I've read a few things on it like Wikipedia and national geographic, but I don't understand. What is the belief system? Is there a connection between Gnostics and Christians? Are there any Gnostics today, or did it die in the first couple of centuries?
Gnosicism is a religious movement that is involved with having knowledge of God.
This knowledge of God they believe they have is thought to be as Secret and Unknown to other normal people.
The Gnostic Cult claimed to have "special knowledge" of Christ. They denied the fact that Jesus came to earth "in the Flesh" because they saw all flesh as sinful. This put them in a class of "anti-Christs" that denies He came in the flesh. Several cults today believe this false doctrine, and I believe , if memory is right, James' writings or maybe John's said, "...any spirit that confesses not, that Jesus has come in the flesh, is an "anti-Christ."
The Gnostics understood that the gospels were allegories that portrayed the drama of the soul --- in the same way that RA, the Sun God, had earlier. Osiris, a later version of the Sun God, was destroyed by his "brother" Set, the personification of Darkness. The "Serpent" is that constellation of Draco, which existed at the polar-axis of the nighttime sky --- the coiled serpent. The enemies of the solar hero were also Scorpio, a month heralding the coming of Winter.
Virgo (Isis/Mary), the Virgin Mother, represents matter --- mater --- mother. In the winter months Virgo sits across the eastern horizon squatting on land to bring the solar child to earth.
At any rate, eventually Jesus was presented as the solar deity Helios, he who gives "Light" and "Life." Modern day Gnostic's know that one must seek the "Master Within," the Christos, in order to gain salvation. This is attained through personal nosies, direct perception of the Otherworld.
In the old Hebrew community, the Jewish form of shamanism was known as Merkabah mysticism. This is actually Egtyptian Mer-KIA-bah equals Light-Spiritual-Body ... or "chariot" in Hebrew. This is the vehicle that takes one to the Throne of God, where one attains nosies.
Gnostics still exist, despite the efforts to destroy their work.
Gnosticism:
a heretical movement prominent in the Christian Church in the 2ND century, in part at least of Prue-Christian origin and with ideas drawn from Greek philosophy and other pagan sources. Gnostics emphasis ed the power of nosies, the supposed revealed knowledge of God, to redeem the spiritual element in humankind; they contrasted the supreme remote divine being with the demureGEr creator god, who controlled the world and was antagonistic to all that was purely spiritual. Christ came as an emissary from the supreme god, bringing gnosis.
In the United States there are several Gnostic churches with diverse lineages, one of which is the Ecclesia Gnostica, based primarily in Los Angeles, which is affiliated with the Gnostic Society, an organization dedicated to the study of Gnosticism.
Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code draws on Gnostic scriptures and modern re-interpretations of those works.
Such films as Dark City, Pleasantville, The Matrix, Thirteenth Floor, The Truman Show, Twelve Monkeys, Groundhog Day and Vanilla Sky can be compared to Gnostic cosmological myth in the presentation of a world that is illusory, that is created with the intention to deceive or restrict its inhabitants, and that is not configured to humanity's benefit save through the illuminating realization of its falsehood.
The MTV animated science fiction television series, ?on Flux, contains many Gnostic ideas.
Gnosticism was an early variant of Christianity. There were several different gnostic views, but most believed that there was a secret knowledge that was passed by Jesus to only a few apostles rather than to all of them. This Knowledge (nosies) was the basis of there system. The Gnostic's had their own system of religious texts, which were also called gospels. Many of them believed that the God of the Old Testament was evil and that Jesus was sent by a rival God who was good. Gnostics also allowed for more personal interpretation of religious issues and so were wildly criticized by the orthodox clergy. Finally, the Gnostic's were much more open to having women as leaders than the orthodox.
The gnostic viewpoint had a large following as late as the early 5Th century. The 'Arian heresy' was gnostic at heart. When the orthodox got into power, they burned many gnostic texts and declared the books of the modern New Testament as canonical. Over the last 50 years or so several finds of gnostic writings have occurred including gospels by Mary, Thomas, and Judas.
Blingme, was Aleister Crowley really gnostic? I've done some research about him and that never came up. Weird...I always thought Gnostic's were "good". Crowley is bizarre and disgusting and insane. Hmmm...you've made me think. Thank you.
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Although the modern idea of Thelema originates in the work of Aleister Crowley, there are important antecedents to his use of the term. The word is of some consequence in the original Greek Christian scriptures. Thelema holds some gnostic beliefs...Hmmm...I still think Gnostic's are nothing like Crowley.
The word Gnostic comes from the Greek word "nosies" which means "to know." It deals with a direct personal experience of "God." It has had many, many forms. It still does today. For a good view of modern Gnosticism you might like to go to ...
Gnostics sometimes referred to as mystical Christians believe generally in Duality or Aeons (male/female pairs of the Divine). Gnostic (Sophia or knowledge) believe that WHO/man through esoteric wisdom and practice can spiritually elevate into the world of the Divine.
Someone explain gnosticism?
