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There is actually no such thing as Christian Gnosticism, because they are mutually exclusive systems of belief. A true Christian is not a Gnostic and a Gnostic most certainly is not a true Christian.
Gnosticism was perhaps the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries. Influenced by such philosophers as Plato, Gnosticism is based on two false premises. First, it espouses a dualism regarding spirit and matter. Gnostics assert that matter is inherently evil and spirit is good. As a result of this presupposition, Gnostics believe anything done in the body, even the grossest sin, has no meaning because real life exists in the spirit realm only.
Second, Gnostics claim to possess an elevated knowledge, a ?higher truth? known only to a certain few. Gnosticism comes from the Greek word nosies which means ?to know? because Gnostics claim a higher knowledge, not from the Bible, but acquired on some mystical higher plain of existence. Gnostics see themselves as a privileged class elevated above everybody else by their higher, deeper knowledge of God.
To discredit the idea of any compatibility between Christianity and Gnosticism, one has only to compare the teachings of the two on the main doctrines of the faith. On the matter of salvation, Gnosticism teaches that salvation is gained through the acquisition of divine knowledge which frees one from the illusions of darkness. Although they claim to follow Jesus Christ and His original teachings, they contradict Him at every turn. Jesus said nothing about salvation through knowledge, but by faith in Him as Savior from sin. ?For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast? (Ephesians 2:8-9). Furthermore, the salvation Christ offers is free and available to everyone (John 3:16), not just a select few who have acquired a special revelation.
Christianity asserts that there is one source of Truth and that is the Bible, the inspired, inerrant Word of the living God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12). It is God?s written revelation to mankind and is never superseded by man?s thoughts, ideas, writings, or visions. The Gnostics, on the other hand, use a variety of early heretical writings known as the Gnostic gospels, a collection of forgeries claiming to be the ?lost books of the Bible.? Thankfully, the early church fathers were nearly unanimous in recognizing these Gnostic scrolls as fraudulent forgeries that espouse false doctrines about Jesus Christ, salvation, God, and every other crucial Christian truth. There are countless contradictions between the Gnostic gospels and the Bible. Even when the so-called Christian Gnostics quote from the Bible, they re-write verses and parts of verses to harmonize with their philosophy, a practice that is strictly forbidden and warned against by Scripture (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 21:18-19).
The Person of Jesus Christ is another area where Christianity and Gnosticism drastically differ. The Gnostics believe that Jesus? physical body was not real, but only ?seemed? to be physical and that His spirit descended upon Him at His baptism, but left Him just before His crucifixion. Such heretical views destroy not only the true humanity of Jesus, but also the atonement, for Jesus must not only have been truly God, but also the truly human (and physically real) man who actually suffered and died upon the cross in order to be the acceptable substitutionsRyacrifice for sin (Hebrews 2:14?17). The biblical view of Jesus affirms His complete humanity as well as His full deity.
Gnosticism is linked to much New Age heresy. It is based on a mystical, intuitive, subjective, inward, emotional approach to truth which isn?t new at all. It?s very old, going back in some form to the Garden of Eden, where Satan brought into question God and the words He spoke and convinced Adam and Eve to reject them and buy into a lie. He does the same thing today as he ?prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour? (2 Peter 5:8). He still calls God and the Bible into question and catches in his web those who are either na?ve and scripturally uninformed or who are seeking some personal revelation to make them feel special, unique, and superior to others. But extra-biblical revelations always lead to error. Let us follow the Apostle Paul who said to ?Test everything. Hold on to the good? (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and this we do by comparing everything to the Word of God, the only Truth.
Recommended Resource: The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy for the New Age by Peter Jones.
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Where can I find accurate information about Christian Gnosticism?
