I am a strong believer in allowing an individual to practice his religion, or his non-religion, in any manner he deems fit. I will not be dragged into a theological shoot-out. I am secure in my beliefs, and in my position, and have neither the need, nor the initiative to try to convert the nonconvertible.
However, over the past few weeks, I have watched so-called 'gnostic Christianity' attempt to bully the members of this forum. Under the guise of raising theological questions, they simply law in wait so they can ridicule and target those who do not believe as they do.
Accordingly, I have tried to familiarize myself with understanding gnosticism. Here's what I was able to find ...
1) Definition: Gnosticism was a second century heresy claiming that salvation could be gained through secret knowledge. Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "to know."
2) The Gnostics supposedly had knowledge of God that was exclusive. They considered themselves superior to the average Christian. The Gnostics prior to Christianity taught that man is composed of body, soul, and spirit. The body and the soul are man's earthly existence, and were considered evil. Enclosed in mans soul, is the spirit, a divine substance of man. This “spirit” was asleep and ignorant and needed to be awakened. It could only be liberated by this special knowledge, that would be called by the modern term illumination. (This teaching is also found in Caballa.)
3) Writers of the New Testament (the apostles) condemned the Gnostic teachings. There are numerous epistles that address this ancient heresy that is now having a revival. Paul emphasized a wisdom and knowledge that comes from God and does not concern itself with idle speculations, angelic visitations, fables, and a amoral lifestyle (Col. 2:8-23; 1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:16-19; Titus 1:10-16). Paul addresses the Gnostic influences in portions of Colossians as a direct threat to Christ being our salvation and His being sufficient in all things. To overcome the indulgences of the flesh (the “Colossian Heresy” ) the Gnostics taught a false philosophy, which denied the all-sufficiency and pre-eminence of Jesus Christ (Col. 2:8). When he wrote that “in him dwells All the fullness of the deity bodily” it was a rebuttal against the Gnostics.
4) There is actually no such thing as Christian Gnosticism, because true Christianity and Gnosticism are mutually exclusive systems of belief. The principles of Gnosticism contradict what it means to be a Christian. Therefore, while some forms of Gnosticism may claim to be Christian, they are in fact decidedly non-Christian.
Gnosticism was perhaps the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries. Influenced by such philosophers as Plato, Gnosticism is based on two false premises.
First, it espouses a dualism regarding spirit and matter. Gnostics assert that matter is inherently evil and spirit is good. As a result of this presupposition, Gnostics believe anything done in the body, even the grossest sin, has no meaning because real life exists in the spirit realm only.
Second, Gnostics claim to possess an elevated knowledge, a “higher truth” known only to a certain few. Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis which means “to know.” Gnostics claim to possess a higher knowledge, not from the Bible, but acquired on some mystical higher plain of existence. Gnostics see themselves as a privileged class elevated above everybody else by their higher, deeper knowledge of God.
Once you understand their belief that they hold 'special knowledge' unavailable to ordinary Christians. That explains their predilection for arrogance and dismissiveness. After all, you can't have an honest philosophical or theological disagreement with a Gnostic because, after all, they have 'special knowledge' not available to the peons.
The special advantage of Gnostic arrogance is their ability to construct rationale for their excesses and indulgences. Since they have 'special knowledge', they can't be held in judgment by non-Gnostics. Thus, no sin ... not a bad deal.
In point ... we must accept that Gnosticism is a mutually exclusive belief from Christianity. Further, we must accept that, in the end, judgment will be made by a just God, and somebody, either Gnostics or Christians, will be found wanting.
God has laid down the rules - He has been very consistent and very clear about His expectations. You can expect that you will be treated the same as those who have followed His rules or those who haven't followed His rules.
But then, if in the end, atheists are right, and there is no God, then it doesn't much matter, does it?
