INTRODUCTION TO GNOSTICISM

NOTE: Peppered in this article are statements of what liberal-moderate Bible scholars believed, which are not true. Like other subjects of their work, it is mere hypothesizing, speculation, and wishful thinking on their part. Here is also the truth of the matter. Understanding this false teaching that NT authors seemed to refute and what liberal scholarship is claiming can be very helpful.

Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός, romanized: gnōstikós, Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos], ‘having knowledge’) is a collection of religious ideas and systems which may have had some beginnings in the late 1st century AD among the Jews and early Christian. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Viewing material existence as flawed or evil, Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the material universe. Gnostics considered the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the supreme divinity in the form of mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not with concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment.

Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean world around the second century, when the Fathers of the early Church denounced them as heresy. Efforts to destroy these texts proved largely successful, resulting in the survival of very little writing by Gnostic theologians. Nonetheless, early Gnostic teachers such as Valentinus saw their beliefs as aligned with Christianity. In the Gnostic Christian tradition, Christ is seen as a divine being which has taken human form in order to lead humanity back to the Light. However, Gnosticism is not a single standardized system, and the emphasis on direct experience allows for a wide variety of teachings, including distinct currents such as Valentinianism[1] and Sethianism.[2] In the Persian Empire, Gnostic ideas spread as far as China via the related movement Manichaeism,[3] while Mandaeism, which is the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity, is found in Iraq, Iran and diaspora communities. The Mandaeans may have been the inventors of Gnosticism, or at the very least, contributed to its development.

GNOSTICISM: The Jesus of the Gnostics

For centuries, most scholarly knowledge of Gnosticism was limited to the anti-heretical writings of orthodox Christian figures such as Irenaeus of Lyons[4] and Hippolytus of Rome.[5] There was a renewed interest in Gnosticism after the 1945 discovery of Egypt’s Nag Hammadi library, a collection of rare early Christian and Gnostic texts, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Apocryphon of John. A major question in scholarly research is the qualification of Gnosticism as either an interreligious phenomenon or as an independent religion, with some contemporary scholars such as Michael Allen Williams and David G. Robertson contesting whether “Gnosticism” is still a valid or useful historical category at all. Scholars have acknowledged the influence of sources such as Hellenistic Judaism,[6] Zoroastrianism,[7] and Platonism,[8] and some have noted possible links to Buddhism[9] and Hinduism,[10] though the evidence of direct influence from the latter sources is inconclusive.

Etymology of Gnosticism

Gnosis refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is mystical or esoteric knowledge based on direct participation with the divine. In most Gnostic systems, the sufficient cause of salvation is this “knowledge of” (“acquaintance with”) the divine. It is an inward “knowing,” comparable to that encouraged by Plotinus (Neoplatonism)[11] and differs from proto-orthodox Christian[12] views. Gnostics are “those who are oriented toward knowledge and understanding – or perception and learning – as a particular modality for living.” The usual meaning of gnostikos in Classical Greek texts is “learned” or “intellectual,” such as used by Plato in the comparison of “practical” (praktikos) and “intellectual” (gnostikos).[13] Plato’s use of “learned” is fairly typical of Classical texts.[14]

By the Hellenistic period,[15] it began also to be associated with Greco-Roman mysteries,[16] becoming synonymous with the Greek term musterion. The adjective is not used in the New Testament, but Clement of Alexandria speaks of the “learned” (gnostikos) Christian in complimentary terms. The use of gnostikos in relation to heresy originates with interpreters of Irenaeus. Some scholars[17] consider that Irenaeus[18] sometimes uses gnostikos to simply mean “intellectual,” whereas his mention of “the intellectual sect” is a specific designation.[19] The term “Gnosticism” does not appear in ancient sources and was first coined in the 17th century by Henry More[20] in a commentary on the seven letters of the Book of Revelation, where More used the term “Gnosticisme” to describe the heresy in Thyatira.[21] The term Gnosticism was derived from the use of the Greek adjective gnostikos (Greek γνωστικός, “learned”, “intellectual”) by St. Irenaeus (c. 185 AD) to describe the school of Valentinus[22] as he legomene gnostike haeresis “the heresy called Learned (gnostic).”

Origins of Gnosticism

The origins of Gnosticism are obscure and still disputed. The proto-orthodox Christian groups called Gnostics a heresy of Christianity,[23] but according to the modern scholars the theology’s origin is closely related to Jewish sectarian milieus and early Christian sects.[24] Scholars debate Gnosticism’s origins as having roots in Neoplatonism and Buddhism, due to similarities in beliefs, but ultimately, its origins are currently unknown. As Christianity developed and became more popular, so did Gnosticism, with both proto-orthodox Christian and Gnostic Christian groups often existing in the same places. The Gnostic belief was widespread within Christianity until the proto-orthodox Christian communities expelled the group in the second and third centuries (AD). Gnosticism became the first group to be declared heretical.

GNOSTICISM: Guard Against Falsely Called Knowledge—How Important Is Truth to You?

Some scholars prefer to speak of “gnosis” when referring to first-century ideas that later developed into Gnosticism, and to reserve the term “Gnosticism” for the synthesis of these ideas into a coherent movement in the second century.[25] According to James M. Robinson,[25] no gnostic texts clearly pre-date Christianity,[note 15] and “pre-Christian Gnosticism as such is hardly attested in a way to settle the debate once and for all.”[26] However, the Nag Hammadi library contained Hermetic teachings that can be argued go back to the Old Egyptian Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BC).[26]

Edward D. Andrews states that first-century Christianity was protected by the restraint held in place by the apostles. He argues that it was difficult to have any breakaway groups, or any real challenges to what Jesus did, said, and taught while the apostles were still alive. And the apostle John died in 100 AD. He also argues that those first-generation leaders that the apostles had personally taught (e.g., Polycarp [69-155 A.D.]) were still able to hold the orthodox true Christianity together. However, he acknowledges elements in the later part of the first century who did attempt to teach things that conflicted with Jesus and the NT authors but that they had no real impact. Starting in the middle of the second century(230 – 280 AD), Christians were leaving what was one form of Christianity and starting their own sects. It is not until the late second century (280 – 300 AD) that we find about twenty varieties of Christianity. And by the end of the fourth century there were close to eighty varieties of Christianity.

A. Gnosticism Gnosticism may have had a significant role in the writing of the First Epistle of John. Gnosticism was a heresy in its infant stages during the years when the New Testament was written, and a number of books in the New Testament spend some time refuting Gnosticism or the teachings that led to Gnosticism in later years. Therefore, an overview understanding of this false teaching can be very helpful in understanding not only 1 John but other books in the New Testament as well. •   “Gnosticism” comes from the Greek word “to know.” •   The teachings of the Gnostics had two major features: (1) Salvation was found in a higher, spiritual knowledge. Those who entered into this knowledge were considered “enlightened ones.” Ordinary people, even Christians, did not have this knowledge. They had to get it through mystical ways. (2) Spirit and flesh were thought of as separate entities. Spirit was good; flesh was bad. The spirit was untouched by fleshly influences, no matter what the flesh did. Therefore, the flesh could sin at will if it desired, and the spirit was unaffected. Therefore, a Gnostic could live a very immoral lifestyle and still claim to be a spiritual person. Gnosticism was rooted in ancient Greek philosophy (Plato and Philo). When the church spread from Jerusalem to Greece, it inevitably encountered this philosophy. Gnostics did not see how a good God could have created an evil physical world, so they concocted a worldview that absolved God of any responsibility for this world by separating the spiritual world from the physical world. Another teaching, Docetism, was related to Gnosticism. “Docetism” comes from the Greek word “to seem.” Docetics taught that it was impossible for God, who was spirit (good), to take on a physical (bad) body, so they asserted that Jesus did not have a real physical body, but only seemed to have a physical body. Still others believed that the power of Christ came upon Jesus when he was baptized and departed from him before his death on the cross. So it was simply the man Jesus who died, not God in the flesh. Whatever form of Gnosticism or variation existed, it struck at the very heart of the Christian faith by denying the physical death and resurrection of Jesus, the God-Man. Therefore, salvation did not come through the substitutionary atonement of Christ for our sins, but through gaining the mystical, special knowledge of God.[27]

The Hypothetical Q Document (30 – 65 CE)

The story of Q (German Quelle “source”) dates to over 120 years ago. It originates as part of what is known as the “two-source” theory of gospel origins. As history reports, the 1800s could be known as the period of ignorance, not the period of enlightenment. Nevertheless, during this time it was decided that the gospels were not historically dependable. According to the Q Document theory, early on there were oral sayings and deeds of Jesus that were not written (agrapha, “not written). Several examples of these supposed agrapha were found in the writings of second-century Church Fathers. It is the hypothetical Q Document, which is allegedly a collection of these oral sayings and deeds that were written. These writings served as the source for Mark’s Gospel and by extension Matthew and Luke. It is also argued that Matthew and Luke did not pen their gospels from memory, or the memories of others, but instead by using the dual sources of Mark and this hypothetical document called Q.

Some establish the Q document by looking to the verses in Matthew and Luke that are similar to each other, yet do not appear in the Gospel of Mark. There is just one small problem with this theory: the so-called Q document is not in existence, and as far as evidence goes, there is none to show that it ever existed. For example, it has never been quoted by any of the Church Fathers. One would not know this by listening to the seemingly factual way the higher critics present their hypothetical document. The expressions below bring to life a nonexistent document:

• “Q originally played a critical role”;
• “Q demonstrates”;
• “Q forces the issue”;
• “Q calls into question”;
• “Q is the most important text we have”; and
• “Q tells us.”[28]
• James M. Robinson, professor of religion, states: “Q is surely the most important Christian text that we have.”

Scholars as B. F. Westcott (1825-1901), Theodor Zahn (1883-1933), and Adolf Schlatter (1852-1938) rejected this “two-source” theory, with the latter two being German. As with most other damage done to the Bible’s validity, it started with German scholarship and was soaked up by other academic scholars. Eta Linnemann, who studied under Bultmann and Fuchs, supported the two-source hypothesis. Eventually, she did her own extensive re-evaluation, which contributed to her break with historical-critical scholarship, as well as her taking up the Independence View. She expresses her strong disapproval of the position today’s seminary students find themselves in if they adopt the Independent View:

“What student in seminar discussion is going to risk being labeled as uncritical and hopelessly behind the times by raising the possibility that the three Gospels are equally original, in keeping with their own claims and early church tradition?”[29] . . . “I am shocked when I look at the books of my former colleagues, which I used to hold in the highest esteem and examine the justification for their position. Instead of proof, I find only assertions. Instead of arguments, there is merely circular reasoning.”[30]

What are the Facts About Q?

No Church Father or early source makes a reference to such a source. If the Q Document was distributed so widely that Mark, Matthew, and Luke had copies, why do we not even have a fragment? Paul in all likelihood did not know of the Gospel of Matthew and definitely not Mark and Luke. There is no reason why he would not have been aware of such a document that is claimed to have affected and played a very influential role in the start of Christianity and existed before he became a Christian. But Paul is dead silent on the Q Document. The Independent View stood as the dominant understanding until the era of enlightenment when the philosophical giants, such as Grotius (1593-1645), Kant (1724-1804), Reimarus 1694-1768), Spinoza (1632-1677), and Tindal (1656-1733) brought us errancy of Scripture, Biblical criticism, and their views on the origins of the Synoptic Gospels, Two-Source Hypothesis.[31]

Attribution: This article incorporates some text from the public domain: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and Edward D. Andrews

SCROLL THROUGH DIFFERENT CATEGORIES BELOW

BIBLE TRANSLATION AND TEXTUAL CRITICISM

BIBLICAL STUDIES / INTERPRETATION

EARLY CHRISTIANITY

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM

TECHNOLOGY

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

CHRISTIAN FICTION

[1] Valentinianism was one of the major Gnostic Christian movements. Founded by Valentinus in the 2nd century AD, its influence spread widely, not just within Rome but also from Northwest Africa to Egypt through to Asia Minor and Syria in the East.

[2] The Sethians were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century CE, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century CE as a fusion of two distinct Hellenistic Judaic philosophies and was influenced by Christianity and Middle Platonism.

[3] Manichaeism (; in New Persian آیینِ مانی Āyīn-e Mānī; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móníjiào) was a major religion founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD 216–274), in the Sasanian Empire.Manichaeism taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came.

[4] Irenaeus (Greek: Εἰρηναῖος Eirēnaios; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek overseer noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by combating heresy and defining orthodoxy. Originating from Smyrna, he had seen and heard the preaching of Polycarp, who in turn was said to have heard John the Evangelist, and thus was the last-known living connection with the Apostles.

[5] Hippolytus of Rome (, Greek: Ἱππόλυτος; c. 170 – c. 235 AD) was one of the most important second-third century Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communities include Rome, Palestine, Egypt, Anatolia and other regions of the Middle East. The best historians of literature in the ancient church, including Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome, openly confess they cannot name where Hippolytus the biblical commentator and theologian served in leadership. They had read his works but did not possess evidence of his community. Photios I of Constantinople describes him in his Bibliotheca (cod. 121) as a disciple of Irenaeus, who was said to be a disciple of Polycarp, and from the context of this passage it is supposed that he suggested that Hippolytus so styled himself. This assertion is doubtful. One older theory asserts he came into conflict with the popes of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival to the bishop of Rome, thus becoming an antipope. In this view, he opposed the Roman Popes who softened the penitential system to accommodate the large number of new pagan converts. However, he was reconciled to the Church before he died as a martyr.

[6] Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek culture. Until the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the early Muslim conquests of the eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism were Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria (now in southern Turkey), the two main Greek urban settlements of the Middle East and North Africa region, both founded at the end of the fourth century BCE in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great.

[7] Zoroastrianism or Mazdayasna is an Iranian religion and one of the world’s oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zaraθuštra in Avestan or as Zartosht in Persian). It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ontology and an eschatology which predicts the ultimate conquest of evil by good.

[8] Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought.

[9] Buddhism, (US) also known as Buddha Dharma, is an Indian dharmic religion or philosophical tradition based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia.

[10] Hinduism is an Indian religion and dharma, or way of life. It is the world’s third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus.

[11] Neoplatonism refers to a philosophical and religious system, beginning with the work of Plotinus in 245 AD, that teaches interpretations of the philosophy and theology of Plato, extending the Middle Platonism of the intervening centuries, c. 80–c. 245 AD.

[12] The term proto-orthodox Christianity or proto-orthodoxy is often erroneously thought to have been coined by New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman, who borrowed it from Bentley Layton (a major Gnosticism scholar/Coptologist at Yale) and describes the early Christian movement that was the precursor of Christian orthodoxy. Ehrman argues that this group from the moment it became prominent by the end of the third century, “stifled its opposition, it claimed that its views had always been the majority position and that its rivals were, and always had been, ‘heretics’, who willfully ‘chose’ to reject the ‘true belief’.” In contrast, Larry W. Hurtado argues that proto-orthodox Christianity is rooted in first-century Christianity. Edward D. Andrews states that first century Christianity was protected by the restraint held in place by the apostles. He argues that it was difficult to have any breakaway groups, or any real challenges to what Jesus did, said, and taught while the apostles were still alive. And the apostle John died in 100 AD. He also argues that those first-generation leaders that the apostles had personally taught (e.g., Polycarp [69-155 A.D.]) were still able to hold the orthodox true Christianity together. However, he acknowledges elements in the later part of the first century who did attempt to teach things that conflicted with Jesus and the NT authors but that they had no real impact. Starting in the middle of the second century(230 – 280 AD), Christians were leaving what was one form of Christianity and starting their own sects. It is not until the late second century (280 – 300 AD) that we find about twenty varieties of Christianity. And by the end of the fourth century there were close to eighty varieties of Christianity.

[13] In Plato’s dialogue between Young Socrates and the Foreigner in his The Statesman (258e).

[14] 10x Plato, Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman 2x Plutarch, Compendium libri de animae procreatione + De animae procreatione in Timaeo, 2x Pseudo-Plutarch, De musica

[15] The Hellenistic period spans the period of Mediterranean history between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year. The period of Greece prior to the Hellenistic era is known as Classical Greece, while the period afterwards is known as Roman Greece.

[16] Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders.

[17] For example A. Rousseau and L. Doutreleau, translators of the French edition (1974).

[18] Irenaeus (Greek: Εἰρηναῖος Eirēnaios; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek overseer noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by combating heresy and defining orthodoxy. Originating from Smyrna, he had seen and heard the preaching of Polycarp, who in turn was said to have heard John the Evangelist, and thus was the last-known living connection with the Apostles.

[19] Irenaeus’ comparative adjective gnostikeron “more learned”, evidently cannot mean “more Gnostic” as a name.

Williams, p. 36: “But several of Irenaeus’s uses of the designation gnostikos are more ambiguous, and it is not so clear whether he is indicating the specific sect again or using ‘gnostics’ now merely as a shorthand reference for virtually all of the groups he is criticizing”; p. 37: “They argue that Irenaeus uses gnostikos in two senses: (1) with the term’s ‘basic and customary meaning’ of ‘learned’ (savant), and (2) with reference to adherents of the specific sect called ‘the gnostic heresy’ in Adv. haer. 1.11.1.”; p. 271: “1.25.6 where they think that gnostikos means ‘learned’ are in 1.11.3 (‘A certain other famous teacher of theirs, reaching for a doctrine more lofty and learned [gnostikoteron] …’) and 1.11.5 (‘… in order that they [i.e.,]).”

Of those groups that Irenaeus identifies as “intellectual” (gnostikos), only one, the followers of Marcellina use the term gnostikos of themselves. Later Hippolytus uses “learned” (gnostikos) of Cerinthus and the Ebionites, and Epiphanius applied “learned” (gnostikos) to specific groups.

[20] Henry More (; 12 October 1614 – 1 September 1687) was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school.

[21] Thyateira (also Thyatira) (Ancient Greek: Θυάτειρα) was the name of an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, now the modern Turkish city of Akhisar (“white castle”). The name is probably Lydian. Pearson: “As Bentley Layton points out, the term Gnosticism was first coined by Henry More (1614–1687) in an expository work on the seven letters of the Book of Revelation.29 More used the term Gnosticisme to describe the heresy in Thyatira.” Pearson 2004, p. 210.

[22] Valentinus (also spelled Valentinius; c. AD 100 – c. 180) was the best known and, for a time, most successful early Christian Gnostic theologian. He founded his school in Rome.

[23] Clement of Alexandria: “In the times of the Emperor Hadrian appeared those who devised heresies, and they continued until the age of the elder Antoninus.”

[24] Cohen & Mendes-Flohr: “Recent research, however, has tended to emphasize that Judaism, rather than Persia, was a major origin of Gnosticism. Indeed, it appears increasingly evident that many of the newly published Gnostic texts were written in a context from which Jews were not absent. In some cases, indeed, a violent rejection of the Jewish God, or of Judaism, seems to stand at the basis of these texts. … facie, various trends in Jewish thought and literature of the Second Commonwealth appear to have been potential factors in Gnostic origins.

[25] James McConkey Robinson (June 30, 1924 – March 22, 2016) was an American scholar who retired as Professor Emeritus of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, specializing in New Testament Studies and Nag Hammadi Studies. He was a member of the Jesus Seminar and arguably the most prominent Q and Nag Hammadi library scholar of the twentieth century. James M. Robinson, professor of religion, states: “Q is surely the most important Christian text that we have.”

What are the Facts About Q?

No Church Father or early source makes a reference to such a source. If the Q Document was distributed so widely that Mark, Matthew, and Luke had copies, why do we not even have a fragment? Paul in all likelihood did not know of the Gospel of Matthew and definitely not Mark and Luke. There is no reason why he would not have been aware of such a document that is claimed to have affected and played a very influential role on the start of Christianity and existed before he became a Christian. But Paul is dead silent on the Q Document. The Independent View stood as the dominant understanding until the era of enlightenment when the philosophical giants, such as Grotius (1593-1645), Kant (1724-1804), Reimarus 1694-1768), Spinoza (1632-1677), and Tindal (1656-1733) brought us errancy of Scripture, Biblical criticism, and their views on the origins of the Synoptic Gospels, Two-Source Hypothesis. – See Thomas, Robert L. Three Views of the Origins of the Synoptic Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2002, 235-41.

[26] Hermetica: the Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a new English translation, with notes and introduction. Cambridge University Press. 1992. ISBN 0-521-36144-3. Hermetic sentences derived from similar elements in ancient Egyptian wisdom literature, especially the genre called “Instructions” that reached back to the Old Kingdom”

[27] David Walls and Max Anders, I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude, vol. 11, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 163–164.

[28] Eta Linnemann, Biblical Criticism on Trial: How Scientific is “Scientific Theology”? (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1990), 20-21.

[29] Linnemann. Is There A Synoptic Problem? Rethinking the Literary Dependance of the First Three Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992, 45.

[30] Ibid., 10

[31] See Thomas, Robert L. Three Views of the Origins of the Synoptic Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2002, 235-41.