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Fellow Gnostics
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Terrywoodenpic
Oldest Heretic
A Gnostic Bishop put up a paper a while ago on this site.
It was both strange and interesting.
Unfortunately there is very little Gnostic writings remaing, from the days of the early church.
Try two searches in the menu above.
The Gnostic world view
Gnosis
You will then find most of the recent threads on the subject, which will give you a kickin off point. the threads are still live so you can comment and bump them up .
Terry_________________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.
It was both strange and interesting.
Unfortunately there is very little Gnostic writings remaing, from the days of the early church.
Try two searches in the menu above.
The Gnostic world view
Gnosis
You will then find most of the recent threads on the subject, which will give you a kickin off point. the threads are still live so you can comment and bump them up .
Terry_________________________
Amen! Truly I say to you: Gather in my name. I am with you.
I am interested in learning about Gnosticism.Halcyon said:Welcome Gnosis_777
I am a gnostic, but not a full christian Gnostic (although i do love Valentinian literature), i lean more towards the Sethian, kinda eclectic though.
I'd love to discuss whatever you would like to
I notice though that Gnosticism appears to be defined as different 'faiths' depending on the site one look it up; some have Christianity links, some have Judaism links (ie Kabbalah), whilst some are as described in the above overview.
Now you, Halcyon, have confused me by saying you are not a "full Christian Gnostic"; just how many 'varieties' are there?
What is the comunality of all the varieties?
ChrisP
Veteran Member
Haro yuo...
I am also gnostic, but only the sense of working towards gnosis. Christianity has little to do with it for me, or though I am fairly well read with the standard bible, my gospel of thomas an mary are still works in progress.
Hi Michel,
The word Gnostic stems from gnosis which is innate understanding of the way of things, similar to the principle of wu wei in daoism if you've read anything there. Basically it's working for enlightenment, when applied to anything, even mowing the lawn
I am also gnostic, but only the sense of working towards gnosis. Christianity has little to do with it for me, or though I am fairly well read with the standard bible, my gospel of thomas an mary are still works in progress.
Hi Michel,
The word Gnostic stems from gnosis which is innate understanding of the way of things, similar to the principle of wu wei in daoism if you've read anything there. Basically it's working for enlightenment, when applied to anything, even mowing the lawn
spacemonkey
Pneumatic Spiritualist
Gnosticism ties togeather all of the loose ends the seprate religons leave. It is the fundimental belief that the creator and the True God are not the same entity, but that the creator (Demiurge) is actually a lesser, incomplete entiy. One without the "divine spark" of the True God. Gnosticism ties togeather polytheism (in form of the True God's emmations) with monotheism (the Demiurge) with more philosophical beliefs like Buddahism (Gnosis is Greek for "knowledge" though scholars say "enlightenment" would be a more fitting translation). Gnostics believe some prophets come from the Demiurge while others are sent by the True God. Jesus is considered by many gnostics to be the Logos of the True God, not that of the Demiurge. They attribute that belief to the differance of the messages of the two Testaments. The OT has stories of fear, death, destruction, and a vengefull God, the NT told of a peacefull, loving, tollerant, and forgiving God, somewhat of a contradiction. Other OT figures that are villified by most Judaic religons are held in high esteem by gnostics as well, such as the serpent from Eden and Cain, as they resisited the Demiurge.
spacemonkey
Pneumatic Spiritualist
Halcyon
Lord of the Badgers
Well, i can only give my own personal perspective. So, people will probably disagree with me.michel said:
How many varieties of Gnosticism are there?
Well, we don't know because most Gnostic sects were destroyed centuries ago, often we only have the records of their persecuters as evidence of the Gnostic's existance, which are not the most reliable of sources.
If i had to hazard a guess, i'd suggest that there are/were six broad types of Gnostic - those being Mandean, Manichaen, Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Pagan (specifically Hermetic). There were most probably others, but we have surviving texts from these types. Within these categories there were, much like modern day, many 'denominations' - especially within the Christian movement.
From a personal perspective, i'd suggest that there are as many varieties of Gnosticism as there are Gnostic practitioners. Why? Because Gnosticism places emphasis on personal revelation and personal experience of the divine. Dogma and mythology come second to one's personal experience, this being one of the major reasons for the persecution of the Gnostics by the ancient church who had/have almost the exact opposite viewpoint.
Why am i not a 'full Christian Gnostic'?
Well, it again boils down to personal belief. While i do believe in the man Jesus, i am unconvinced of his alleged divine origin. I believe he was a man who had attained Gnosis, and may have had the logos of God visited upon him, or may not have. To me it is irrelevant, for me he is still the Gnostic rolemodel.
What do all Gnostic sects have in common?
Spacemonkey has given lots of good information. But, if i may, i'd like to distil it down to two basic points;
1. God is not who you think He is. The God of the OT, and as such the God of all Jews, Christians and Muslims alive today is not God. He is a being created to emmulate God, unfortunately no being can emmulate God - thus he is flawed. We call him Yaldaboath, Samael, Sakla - or the descriptive term Demiurge.
2. The true God can be found through Gnosis. Gnosis being knowledge of the divine. Through Gnosis the illusion of this world is stripped from our eyes and we behold the true God, but only a glimpse. For the human mind cannot understand the nature of the true God. He is incomprehensible. (I say He, but in Gnostic mythology God is beyond sex)
These two points are common to all Gnostic sects, differences then arise from cultural assimilations of mythology.
This is all my own humble opinion, but i hope i have helped
A lot, thank you. One last question, if I may; what of your view of Jesus Christ ?Halcyon said:Well, i can only give my own personal perspective. So, people will probably disagree with me.
How many varieties of Gnosticism are there?
Well, we don't know because most Gnostic sects were destroyed centuries ago, often we only have the records of their persecuters as evidence of the Gnostic's existance, which are not the most reliable of sources.
If i had to hazard a guess, i'd suggest that there are/were six broad types of Gnostic - those being Mandean, Manichaen, Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Pagan (specifically Hermetic). There were most probably others, but we have surviving texts from these types. Within these categories there were, much like modern day, many 'denominations' - especially within the Christian movement.
From a personal perspective, i'd suggest that there are as many varieties of Gnosticism as there are Gnostic practitioners. Why? Because Gnosticism places emphasis on personal revelation and personal experience of the divine. Dogma and mythology come second to one's personal experience, this being one of the major reasons for the persecution of the Gnostics by the ancient church who had/have almost the exact opposite viewpoint.
Why am i not a 'full Christian Gnostic'?
Well, it again boils down to personal belief. While i do believe in the man Jesus, i am unconvinced of his alleged divine origin. I believe he was a man who had attained Gnosis, and may have had the logos of God visited upon him, or may not have. To me it is irrelevant, for me he is still the Gnostic rolemodel.
What do all Gnostic sects have in common?
Spacemonkey has given lots of good information. But, if i may, i'd like to distil it down to two basic points;
1. God is not who you think He is. The God of the OT, and as such the God of all Jews, Christians and Muslims alive today is not God. He is a being created to emmulate God, unfortunately no being can emmulate God - thus he is flawed. We call him Yaldaboath, Samael, Sakla - or the descriptive term Demiurge.
2. The true God can be found through Gnosis. Gnosis being knowledge of the divine. Through Gnosis the illusion of this world is stripped from our eyes and we behold the true God, but only a glimpse. For the human mind cannot understand the nature of the true God. He is incomprehensible. (I say He, but in Gnostic mythology God is beyond sex)
These two points are common to all Gnostic sects, differences then arise from cultural assimilations of mythology.
This is all my own humble opinion, but i hope i have helped
Halcyon
Lord of the Badgers
Personally i believe he was a man who had attained Gnosis, like Buddhists believe Siddhartha Gautama to be a man who attained Nirvana.
Christian Gnostics had varies beliefs, these ranged from Jesus having two distinct forms, Jesus the man and Christ the phantom - i'm not an expert myself on this but i know its complicated.
Others believe him to be the logos of God, one of the early Aeons that emanated from God. Others have a variation on this that the Christ/logos was created (or sent) to redeem the fallen Sophia.
Not all Gnostics believed in Jesus in any form though, only the Chrisitian Gnostics and the Manichaens.
Christian Gnostics had varies beliefs, these ranged from Jesus having two distinct forms, Jesus the man and Christ the phantom - i'm not an expert myself on this but i know its complicated.
Others believe him to be the logos of God, one of the early Aeons that emanated from God. Others have a variation on this that the Christ/logos was created (or sent) to redeem the fallen Sophia.
Not all Gnostics believed in Jesus in any form though, only the Chrisitian Gnostics and the Manichaens.
spacemonkey
Pneumatic Spiritualist
The non - Christian Gnostic feels Jesus was mearly one of many "Messangers of Light" that were here to guide mankind to Gnosis. The Christian Gnostic feels that Jesus is the principle savior (the Soter) sent by the True God to guide mankind to gnosis.michel said:
spacemonkey
Pneumatic Spiritualist
I believe one of the Gnostic teachers believed that Jesus's mortal form was an illusion. This way of thinking came from the line of teachings about Jesus being an emination of the True God, like you said the Logos (word). All of the eminations were couples, which is emulated here on Earth by man and woman, and the mate of Logos was Sophia (wisdom). According to many early Gnostic teachers (Valentinius principle among them) it was Sophia, acting without the knowledge of her consort and seeking to emmulate the True God, who emmanated the Demiurge (Half-Craftstman). He is called "half" since he was created without both "parents" (a virgin birth?) and does not have the "divine spark". Sophia, ashamed of what she has done tries to hide her abbomintion by encasing him in a cloud. When the Demiurge awakens, being all alone, thinks HE is the Supreme Being and creates the Earth. Through his connection to Sophia he is some how able to trap her "divine spark", something he is without, on Earth in the form of humanity. It is thought by most Gnostic Christians that the Logos was sent to Earth in the form of Jesus to free his mate, who is entrapped within all of us (the holy spirit?) from the grip of the Demiurge.
Buttons*
Glass half Panda'd
wow, i started this post and completely forgot it was here... that's responsible *rolls eyes*... oops.
Thanks ya'll for your comments. I didnt realize there was a distinct difference in a Christian Gnostic and a regular Gnostic. *feels ignorant* So I realized im simply Gnostic.
How did ya'll come to Gnostics?
Thanks ya'll for your comments. I didnt realize there was a distinct difference in a Christian Gnostic and a regular Gnostic. *feels ignorant* So I realized im simply Gnostic.
How did ya'll come to Gnostics?
ChrisP
Veteran Member
If pure non-Christian Gnosis is what you seek, have a read of a philosophical translation of the Tao. Very good at clearing your mind and attuning your senses to the greater nothing/everything.gnosis_777 said:
We're all Born seeking Truth. Real Truth is incommunicable and impossible to understand through language.
My studies of the Universe as a kid brought me to understand that there were more types of energy than are tangible to our physical senses, and so now I try to attune myself with them, as I see them as being sourced by Truth.
ChrisP
Veteran Member
Several different translation located here.gnosis_777 said:
http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttc-list.html
Godfather89
I am Who I am
I came to Gnosticism as a Christian because, I largely felt that what Christianity has turned into has largely become an enterprise. Megachurches in the Midwest USA, the Pastors *cough* claim there doing it because God wants them to but as for me I feel like there ego wants them to make money. The Roman Catholic Church seems obsessed with this "Were The Only Way Notion" that other forms of Christianity are wrong. So two reasons turned me to Gnosticism with Christian Standing:
1. Christianity is divided and has turned largely into a business affair of selling faith, through a mixture of fundamentalism and evangelism, two aspects of religion I DO NOT AGREE WITH.
2. Knowing that Jesus was a heretic by the religious powers that be in his day and that Gnostic's are heretics who follow Jesus' teachings in our day. I didn't realize it was so sinful to think differently than the rest of society.
1. Christianity is divided and has turned largely into a business affair of selling faith, through a mixture of fundamentalism and evangelism, two aspects of religion I DO NOT AGREE WITH.
2. Knowing that Jesus was a heretic by the religious powers that be in his day and that Gnostic's are heretics who follow Jesus' teachings in our day. I didn't realize it was so sinful to think differently than the rest of society.
Buttons*
Glass half Panda'd
Godfather89
I am Who I am
LoL, lets hope others will wake up as well.... more active gnostics would be great...