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Gnosticism in contrast to Christianity and Judaism Gnosticism is one of the oldest known religions, and its origin is traced back to 539 B. C. Gnostics have been harshly criticized since the beginning of their religion, and Gnosticism has adapted to different cultures beliefs throughout history (Arendzen). The term gnosis means knowledge, the basis of Gnosticism. However, Gnosticism is not based on factual or rational thought. Instead, it is based on the relational knowledge of God, and it also heavily focuses on the divine and spiritual nature within oneself (Gnosticism).
Although it is difficult to define Gnosticism, one of the best definitions describes it as a mixture of rites and myths from a variety of religious traditions, combining Occultism, Oriental mysticism, astrology, magic, elements of Jewish tradition, Christian views of redemption, and even aspects of Plato's doctrine (What). Gnostics believe that they are chosen by the true God to know the real truth, and they have an interesting but often contradictory view of the origin of life and life after death, in comparison to Judaism and Christianity. The Gnostic Creation myth varies greatly from the Christian Creation myth, in the facet that they do not believe that God created the world. Gnostics believe that the true God has a feminine side which represents the Spirit part of God and is referred to as Sophia. The true God and Sophia had intimate relations, and from these relations Jesus was born. The true God, Sophia, and Jesus are believed to be the Holy Trinity, contradictory to Christian belief.
Because Jesus was in the same form as the true God, Sophia wanted to create a being in her image. She pursued the idea without permission from the true God, but when he (later named Demiurge) was born, he was imperfect so she hid him in the clouds from the other immortals. Even though he was born imperfect, Demiurge was born with some power from Sophia, and he used this power to create the physical world, Earth (What). Contrary to Jewish belief, the Gnostics believe that Demiurge was the God referred to as Jehovah in the Old Testament scriptures (What).
Jehovah is thought of as evil, jealous, rigid, un compassionate, and genocidal (Hoeller/What). They also believe that the Christian and Jewish Creation myth is a fallacy. Jews and Christians believe that humans are sinful by nature because of the wrongdoings committed by Adam and Eve. The Gnostics, however, believe that because Demiurge was an imperfect being, Earth was created imperfectly. The blame for the worlds failings lies not with humans, but with the creator (Hoeller/Gnostic). Therefore, Gnostics believe that Adam and Eve were born into a sinful nature because of Demiurges imperfectness and it is because of his imperfectness that they ate the apple (Hoeller/Gnostic).
Gnostics also contradict both Jews and Christians with their belief about the nature of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Almost all Gnostic sects view the serpent as a good character, and some sects even honor the serpent in their services. Unlike Jewish and Christian beliefs, the Gnostics viewed the serpent as the liberator who brought knowledge, or gnosis, to Adam and Eve which made them fully human, rather than viewing the serpent as the seducer who led Adam and Eve into their sinful nature (Gnosticism: Ancient). The Gnostics belief in Jesus also contradicts with the Christians belief in Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the holy Savior who was born of the Virgin Mary. Also, they believe that if they truly believe Jesus is the Son of God, they will spend Eternal Life in Heaven and escape the flames of Hell.
However, Gnostics believe that Jesus, just like the serpent, is simply a liberator or revealer of knowledge (Gnosticism: Ancient). They also believe that Jesus entered Marys body via sexual intercourse between Mary and Joseph (What). According to Christians, Jesus was sent to be crucified for our transgressions, but Gnostics however, believe that Jesus was sent to spread the knowledge of the true God. Jesus knowledge is not believed to be what the Christian church professes as truth. Instead, it is believed that the Gnostic gospels, written in the third century but discovered in 1945, reveal Christs true message. Actually, the Gnostics do not even believe that Jesus was a real person.
They believe that Jesus was a pure spirit who had a phantom body and only appeared human to his believers (Hoeller/What). Gnostics believe that true knowledge is the only way to gain salvation. However, contradictory to Christian beliefs, Gnostics dont believe that just anyone can receive salvation. Rather, they believe that within every person is a fragment of the true Gods soul, and it is called the divine spark.
Gnostics believe that the true God chooses who will gain true knowledge by choosing to light their divine spark. This leads to the next colossal difference between Christianity and Gnosticism (Hoeller/Gnostic). Christians believe that after death each individual will be judged by God, and that person will either be allowed to enter Heaven or be cast into the depths of Hell. In contrast, Gnostics believe that death allows them to escape from the confinement of their bodies. After death, they believe that one of three things will take place, and these possibilities are 1) those that are spiritual will be saved because of their behavior on earth, 2) those that could have been saved but didnt follow the Gnostic path are reincarnated back into the world, and 3) those who arent chosen by the true God are considered hopelessly lost and are eternally damned (Gnosticism: Ancient). Lastly, both Christians and Jews are against the use of magic or psychic powers in order to gain power or knowledge.
The Gnostics, however, believe that only with a complete knowledge of certain magical formulas and spells could a Gnostic enter the realm of the true God. Gnostics also believe that psychics are almost on the right religious path, but that psychics dont fully understand the message of the true God (Arendzen). Gnostics believe that they are chosen by the true God to know the real truth, and they have an interesting but often contradictory view of the origin of life and life after death, in comparison to Judaism and Christianity. They believe that Jesus was born of Sophia and the true God, and also that Sophia had an imperfect son named Demiurge who created Earth (What). They also believe that it is because of Demiurges imperfectness that human are sinful by nature, rather than the result of Adam and Eve eating an apple (Hoeller/Gnostic). They also view the serpent as a liberator of the human mind to true knowledge, rather than a seducer of the human soul to sinful nature (Gnosticism: Ancient).
Gnostics believe that Jesus is a revealer of truth, rather than a crucified Savior, and they believe that this was revealed to them in the Gnostic Gospels (Hoeller/What). Gnostics believe that the true God chooses whether or not to light an individuals divine spark, thus allowing them to gain the true knowledge of Him (Hoeller/Gnostic). Gnostics believe that one of three possibilities will occur after death. They believe that they will either be accepted into the true Gods realm because of their knowledge about him, reincarnated in order to gain the full knowledge of the true God instead of only partial knowledge, or cast into Hell because they are hopelessly lost (Gnosticism: Ancient). Lastly, Gnostics believe that in order to have a complete knowledge of the true God and to enter into the true Gods realm, one must learn certain magical formulas and spells (Arendzen). Gnosticism has lasted for many centuries, and it has adapted to many different cultures throughout time.
Im sure many theologians are interested to see which culture the Gnostics will adapt to next. Works Cited Arendzen, J. P. Gnosticism. 2004. 13 May 05 < web >. Gnosticism: Ancient and Modern. 10 May 04 < web >.
Hoeller, Stephan A. The Gnostic World View: A Brief Summary of Gnosticism. 10 May 04 < web >. Hoeller, Stephan A. What is a Gnostic? 10 May 04 < web gnostic.
htm>. What is Gnosticism? 10 May 04 < web >.
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