There was a philosophy that had risen around the 17th century mainly in France, Italy and Spain and it was called quietism. It was a philosophy that demands the total annihilation of self-will and becoming "passive" to the will of God. The Catholic church at the time deemed this philosophy dangerous and has publicly declared quietism as Heresy. What followed afterward was the persecution of those who advocated quietism such as Miguel De Molinos and Madame Guyon. I wanted to know what is the stance of Gnosticism toward Quietism. Was quietism a gnostic philosophy and was it persecuted because it undermined the control of the Vatican inquisition?
Accepted Answer
I am not familiar with Quietism. However, conscious willpower is an active agent that is subservient to divine will. The Sufis touched upon this:
Iradah, the will to find God, is the beginning of the path of spiritual travelers, the first title given to those who are determined to reach God Most High. This attribute is only called iradah because will is the preface to every undertaking. When the servant does not will, he does not carry out. Since this is the start of the enterprise of one who travels the path of God Almighty and Glorious, it is called ‘will’ by analogy to the resolution involved at the beginning of everything else.
According to etymology, the disciple is ‘he who possesses will,’ just as the knower is ‘he who possesses knowledge,’ because the word belongs to the class of derived nouns. But in Sufi usage, the disciple is he who possesses no will at all! Here, one who does not abandon will, cannot be called a disciple just as linguistically one who does not possess will cannot be called a disciple. ―Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
For thirty years I sought God. But when I looked carefully I found that in reality God was the seeker and I the sought. -Bayazid al-Bastami
Accepted Answer
I am not familiar with Quietism. However, conscious willpower is an active agent that is subservient to divine will. The Sufis touched upon this:
Iradah, the will to find God, is the beginning of the path of spiritual travelers, the first title given to those who are determined to reach God Most High. This attribute is only called iradah because will is the preface to every undertaking. When the servant does not will, he does not carry out. Since this is the start of the enterprise of one who travels the path of God Almighty and Glorious, it is called ‘will’ by analogy to the resolution involved at the beginning of everything else.
According to etymology, the disciple is ‘he who possesses will,’ just as the knower is ‘he who possesses knowledge,’ because the word belongs to the class of derived nouns. But in Sufi usage, the disciple is he who possesses no will at all! Here, one who does not abandon will, cannot be called a disciple just as linguistically one who does not possess will cannot be called a disciple. ―Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
For thirty years I sought God. But when I looked carefully I found that in reality God was the seeker and I the sought. -Bayazid al-Bastami
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