Created Pre-Existence

How this tradition expresses it

The soul exists as a 'spark' that has descended into the material world from higher realms to undergo a process of mending and separation from evil.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

The passage explicitly describes souls as "sparks" that have "descended" from higher realms into physical embodiment, affirming their pre-material existence in supernal domains. This descent is purposeful and redemptive—souls enter bodies specifically to rectify spiritual defects and purify themselves from impurity, establishing the core Kabbalistic cosmology of pre-existent souls undergoing tikkun olam through incarnation.

Nuance

The descent is described as a 'profound descent and a state of true exile' compared to the soul's prior state.

How this tradition expresses it

The text suggests that souls are brought into the world by an emissary at a specific time, appearing in the form of this world upon their descent.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

The Zoharic teaching that 'when their time has arrived to descend to this world, the Holy One calls upon a certain emissary' explicitly describes pre-existent souls being sent down. This is direct Created Pre-Existence, not its denial.

Nuance

The text describes souls as being 'clad in the form of this world' upon their arrival.

How this tradition expresses it

Spirits were organized or created before the current world was established.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

The reference to 'spirits organized before the world was' points to the stage at which God organized or begot spirit bodies, distinct from the uncreated intelligences. The use of 'spirits' rather than 'intelligences' aligns this text with Created Pre-Existence—the organized, begotten stage of pre-mortal existence.

How this tradition expresses it

The text suggests that certain spirits received lessons or were prepared before their physical birth.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

The reference to 'noble spirits' receiving 'first lessons' before birth directly affirms pre-mortal existence. The use of 'spirits' (rather than 'intelligences') points to the organized, begotten stage of pre-existence—spirit children of Heavenly Parents—aligning with Created Pre-Existence for this specific stage of the pre-mortal journey.

Nuance

The text refers to 'noble spirits' receiving lessons before birth.

How this tradition expresses it

The text suggests a state of existence prior to the current life, referred to as a 'first estate,' which is distinct from the current state.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

Abraham 3:26's 'first estate' refers to the pre-mortal spirit existence; those who 'keep' it are 'added upon' with mortal bodies. The 'first estate' describes the organized spirit state (spirit children of God) rather than the deeper eternal-intelligence stage, making Created Pre-Existence the best fit for this specific text.

Nuance

The text implies that one's status in the current life is related to how they performed in their 'first estate'.

How this tradition expresses it

The soul experiences a sense of separation from its original home, longing to return to a prior state of union.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

The image of the soul 'snatched far away' from its original home and longing to return directly evokes the Day of Alast covenant, affirming that the soul existed in a prior state before embodiment. The language of displacement from a 'home' implies a created soul placed in a primordial setting, consistent with the mainstream Sufi reading of Quran 7:172. This quote clearly addresses pre-existence and cannot be labeled Not Addressed.

How this tradition expresses it

The elect arise from the physical Adam, who was created and formed.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

Mandaean cosmology has Adam (Adam Kadmaia) created at the beginning of the world by demiurgic figures, with the elect souls arising from him. This is a primordial creation framework.

How this tradition expresses it

The text suggests that before the Savior's arrival, no soul had entered into the Light, implying a specific temporal beginning for the entry of souls into the divine realm.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

This Pistis Sophia passage is ambiguous. The speaker claims 'Before that I came unto the world not any soul went in unto the Light,' which could mean: (a) souls did not pre-exist (No Pre-Existence), or (b) souls pre-existed but were created/activated only upon the Savior's intervention (Created Pre-Existence). The rationale's own analysis suggests (b) is more coherent with other Pistis Sophia teaching about souls in the Treasure-house and transmigration. Reclassify as Created Pre-Existence pending scholarly resolution of the speaker's identity and scope.

How this tradition expresses it

The text suggests a primordial origin where the first principle of all things is the 'one' or the good, followed by the emergence of the first visible deity, Phanes, from the exclusion of the egg.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

Orphic cosmogony establishes the theological framework for understanding soul origins: the primordial divine state (represented by the egg and Phanes) is the source from which all souls derive. This divine creation event establishes pre-existence through cosmic creation rather than eternal independence.

How this tradition expresses it

Humanity is composed of fragments from the Titans, who were the original principles of the world, resulting in a life that proceeded through falling into generation.

Why this supports “Created Pre-Existence”

Orphic doctrine of the soul's cosmic origin: souls are composed of fragments derived from the Titans (the ultimate artificers), and have fallen from a unified divine state into the sublunary realm of generation, where they experience extreme division. This supports pre-existence through divine/Titanic creation rather than eternal pre-existence.

Nuance

The text notes that through falling into the sublunary region, life has proceeded into the most distant and extreme division.