Gnosticism

Gnosticism was, regarding its historical background, a "heretical movement" which arose in the 2nd-century A.D. Most Christians, in todays modern era, have most likely not even heard the term "Gnosticism" nor its root word, "Gnostic". However, this religious movement was, very serious back in the very early days of the Church. It is my hope here, give information about this movement and show that, contrary to what is stated about it in history, it is actually very relevant to the lives of every Christian.

Gnosticism, this term has, as was stated above, its origin in the word, "Gnostic". Now this word itself has it's own root in the Greek word, "Gnosis", which means knowledge or insight. By understanding the roots of the initial word, which classified the movement, we already have a better idea about just exactly what this religious order believes in. Basically, anyone who is a self proclaimed "Gnostic" believes in: 1. That there exist fundamental secrets with regards to the universe and that these secrets were spoken of by Christ. 2. Christ is the "Logos", the creator of mankind. 3. The realm in which man exists in, is in fact false. The realm in which we exist is not the realm of reality, so to speak, but that there exists a realm which is the real realm and that this realm is to be looked upon as something which is to be overcome and shed. Here is a quote which gives an account of what I have just stated in the last point, "According to the Gnostics, this world, the material cosmos, is the result of a primordial error on the part of a supra-cosmic, supremely divine being, usually called Sophia (Wisdom) or simply the Logos. This being is described as the final emanation of a divine hierarchy, called the Plêrôma or "Fullness," at the head of which resides the supreme God, the One beyond Being.". 

The previous quote is filled with language which many people of the vast majority would not recognize, not to mention, understand. The Gnostic beliefs were and still are a conglomerate of ancient Greek mythology, Ancient Egyptian mythology, Judaical knowledge and early Christian philosophy. The former quote throws at us a lot of information, some parts of it however, may be recognizable to someone of the minority who has had experience with Greek mythology as well as Ancient Judaic knowledge. Wisdom came to Solomon and allowed him to rule his people, the Israelites, justly as well as correctly. Wisdom or Sophia, as she is referred to here, also played a role in many Greek myths. Aside from Judaic history and Greek myth, Gnosticism is truly Christian. Christ was, as stated above, spoken of as being and believed to be the, "Logos". Now, this particular word is interesting. When we read St. Johns Gospel, we find, at the very start, the passage, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, the same was in the beginning with God..."(John 1:1). The key term here is, "The Word". What does this in fact mean? Well, we already know that,"The Word" is Christ. How is it then, that, "The Word" is in fact Christ, but Christ is also the, "Logos"? The answer to this question is that "Word" or "The Word" actually means, in Greek, "Logos". However, in Greek, the, "Logos" has several different definitions and these are: Reason or Plan. Christ then, is the "Reason" or "Plan" behind our existence. 

Now, the "Logos" is not just singularly Greek. This phrase which refers to Reason, Plan, or The Word, has been documented and seen in the cultures of India, Egypt, and Persia. This being the case, it is almost as if, and one could make the case that, the Logos which is evidently Christ has been known of throughout the entirety of the ancient world. This is the most astounding fact with regards to Gnosticism. Many conceptualize it to be simply a heretical movement, however, it is evidently much more than this. I feel that this is why the movement itself was deemed heretical because, how is there to be a united singular Church which is solely devoted to Christ, when one can actually find traces of Christ's identity, "Logos", in a great many ancient cultures which all had their own individual religions and/or mythologies? The early Church Fathers had to put some type of leash onto this movement or else it could lead many people away from the fundamental principles, which the Church was of necessity to teach. We must, in analyzing this ancient movement understand that times were completely different than what they are today. People of this ancient time period needed strong definite principles by which they could trust and direct their lives toward, this is why we see the existence of Kings and Queens who had singular control over the masses. 

I stated previously that the Logos was conceptually existent in the cultures of India, Egypt and Persia. This statement however does not necessarily mean that the people of these cultures knew of or referred to the Logos as Christ specifically. The being whom we know as Christ is truly the organizer of life. He is primal Word, the Word which echoes out and creates all life. So, it is understood that while these cultures understood and knew of the Logos, they understood it to be the creating force, the force or principality of life. 

Getting back to the heart of Gnosticism however, it is important to mention that there are different types of Gnosticism just as there are, overall, different religious faiths regarding the philosophy of Christianity. While these different types of Gnosticism exist, the important factor is that all strive for knowledge the secrets of the cosmos. There do exist many question which go unanswered by the Catholic Church regarding why Christ did this or that. There are still many more questions about similarities between different religious faiths and mythologies. An example of this point would be the calling of the Apostles, by Christ, the, "Sons of Thunder". Now there exists in Viking mythology the God Thor and in addition to this, there also exists the Greek mythological being Zeus, who was the head of the Gods. Both of these two mythological gods wielded lighting which corresponds to thunder. So, the question here is,"Why would Christ refer to his Apostles as being sons of thunder?". If we were to examine the different religious/mythological beliefs of different cultures throughout the ages, we would find other similarities between them. Many of these questions are answered by Gnostics and their secret teachings. 

Even though all that has been stated here is true, we see that there exists, as was alluded to before, a reason why the Church herself has done away with this particular movement. What good is understanding the ornate interconnection of many religious/mythological beliefs if one looses sight of the true belief, that is, the sole belief that Christ is God. You see, the Church, being pedestal upon which Christ can stand and directly influence the physical world, must be stripped of all exterior and additional attributes. While the Church does answer many problems with regards to our lives, its main focus and teaching is to simply direct one's gaze towards Christ who has now manifested himself. All other prior conceptions of this being were not complete and so should not be of any focus. While movements such as the Gnostics preach truth, it is up to the individual to analyze for himself and decide himself what he is to follow. The Church must be sound and singular in its purpose. Man needs the Church and it exists for the sole purpose of gathering as many as may come and directing them towards Christ. The best way to understand this last point is by using the example of public school. Public school is meant to give children basic knowledge and help develop their minds overall. However, if anyone who has already passed through the process of basic education wishes for a more advanced and particular education regarding any singular subject, they are left to choose, for themselves, an academic university which can give them such further knowledge. The Church is the basic school. It's teachings are pure and simple. If one has already gone through the process of accepting and believing in Christ and wishes to further their understanding of him, then there is the Gnostic Christianity which, is not contrary to Catholicism, but involves a much more deeper understanding and in depth knowledge of Christ.  

Bibliography:

1. Gaans, Gijs Martijn van. 2012. "The gnostics: myth, ritual, and diversity in early Christianity." Vigiliae Christianae 66, no. 2: 217-220. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed July 2, 2017).

2. Brakke, David. 2010. The Gnostics. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed July 2, 2017).

3."Gnosticism", Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward Moore, St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology, @ http://www.iep.utm.edu/gnostic/

4."Gnostic Picture", @ https://starweaverwitch.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/gnostic.jpg

5." Logos", Philosophy and Theology, Encyclopedia Britannica, @ https://www.britannica.com/topic/logos