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One can directly trace some of the individual aspects of Gnosticism to their roots. Their beliefs in the resurrection of the dead and dualism come from Iranian-Zoroastrian religious ideas (Rudolph: 282). Their communities are organized like the Hellenistic Mystery religions (Rudolph: 285). Orphism and Greek background influenced the Gnostic belief that the soul suffers in this world and it is fate that man should have to endure it. In turn, living a righteous life leads to salvation (Rudolph: 286).
Gnostics consider themselves "people in the know. [They] are the elect, their souls fragments of the divine, needing liberation from matter and the power of the planets." (McManners: 26) They believe that God is found in the self as well as outside the self (Ellwood and Partin: 96). The greatest hope for the Gnostic is to attain ultimate, first-hand knowledge so that they may be freed from this world and return to the world of God.
When Basilides died, Valentinus took over leadership of Gnostics,
incorporating some of his own ideas (Davies). He was born in Egypt, familiar
with Greek culture, and was nearly a bishop (being passed up for a martyr). He
then separated from the church (Foerster: 121). Valentinus incorporated the
pleroma, or heavenly world, into Gnosticism. The pleroma consists of at least
thirty aeons (worlds). He also believed that ignorance is the root of the
world and if it no longer existed, the world would cease to exist
(Foerster: 122).
During the 2nd Century, several systems of Gnosticism grew in Alexandria
and the Mediterranean area, most of which were closely related to
Christianity. This was a period in which Gnosticism came to focus on Gnosis
itself, as a goal for Gnostics to reach (Edwards). This century was also a
period when Pagan, Jewish and Christian forms of Gnosticism had the most
influence on the doctrine and structure of the Christian Church, even though
critics treated it a Christian heresy (Crim: 277). Valentinus and another
strong Gnostic leader, Marcion, were the most feared by the Catholic church
(Crim: 278 and Rudolph: 296). They offered an alternate or rival form of
Christianity, which caused the church to begin setting up barriers to
Gnosticism (McManners: 27).
Mani came into leadership, and "Gnosticism became a world religion when
Mani (216-277) founded his alternative Christian Church."(Eliade: 572) Mani, the
Jewish-Christian raised in a Baptist community, started Manichaeism. It
existed for over one thousand years (Eliade: 572). However, Manichaeism
disappeared in the West during the Middle Ages. When Roman Catholicism became
the state church in Armenia, the Gnostics hid in the outskirts and mountains
(Eliade: 572).
After the 3rd Century, Gnosticism practically disappeared. There was some
attempt to revive it during the Middle Ages, but this was nearly impossible
because any documents or material about Gnostics had been buried in the
desert.
The recent revival in interest was due to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi
codices in 1945, revealing the writings and beliefs of the Gnostics (Davies).
One sign that there was still interest in Gnosticism between these periods
was the fact that William Blake, the poet and artist, was a known Gnostic
during the late 1700's and early 1800's. Also, a man by the name of Jakob
Boehme was noted as starting up modern Gnosticism in the early 1600's
(Eliade: 572).
An important aspect of the Nag Hammadi documents is their ability to tie Gnosticism to its roots. Many of the books are not actually Gnostic. The Gospel of Thomas is encratitic, Thunder, Whole Mind is Jewish, Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles is Jewish-Christian, Prayer of Thanksgiving is Hermetic, and Authoritative Teaching is early Catholic (Eliade: 567).
The contents of the Nag Hammadi codices illuminate the beliefs of the Gnostics. They describe the "unfolding of Divine Powers (called 'Aeons') from the Unknowable Godhead; the Cosmos as the result of a pre-creation error of crisis, and therefore evil; and the fall of the Light -- the essence of the Spirit or Divine Soul -- into the Darkness of matter, where it remains trapped until liberated by saving knowledge (Gnosis)."(Gnosticism) In Christian Gnosticism, Jesus is the Divine Messenger who brings Gnosis to humans. However, in Non-Christian Gnosticism it could be Seth (from the Bible), Zostrianos (a form of the prophet from the Persian religion Zoroastrianism), or a mythological entity (Gnosticism).
The Cathar Texts are also Gnostic writings from the medieval resurgence of Gnosticism through the group the Cathars. The writings of the Corpus Hermeticum belong to one of the non-Christian forms of Gnosticism, the Hermetics (Davies).
There are other such gnostic churches. The American Gnostic Church in Texas was started in 1985 and their teachings reflect those of the 2nd Century Gnostic teachings of Basilides (Melton: 761). Rosamonde Miller started the Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum in Palo Alto, CA (Borce).
While there are example such as these in the West, there are also gnostics in "several Sufi orders of Islam."(Edwards) Also, at present there are approximately "15000 Mandaeans (Aramaic word for Gnostics) liv[ing] in Iraq and Iran."(Eliade: 570) In a more general sense there is "gnosticism in Jewish wisdom tradition, Kabbalah, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism" as well as in Sikhism (Edwards).
Gnosis refers to a knowledge that is essential to free oneself from the
evil material world and bodily existence (Crim: 277). Gnostics believe humans
err because they are ignorant, unlike the Christian belief that man is sinful
by nature. Gnostics will receive salvation when they gain knowledge, gnosis.
The knowledge must be of their inner self or soul. It is similar to the Hindu
definition of meditation (Borce).
Some of the basic beliefs of Gnosticism are as follows:
Another unique aspect of the Gnostic belief system is their view of the
creation of the world. They believe that the true God has a feminine side,
Sophia, the Spirit part of God. Jesus was a product of God and Spirit, and
joined them to make up the Trinity. Sophia wanted to give birth to a being
like herself. She proceeded without permission from God. The result was
imperfect and she was ashamed of it, so she hid it in a cloud away from the
other immortals. The child was the Demiurge. He was born with some power (from
the Spirit) and used it to create the physical world. This trapped the "spirit
in matter"(Borce). The view of the imperfections of creation are similar to
those in Hebrew scripture, just as the Creator is incompetent (McManners: 27).
The Gnostics taught that the Demiurge was Yehovah from the Old Testament.
Jesus, on the other hand, they believe came from God and the Holy Spirit, not
from the Demiurge. Jesus taught Gnostics the secret knowledge (gnosis), which
he did not teach to the church. This belief created animosity between the
church and the Gnostics. Also, contrary to Christian teachings about Jesus
being born of the virgin Mary, Gnostics believe that Jesus entered Mary's body
via sexual intercourse between Mary and Joseph (Borce).
Gnostics had several other beliefs that dismayed early Christians. They
scorned bishops, priests and deacons, however, they let women hold leadership
and liturgical positions (McManners: 28). Many Gnostics would not make the sign
of the cross, because to them the "suffering of Jesus was no actual event but
a symbol for the universal condition of the human race."(McManners: 28) Christ
could not have become flesh in order to be crucified, since they believe that
there is a separation of spirit from matter. They view flesh as polluting
(McManners: 27). This belief would also support why they do not put faith in
the eucharist, which is supposed to be the body of Christ. Mani, the leader of
the Manicheaists, also did not believe in the drinking of wine, the blood of
Christ, because he saw it as an invention of the devil. Many Gnostics also do
not recognize the significance of baptism in water (McManners: 27). They also
believe they are the elect group that will gain salvation, via gnosis, and
everyone else will be annihilated. "Moral virtue was of little interest to
Gnostics, whose confidence in their own salvation made all that seem a matter
of indifference."(McManners: 28)
Gnostics also have a different view of the make up of the world. Aeons are
worlds, or "distinct spiritual entities," which all together make up the
pleroma, or fullness (Foerster: 24). The pleroma is above the cosmos and is the
"spiritual Divine Reality," the true God's realm (Gnosticism). This is the
place a Gnostic hopes to return to through salvation.
II. Beliefs of the Group
The Gnosis Archive
Texts from the
Nag Hammadi Library
The Gnostic Society
Library
World Wide Gnosis
Gnostic
Network
COP/NET: The
Gnostics
The Gospel of
Thomas
The Corpus
Hermeticum
Gnosis
Non-Christian
Gnosticism
150+
Anti-Gnostic Links
The Gnostic Pagan Tradition
Created by Erin Potter
III. Links to Gnosticism Web Sites
The Gnosis
Archive includes the Gnostic Society Library, definitions of Gnosticism,
lectures from the Gnostic Society, writings from the Ecclesia Gnostica, as
well as readings and meditations from the current Gnostic
liturgy.
http://www.gnosis.org
This site is part of the Gnostic Society Library.
It provides an introduction to Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library, as
well as an alphabetical index to the
Library.
http://www.home.sol.no/~noetic/nagham/nhl.html
The Gnostic Society Library links you to the Nag Hammadi
Library, their lectures, and material related to Gnosticism located in their
library. The library includes other writings such as the Manichaean,
Mandaean, Cathar, and Alchemical
writings.
http://www.webcom.com/~gnosis/library.html
This
site provides links to important Gnostic websites, such as the Gnosis
Archive, the Gnostic Center, or the Gnostic Way. It also allows for searches
for the gnostic school near you.
http://www.worldwidegnosis.org/
This page provides links to Gnostic studies on the web. Some
of the links include the Gnostic Society Library, the Gnosis Archive, as
well as sites about Gnostic philosophy, spirituality and
identity.
http://www.trufax.org/menu/gnostic.html
This site provices a survey of Gnostic beliefs and ties
between Gnosticism and Christianity.
http://www.agape7.com/cult/agnsurve.html
This provides the Gospel of Thomas, an important scripture for
the Gnostics. The page provides a translation, and also a list of the best
available books on the subjects on this page. Also available is the
history of the Gospel of Thomas, gnostic traits and the
contents.
http://home.epix.net/~miser17/Thomas.html
This is a link to thirteen of the eighteen Corpus
Hermeticum texts. An introduction to the material is provided by Dr. Stephen
Hoeller, head of the Ecclesia
Gnostica.
http://gnosis.org/library/hermet.html
This is the home
page for Gnosis: A journal of Western Inner Traditions. It contains
an index of back issues, links the magazine suggests, and a regular feature
article about some aspect of Gnosticism.
http://www.lumen.org/
This site provides a short discussion about the Hermetics,
Zoroastrians, Mandaeans, Simon Magus, and the Peratae. The discussion is a
brief history and explanation of each group as well as the dates of their
existence.
http://home.sol.no/~noetic/prechr.html
This is a link off of the Gnostic Friends Network
site, which names 150+ anti-Gnostic links. The index is put in order by the
subject of criticism of
Gnosticism.
http://www.enemies.com/visitor/anti-gnostic-links.html
This is the site of Gnostic Communications an organization promoting a "cultural
fusion of psychic integration."
http://www.gnostics.com
IV. Bibliography
http://www.sd.com.au/db/gnostic.html.
http://www.webcom.com/%7Egnosis/overview.html.
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
Spring Term, 1999
University of Virginia
Last modified: 07/18/01