Gnosticism

Gnosticism (pronounced with a silent "g," from the Greek word for knowledge, also meaning insight or enlightenment) is a prominent religious and philosophical movement of pre-Christian origin that flourished between the first and fifth centuries. It is a group of ancient religions that taught the material world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity (demiurge), and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being, whose esoteric knowledge (gnosis) enabled the redemption of the human spirit and ascension to the Supreme God. Although it provided expression of early Christianity, Gnosticism and its teachings were prohibited and nearly eradicated before the end of the fifth century by Christian heresy hunters and the Roman army. The discovery of an ancient library in Nag Hammadi (1945) and El Minya (1970s), both in Egypt, triggered a rebirth of interest in this ancient religion.

Brief History

Gnosticism constituted one of the main branches of Christianity of the first century. It consisted of many syncretic belief systems that combined elements taken from Asian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and Syrian religions, from astrology, and from Judaism and Christianity. By the second century, many Christian and Gnostic sects formed within the Roman Empire. Parts of Gnostic texts, such as the Essene writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls, come from Judaism itself, or from the period directly before Jesus. Others are non-Christian mystery texts related to Egyptian tradition and belief in Hermes or Thoth.

Thirteen codices (bound papyrus books) found at a cliff by the Nile River at Nag Hammadi in 1945, translated and published in English in 1977, contain Christian, Hermenautic, and pagan writings, mostly previously unknown. They most likely formed the library of a Valentinian Gnostic group (followers of the theologian Valentinus, c. 100–160), active in Upper Egypt in the fourth century. The collection contains the Gospel of Thomas and the Apocalypse of Adam. The Apocalypse of Adam refers to Zoroastrian myths and ideas that point toward the early formation of Christian beliefs. The Gospel of Thomas contains almost entirely sayings attributed to Jesus, which some scholars interpret as the ancestral text to the four Gospels of the New Testament.

From the earliest times, the Roman Catholic Church has selected and preserved the documentation considered appropriate for the subsequent Christian message, editing out those ideas that they considered to be heresy. This includes writings of early Christians, such as Paul and John. The result is that the canonical Christian writings provide an incomplete insight into the original context, the background of ideas from which they emerged, which can be found in Gnostic mysteries and texts.

Most of the Gnostic sects disappeared by the end of the sixth century. The only group that survived from the first century to modern times is the Mandaean sect of Iran and Iraq. Some emerging factions of Christian belief adopt some ancient Gnostic beliefs and practices; for example, the Church of Latter Day Saints, or Mormon Church, seated in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Overview

The following beliefs differed Gnosticism from Christianity:

• The existence of demiurge, or lesser god; and the perception of imperfections in the material world. According to Gnostics, evil did not enter the world through the first sin of Adam and Eve, but was created as part of an imperfect world, with disease, death, and human frailty. This was because an imperfect deity or demiurge created the world.
• Tolerance of different faiths within and outside Gnosticism and lack of discrimination against women, whom they considered as equal.
• Duality of body and spirit. The body is inherently earthly and evil, whereas the spirit is of divine origin and good. Gnostics believed that we have sparks of divinity or seeds of light trapped in our bodies, which were supplied to humanity by Sophia (wisdom).
• A belief that salvation is achieved through relational and experiential knowledge.

Gnostics believed that the Universe is divided into three kingdoms:

• The Earthly Cosmos. The Earth is the center of the universe, composed of the material world and an underworld. It is surrounded by air and seven concentric heavenly spheres, the Moon, Venus, Mercury, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Within these spheres live demonic beings called Archons. Beyond them lies Paradise, which contains the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the flaming, turning sword of Genesis 3:24. Beyond Paradise is the sphere of the fixed stars, divided into the twelve signs of the zodiac.
• The Intermediate Kingdom. This is an inner blue circle of darkness and an outer yellow ring of light. Within these rings is a sphere that is the realm of Sophia.
• The Kingdom of God. This is an outer sphere of the unknowable Supreme God, and an inner ring of the Son.

It is believed that Gnostics were solitary practitioners and did not form congregations. Some factions formed cliques within mainline Christian churches. There was no fixed canon; various schools had their own traditions and mysteries. Many Gnostic texts were written by or attributed to women. Mary Magdelene played an important role in many mysteries, often being second only to Jesus in status. It is believed that she wrote a Gospel as well.

In following some older and pagan religions, Gnostics used both female and male images for the Supreme God. There are allusions to purifications, baptisms in water, and baptisms of the mind, investiture in priestly robes, symbolic acts of enthronement, and union with angelic or divine ambassadors of the higher worlds. Some other rituals also suggest mystery cults of the Near East, Egypt, and Babylon, and the pagan cultures of the Mediterranean. Rediscovered in the twentieth century, especially with the discovery of the Coptic Gnostic library in Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism has revealed the writings of early Christian seers, Gnostics, and other visionaries whose understanding of Christianity differs from the "right belief" (ortho-doxia) of the present Christian canon, but whose esoteric experience provides the missing link in the evolution of spiritual consciousness.

Bibliography

Barilan, Y. M. “Moral Enhancement, Gnosticism, and Some Philosophical Paradoxes.” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics: The International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees, vol. 24, no. 1, 2015, pp. 75–85, doi.org/10.1017/S0963180114000322. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Barnard, Christian, et al. Gnosticism: Digest. Rosicrucian Order AMORC, 2015.

Cooper, Barry. "Gnosticism." Ligonier Ministries, learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/simply-put/gnosticism. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Evans, Erin. "Book Review: Beginner’s Guide to the NAG Hammadi Library: Nicola Denzey Lewis, Introduction to Gnosticism: Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds." The Expository Times, vol. 125, no. 11, 2014, pp. 559–60.

Filoramo, Giovanni. A History of Gnosticism. Blackwell, 1992.

Grande, Lance. The Evolution of Religions: A History of Related Traditions. Columbia UP, 2024.

Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. Beacon Press, 2001.

Smith, Andrew Phillip. A Dictionary of Gnosticism. Quest Books, 2014.

Thomassen, Einar. The Coherence of 'Gnosticism.' De Gruyter, 2021.

Welburn, Andrew, editor. Gnosis, the Mysteries and Christianity. An Anthology of Essene, Gnostic and Christian Writings. Floris Books, 1994.