Gnosticism is a more correct way to interpret the bobble, the Gnostic's believed that we were all divine beings trapped in 3 dimensional material realm of our perceptions ruled over by this false Abrahamic God the Demiurge who is really just a tyrannical authority figure.
Gnosis means knowledge, they believed in knowledge which they attained through a shamanic rite by eating a forbidden plant to induce an out of body death and rebirth experience, a direct experience of the "spiritual" realm..
For some good Gnostic rock check out the Black Sabbath albums Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage...
Gnosticism was Prue-Christian in its origin. There were Jewish and heathen types, which may be traced back to Babylonian religious conceptions, a dualistic view of the universe, Persian in origin, and a doctrine in the realm of the spirit, which was probably Egyptian. Gnosticism taught that the world of matter is evil: its creator is not, therefore, a high, good god, but an inferior being. Man, to be saved must be free from this bondage to the visible world, and its spiritual rulers. The means of his freedom is knowledge (nosies), a mystical spiritual enlightenment.
Gnosticism found much in Christianity that it could use. Christ was accepted as the reveal er of the hitherto unknown high and all-perfect God, the higher saving knowledge. But, since the material world is evil, Christ would not have had a real incarnation?he was merely an apparition, an apparent birth from a virgin mother, Paul?s writings were twisted so that he taught Gnosticism?he was accepted as the chief apostle of their doctrine. Tradition points to Simon Magas (Acts 8:9-24) as the founder of ?Christian-Gnosticism.?
Gnosticism was an immense peril to the church as its god was not the god of the Old Testament, and (in their view) Christ has no real incarnation, death or resurrection. The peril was the greater because Gnosticism was represented by some of the keenest minds in the church of the second century.
(It was against the teachings of Gnosticism that the early Post-Apostolic Church defended itself; there was, as yet, no Trinitarian Doctrine. The first and early second century Christians were believers in one God who was one Person manifested as the Father; as Jesus, the Son of God; and as the Holy Spirit.).
The principles of Gnosticism contradict what it means to be a Christian. Therefore, while some forms of Gnosticism may claim to be Christian, they are in fact decidedly non-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.? Gnostics claim to possess 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.
compare their teachings 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, Gnostics contradict Him at every turn. Jesus said nothing about salvation through knowledge, but by faith in Him as Savior from sin. ?For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith?and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God?not by works, so that no one can 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 ?lost books of the Bible.?
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 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.
wat is gnosticism and wat bible verses prove it wrong?
