Gnosticism

Gnosticism is the view that salvation is available through knowledge of the mysteries of the universe instead of through faith and works such as are present in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and even pagan systems. Forms of Gnosticism can be traced to before the Christian era (See The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1917). It has its roots in pagan philosophy; especially, Platonism. Gnosticism was influenced by Oriental mysticism. It had little appeal to the masses but was influential among church leaders and appeared throughout the Roman empire. Simon Magus and Cerinthus embraced it in the 1^st Century. Basilides and Saturninus embraced it in the early 2^nd Century. Marcion and Valentinus embraced it around AD 160. Tatian (110-172) embraced it as well. Gnostic worship ranged from the very simple to the very elaborate. Gnosticism forced the church to form the Rule of Faith, to determine a New Testament canon, and to emphasize apostolic succession as the repository of truth. In this view, there is a supreme God, but the God of the Old Testament who was the source of the visible world was a lesser god, the Demiurge (Jehovah/YHWH). Therefore, they generally rejected the OT and Judaism. This lesser god is the enemy of the supreme God “who is the origin of Jesus” (McDonnell, Christian Anthropology, 143). They believed the body of Jesus was an illusion and used allegorical interpretation of Scripture. This Docetic feature is common among Gnostic systems. The physical world, or matter, is considered evil and the goal of life is to escape this physical bondage to it and become one with the spiritual. Any gratification of the flesh is considered sinful. This led to a taboo surrounding sex that carried into the views of many leaders and lay believers. Gnostics thought of themselves as possessors of unique higher insight (gnosis). They were of spirit while others were of soul or body. They held to a hierarchy of aeons (Pleroma) and produced either sensuality or asceticism depending on the Gnostic’s perspective.