Samuel Stirpe on From Mormon to Gnostic: The Demiurge & the Divine

Summary

Author Samuel Stirpe recounts his journey from a Mormon upbringing through 15 years of New Atheism to Marcionite Gnosticism, sparked by a stroke at 29 he describes as the Demiurge trying to kill him. He discusses his book 'Surrender: From Joseph Smith to Marcion' with host Miguel Conner, exploring surprising overlaps between Latter-day Saint temple rituals and Gnostic cosmology. Along the way he argues that Mormonism's own scriptures imply Elohim is an unknown God who appears only in the New Testament, much like Marcion's alien God.

Key takeaways

• 1Stirpe's book 'Surrender: From Joseph Smith to Marcion' features a foreword by Miguel Conner and was written largely in a trance-like state he attributes to Sophia.
• 2Stirpe claims Joseph Smith rose rapidly to high Masonic rank, and that a Masonic temple was built in Kirtland, Ohio before the Mormon temple, with alleged Masonic symbols still visible there.
• 3Brigham Young reportedly taught that people lived on the moon and sun, commanded the Danites (a secretive enforcer group), and banned Black men from the priesthood from about 1850 until 1978.
• 4Stirpe argues that Ether 3:14 in the Book of Mormon ('I am the Father and the Son') means Elohim never appears in the Old Testament or the Book of Mormon, making him similar to Marcion's previously unknown God.
• 5Mormon temple 'Sentinels', who demand tokens and signs, are compared to the Archons of the Apocryphon of John and the First Apocalypse of James.
• 6The 5th-century Armenian writer Eznik of Kolb describes a three-heaven Marcionite cosmology that Irenaeus and Tertullian do not mention.
• 7Mary's titles evolving from Causa Salutis to Theotokos to Co-Redemptrix are presented as the church replacing Sophia, and the Knights Templar's 'Dama Adio' is suggested as a coded reference to Sophia.

Glossary terms

Source

Transcript excerpt

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Excerpt from Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio, Oct 16, 2026. Rights remain with the original creators. Hear the full episode at the source.