Gnosticism
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All too frequently, "Gnosticism" is referred to today as though it were a single, distinct system of religious thought, often in terms which attempt to describe it as a heretical Christian sect. Indeed, some of the writings of such early apologists as Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen, Tertullian, and Epiphanius were intended as counter-arguments against Gnosticism and Gnostic literature. But a closer examination of their works reveals that, by the time of the second and third centuries C.E., "Gnosis" was a generic term broadly applied to a wide variety of groups which were commonly lumped together because of their beliefs that they had a special knowledge of the nature of God and mankind and the relationship between the two. The term "Gnosticism" would not be coined until the eighteenth century. The problem which confronted the early Christian church, however, was that "groups of spiritually elite Christians gathered around individual teachers" of various forms of Gnostic beliefs. The orthodox bishops devoted themselves to undercutting these groups by complaining, for example, that "the Valentinians had created a 'clever imitation in glass' of the precious jewel of Scripture," while at least one Gnostic writer "accused the orthodox Christian bishops of being 'dry canals' and misleading others by claiming an authority from God that is not rightfully theirs." Various forms of Gnostic theology which were prevalent during the formation of the church have increasingly come
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repents; he is unjust, bloodthirsty, loves incense and the smoke of sacrifices; he leads into temptation and hardens hearts so he has grounds for punishing; he orders the most ferocious of massacres, etc."
According to Magne, the gnostics "set themselves the task of understanding biblical revelations in the light of ideas of Greek philosophy which are theirs," and constructed "new myths from the myths in the first six chapters of Genesis . . . in order to complete or rectify not justify them." Despite this, gnosticism is "indissolubly linked to the Bible and Judaism," Magne states. In arguing for a gnosticism which predates Christianity, Magne claims that the goal of gnostic missionaries was to liberate the Jews who had been twice victimized by God: as human beings imprisoned in a material body, and as Jews subjected to his Law and the Law of Moses, both of which are impossible to follow. The Christianity proclaimed in the Pauline corpus seeks to achieve the same liberation.
Indeed, a significant portion of Paul's writings are concerned with the efforts of those who may be regarded as Judaizing Gnostics. But Perkins argues that the earliest forms of gnostic mythology grew out of a Jewish context in the first centu
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Approximate Word count = 2284
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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