It did not become a significant religious and philosophical movement until around 100 A.D. in the Roman Empire. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. Christianity, on the other hand, holds that Jesus was fully man and fully God and that his human and divine natures were both present and necessary to provide a suitable sacrifice for humanity's sin. It maintains that matter is evil and spirit is good. However, the Corpus Hermeticum (from which Hermeticism derives) and Gnostic Gospels are common sources. Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός, romanized: gnōstikós, Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos], 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which originated in the first century AD among early Christian and Jewish sects. A divine spark is in some, but not all, humans and is capable of being redeemed. The most famous are the Cathars, whom the Albigensian Crusade was called against in 1209. The knowledge sought is not strictly intellectual, but mystical; not merely a detached knowledge of or about something, but a knowing by acquaintance or participation. Only the superior, divinely enlightened persons could comprehend the secret teachings and obtain true salvation. Gnosticism--except perhaps in 1 Timothy 6:20, where Paul warns Timothy against "the gnosis, which is falsely so called"--is not directly alluded to in the New Testament. Gnosticism certainly does not require belief in Jesus Christ, although many Gnostics include him in their theology. The designation gnosticism is a term of modern scholarship. This is not the approach of all Gnostics, although all are ultimately spiritually focused on gaining an understanding of and unification with the Godhead. "Religious Components of Gnosticism." The Gnostics were concerned with the basic questions of existence or “being-in-the-world” (Dasein)—that is: who we are (as human beings), where we have come from, and where we are heading, historically and spiritually (cf. He believed that Gnosticism was an independent religion more akin to the Chaldean Oracles and Hermetic writings than to normative Christianity. The secret knowledge reveals the key to salvation. Gnostic thought had a profound impact on the development of Christianity, which traditionally sees a struggle between an imperfect material world and a perfect spiritual one. One view held that he only appeared to have human form but that he was actually spirit only. Catherine Beyer is a practicing Wiccan who has taught religion in at Lakeland College in Wisconsin as well as humanities and Western culture at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. Much (but not all) of Gnosticism today is rooted in Judeo-Christian sources. The term Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "to know" or "knowledge." Gnosticism as a philosophy refers to a related body of teachings that stress the acquisition of “gnosis,” or inner knowledge. Gnosis is a Greek word for knowledge, and in Gnosticism (and religion in general) it refers to awareness, experience, and knowledge of the presence of God. Various Gnostic groups have emerged within the Christian community throughout history only to be branded heretical by orthodox authorities. In some cases, the demiurge is a god in and of itself, equal and opposite to the Godhead. The material world, including one's body, mind, spirit, and soul, is under the control of evil. Faith is a virtue. Gnosticism (pronounced NOS tuh siz um) was a second-century religious movement claiming that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge. Learn Religions uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. The gnostics taught that salvation comes through believing in secret knowledge which only they had access to rather than faith in Christ and repentance from… It also frequently refers to self-awareness, as one realizes and recognizes the divine spark within their mortal shell. In 1945 a vast library of gnostic documents was discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Gnosis is a Greek word for knowledge, and in Gnosticism (and religion in general) it refers to awareness, experience, and knowledge of the presence of God. Many so-called Gnostic Gospels are presented as "lost" books of the Bible, but in fact, did not meet the criteria when the canon was formed. Gnostics may or may not also identify themselves as Christian, depending on the amount of overlap between their own beliefs and Christianity. In order to adequately examine Gnosticism and Fundamentalism,we must first identify their basic concepts or hermeneutical keys.Important to understanding any belief system is grasping its hermeneutics or its underlying principles of interpretation. Learn Religions, Aug. 26, 2020, learnreligions.com/gnosticism-95688. Adherents of Gnosticism often constructed an evil, lesser god and beings of the Old Testament to explain the creation of the world (matter) and considered Jesus Christ a wholly spiritual God. #Gnosticism #Prophecy #BibleProphecy #EndTimes The demiurge might be a specifically evil being, or it might simply be imperfect, just as its creation is imperfect.