Gnosticism

Gnosticism, which was viewed as a threat to early Christian beliefs can be defined as the “thought and practice especially of various cults of late pre Christian and early Christian centuries distinguished by the conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through gnosis (King, p.5).” Besides the dictionary’s condensed definition summarizing Gnosticism, “Gnosticism” is a much more complex belief composed of numerous myths defining humans and God and viewed as an ancient Christian heresy

considered elitist, as a religion based on knowledge during a time where most of the population was illiterate would be exclusionary and inaccessible. The main reason, however, that the early Christianity we all now know and love survived over Gnosticism is that Gnosticism is individualistic, while Orthodox Christianity is more community-centric. In ancient times as well as modern, it is easier to survive while working with a group, for the good of the group. This focus on community also made organization

lack of having a define theory on some of their views, one is posed with the difficult task of identifying the main aim of the movement. Furthermore, the research intends to discuss or define the term Gnosticism, it will also look at its origin and how it relates to Christianity. What is Gnosticism? The term ‘Gnostic’ has traditionally been referred to the various groups which flourished in the early centuries of the Common Era and which stressed the

What is Gnosticism Gnosticism is a religion that is derived from the ‘orthodox’ teachings the implies the belief of more than one God and the belief that women are of equal authority to men. This belief is quite unpopular and unknown to the modern Christianity due to its downplay from the orthodox believers. It is perceived as ‘wrong’ because the orthodox teachings were against everything the gnostic believers were. Gnosticism embraces the idea of worshipping more than one God and the belief that

Stephan A. Hoeller defined Gnosticism as a system of ‘teachings based on gnosis: the knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of interior intuitive means’. The Greek words gnosis is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘a special knowledge (or wisdom) of spiritual mysteries’. An individual or group that possesses gnosis as a part of Gnosticism is labelled with the Greek word Gnostic. ‘Historical context indicates that Gnosticism’ ‘was originally a Jewish esoteric (secret) spirituality that assumed

Gnosticism Interpretations Gnosticism is a diverse set of beliefs. Gnosticism reflects my current understanding of seeking God through gnosis or “secret knowledge”. The many interpretations that display the definition of Gnosticism makes it unclear on which one is actually the correct one. In The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels, the Gnostics are seen as heretics for not following the religion of the Orthodox Christians. While the Orthodox Christians seek God through his word, the Gnostics seek

Gnosticism Gnosticism was one of the movements that grew out of Christianity. It would challenge the beliefs of the church in a way that would put the two at odds. This case study will discuss the beliefs of Gnosticism and the Church’s response to it using research from scholarly printed text and on-line resources. The term Gnosticism originates from the word gnosis, which means knowledge. It is a religious movement that became popular during the first and second centuries. The school of thought

Gnosticism was one of the movements that grew out of Christianity. It would challenge the beliefs of the church in a way that would put the two at odds. This case study will discuss the beliefs of Gnosticism and the Church’s response to it using research from scholarly printed text and on-line resources. The term Gnosticism originates from the word gnosis, which means knowledge. It is a religious movement that became popular during the first and second centuries. The school of thought behind the

Gnosticism is nearly as old as Christianity and some would argue very similar to Christianity in beliefs. However, there are distinct differences to Gnosticism in beliefs, doctrines, and practices from, and practices of Christianity. Gnosticism had several key leaders during its early years, few of whom we will discuss at further length later in this paper. There were also several key leaders of the early Christian church who denounced Gnosticism for heresy and claimed that it was pseudo way to Christianity

In modern day society, there are several ways in which the belief of Gnosticism is gradually being circulated throughout our culture. One popular way that Gnostic concepts are being easily dispersed is through the film industry. In widespread movies such as The Matrix, The Truman Show and The Da Vinci Code, the presence of underlying Gnostic themes is undeniable. While each of these movies do not encompass Gnosticism as a whole, there are certain Gnostic themes that are strongly represented within