What is Gnosticism and why do Christians dislike it ?

by 5go 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  5go

  Aside from the fact that gnosis is greek for knowledge. Two things Christians seem to dislike greeks(think animal house) and knowledge (other than knowledge of the Christ of course)

  Seeing as they practice a form of it anyway.

  Gnostics believe that they have secret knowledge about God, humanity and the rest of the universe of which the general population was unaware. It became one of the three main belief systems within 1st century Christianity, and was noted for four factors by which differed from the two other branches of Christianity:

  	Novel beliefs about Gods, the Bible and the world which differed from those of other Christian groups.
  	Tolerance of different religious beliefs within and outside of Gnosticism.
  	Lack of discrimination against women. Although Jesus treated women as equals, and Paul mostly did the same, the other Christian belief systems started to oppress women in later generations.
  	A belief that salvation is achieved through relational and experiential knowledge. In the words of The contemporary Gnostic Apostolic Church, humanity needs to be awakened and brought "to a realisation of his true nature. Mankind is moving towards the Omega Point, the Great day when all must graduate or fall. This day is also the Day of Judgment in that only those who have entered the Path of Transfiguration and are being reborn can return to the Treasury of Light."

  It doesn't make sence to me.
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  IsaacJS2

  I happen to be listening to a lecture by Bart Erhman called "Lost Christianities". The Gnostics are among those he talkes about. I didn't think that anyone was practiticing it today, though. It wasn't that long ago that many of the Gnostic writings were finally discovered. In their own time, the Gnostics were rivals to the proto-orthodox church, so the two groups naturally saw each other as heretics. You know how that goes.

  From what I've heard from the lecture so far, the Gnostics divided people into 3 categories (just like the WTS). People who had the divine spark of the goddess Sophia within them and were destined for heaven (like the anointed). People who apparently had souls but were of lesser status than the first group (like the great crowd, though they seemed to have a spiritual afterlife of some sort). And then those who were souless animals (worldly people). But the Gnostics believed that Yahweh was an evil Old Testament deity, not the One True God.

  I've also been learning about the Ebionites and the followers of Marcius. I found it very interesting. Some of the early Christians believed in some really different stuff. There was also a group of Apocalyptic Jews who believed in an earthly resurrection, just like the Society.

  IsaacJ
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  zagor

  Gnosticism predates Christianity, though with arrival of Christian thought it merged and in may ways became a new/alternative version of Jesus' teachings. Though word gnosis means knowledge, gnostics do not pursue "rational knowledge" but rather esoteric/magical/relational or experiential knowledge. Knowledge that can be attained only through subjection to and 'understanding of' system of teaching of particular creed. Most prominent followers of gnosticism (if there could be said that there is one path of it at all) would be Freemasons as well as Rosicrucians, Order of the Eastern Star and others.

  IMHO, gnostics often chase their own tail in pursuit of some hidden knowledge that is somehow always a step ahead of them which wets their appetite and keeps them occupied but somehow remains elusive and at best is being revealed in stages as one proves himself/herself 'worthy' of being a vessel for such knowledge. Hence, when dismantled into its fundamental pieces, gnostic societies have many similar characteristics to those of modern Christian cults including WTBS.
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  IsaacJS2

  Zagor,

  Good points. I have to confess that I'm a "writer wannabe" and I've been thinking about a group of characters that have formed Gnostic-style Christian sect. Your point about them always chasing that next bit of knowledge was a helpful idea. Thanks.

  IsaacJ
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  5go

  There was also a group of Apocalyptic Jews who believed in an earthly resurrection, just like the Society.

  Maybe it was them they just erased themselves from the collective conscience of man overtime. Which would mean they have been wrong more than we thought and for wayyyyyyy longer. Make sence they seem more like the old jews.
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  Leolaia

  BTW, the last gnostic sect that originated in antiquity is in danger of becoming extinct thanks to the Iraq War...

  http://forbiddengospels.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-can-we-help-mandaeans-survive.html
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  greendawn

  The Gnostics believed that the physical body was worthless since all things material were created by an inferior evil god whereas the Christians believed that everything material as well as spiritual was created by one god who is the only god. As a result of this belief gnostics either didn't mind indulging in fleshly pleasure freely or in tormenting the body, to them it was evil and worthless. Such actions were directly opposed to fundamental orthodox Christian principles (monotheism, moral purity, honouring the body within decency) hence the dislike for gnosticism.
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  Narkissos

  Gnosticism is an essential component of early Christianity, much (pre-)Gnostic thought being woven into the NT texts themselves (the Gospel and epistles of John, Colossians, aspects of the Pauline epistles, some of Jesus' sayings in the synoptics). One amusing thing is that the Christians who officially "dislike" Gnosticism (on the basis of anti-Gnostic reaction as found in the Pastorals, Luke-Acts, Jude and 2 Peter) are generally most fond of the "Gnostic" NT texts, which they find "deep" or "spiritual".
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  greendawn

  Hi Narkissos, can you give some of the ideas that the New Testament writers and generally the early Christians took from the gnostics?
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  Narkissos

  There was no "Gnostic shop" in town to "take from"... Before it was forced out of the emerging catholic church Gnosticism was not an "organised religion," rather a spiritual trend, attitude or spirit (itself deeply rooted in Hellenistic thought) that could permeate different religious traditions. It's more of a way of reading or interpreting religious texts than an independent text.

  A few characteristics of Christian (pre-)Gnosticism imo:

  - the actualisation and spiritualisation of eschatology: resurrection, eternal life, is here and now (John 5:23f; 11:24f; 17:3 etc.).

  - the saving enlightenment consists in the recognition of something you always knew (without knowing you knew it), or the activation of your hidden yet truly divine self (the light in every man, John 1; knowing the shepherd's voice, 10; the scattered children of God, 11:52; they were his, they are not of the world, 14; 17).

  - the very structure of the "world" and its "ruler" (archon, aiôn) makes it tragically blind to the saving light (1; 8; 12; 15) and cannot be traced back to "the Father" (the self-generated devil in chapter 8).

  The esoterical (inward) thrust of this interpretation builds on Jewish-Christian apocalyptical material but makes its common exoterical (outward) understanding pointless: if this is the dynamic of life and salvation, who cares about the end of the world? (Whence later additions such as the stereotyped "I will resurrect him in the last day" which were most likely added to make John superficially suitable to orthodoxy.)