Is the common phenomenon of GNOSTICISM in many religious traditions rooted in the sam

......in conspiracy theory memes such as "9/11 was an inside job" and "Apollo astronauts never landed on the moon" and "Obama is a Muslim secret agent"? Are all of these forms of gnosticism popular because of the lure of having "special insider knowledge" which others lack? Is it, for many, an irresistible draw? (And does it help the less powerful and/or less-educated feel more significant and authoritative?)

People are people....they never change

it stems from the evolutionary pressure to fit in. if you were not a part of the group you were on your own and that wasn't very healthy for future generations.

Gnosticism is elevating man's wisdom above God's revelation. Big mistake.

It is rooted by actual spiritual events that cannot be denied. Some may claim it falsely and some simply can't deny it.

Christianity and its dogma is nothing but a form of paganism (i.e. Gnosticism) turned Christian. Gnostics don't make statements in any of these manners. A Gnostic is a person who sees a deeper meaning in scripture rather then the abstract. These are conspiracy theories brought up. These claims are that there are secret "concrete meanings" in secret societies. Being pushed to gain members in the New World Order. Gnosticism is religious, its political undertone is a gnostic dichotomy. Which is what your explaining.

I think you're on to something here.

I've read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (the guys who started Dan Brown on the Da Vinci Code stuff, but who were silly enough to take it seriously instead of just writing entertaining fiction). I've read some Gnostic writings. There's a similarity.

I think there's a specific point to Gnosticism that is separate from the conspiracy-theory enthusiasm, though. The Gnostics all seemed to argue that the saving value of the knowledge (nosies) had to do with rejecting the material world as irredeemably flawed and committing to a notion of spiritual (that is, non-physical) existence as being of primary importance. The details of their explanations vary, but they all boil down to the notion that creation of the physical world was itself an error, and the god that did it was inferior to the real God of all.

Most of the conspiracy theories seem to go the other way; they all go looking for some secret physical token with magical or political significance. In that sense, they seem to be the opposite of true gnosticism, while at the same time satisfying similar emotional desires.