the possibility of the Resurrection being a spiritual state of fullness experienced in this life rather than the next, the importance of Mary Magdalene, and descriptions of becoming drunk on the Holy Spirit all can be found in Thomas and other Gnostic writings as well as in the practises of various Free Spirit gatherings (some Beghard congregations are said to have conducted Masses nude), the Sister Catherine Treatise and the work of Marguerite Porete. A typical parallel, for instance, can be seen in the following extract from Thomas, which seems to endorse the pantheism of the Free Spirit's followers:

"It is I who am the light which is above them all. It is I who am the all. From me did the all come forth, and unto me did the all extend. Split the piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there." (Gospel of Thomas)

Similarly, the idea that one who has Knowledge (Gnosis) or Union with God cannot and does not sin is found in Philip:

"The one who has Knowledge is a free person. But the free person does not sin, for the one who sins is a slave of sin." (Gospel of Philip 77:15–18)

Whether these echoes are circumstantial or not is up for debate, especially as these Gospels were presumed lost until their discovery among the Nag Hammadi manuscripts in the 20th Century. It is possible that such Gnostic ideas or texts were in circulation in the areas where the Free Spirit flourished via the Cathars, whose dualistic and transcendentalist approach to Christianity had its roots in the East but this is unproven, although it is true that the regions where the Cathars were strongest in northern Europe — Flanders, the Rhineland, Cologne — were the regions where the Free Spirit spread most strongly. Whatever the case the parallels are there and very striking.