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Background Information • By the second century, Christianity was beginning to establish an effective organizational structure and system of authority. Some of its leaders were already speaking hopefully of a united and universal church, but the rapid growth in the number of Christians and the proliferation of Christian communities meant that unity among them would be difficult to achieve without an ecclesiastical government capable of ensuring common beliefs, loyalties, and traditions from above the local level. A church governed in this way would also be more likely to succeed in promoting its understanding of the apostolic faith and defending it against alternative views.
Background Information Cont. • However, while a substantial body of Christian doctrine would be formulated by the end of the fifth century, many ideas that would ultimately become doctrine were challenged until then. • Some issues included: the nature of God, the humanity of Christ, salvation, the material world, and ecclesiastical authority. • This aspect of early Christianity is easily seen in the thought of three important groups: the Gnostics, Marcionites, and Montanists.
What is Gnosticism? • Gnosticism was a philosophical religion that reached the height of its popularity in the second and third centuries. • Because it took a great variety of forms, scholars have found it difficult to define Gnosticism with any precision. • Some prefer not to use the term at all. • The question of its origin is equally complex. For some, Gnostic teachings can be traced to Judaism, others to Greek philosophy, and others to Egyptian religion and Persian Zoroastrianism.Another source of Gnostic teaching was Christianity.
Pretty Popular • By the second century, there were groups of Christians who were sufficiently Gnostic in their beliefs that we can speak of Gnostic Christianity as a distinct movement. • For many years, Gnosticism was known primarily through the writings of authorities who were hostile to it.
History of Gnosticism • Notable Sources: • Irenaeus(130-200)- A bishop of Lyons in southern France who described and denounced various Gnostic Christian sects and their teachings in his Against Heresies. • In 1945, a cache of Gnostic Christian texts was discovered at Nag Hammadi in southern Egypt. Written in Coptic, the language spoken by most Egyptians at the time, the texts were translations of works originally written in Greek. The find included Gnostic Gospels as well as other texts whose titles attributed them for Jesus’ followers.
History of Gnosticism Cont. • Although the Nag Hammadi texts show that there were considerable differences among Gnostic Christians, it is also clear that they agreed with each other and with other Christians who maintained fundamental ideas. • For example: • 1) They imagined a cosmos divided by conflict between forces of good and evil. • 2) Lamented their separation from God and looked forward to eventual union with him3) They recognized Christ as savior and made a place for biblical ideas, events, and personalities in their systems of thought.
Differences between Gnosticism and Christianity • Mainstream Christians thought that such similarities were dangerous because of their potential to seduce the unsuspecting into embracing other beliefs that were incompatible with their own understanding of the faith. • For example: 1) Christian Belief: The biblical view of the world as something beautiful created and sustained by God. Gnostic Belief: Believed that matter was evil and the work of a lesser being, the Demiurge. Demiurge translates into “Public Craftsman” 2) Christian Belief: Most Christians believed in the resurrection of the body, which they regarded as an essential component of human nature. Gnostic Belief: Gnostics claimed that the human body was evil and the enemy of the spiritual self. 3) Christian Belief: Christ’s death would be the salvation Gnostic Belief: Believed that Salvation was made possible by secret knowledge (aka Gnosis) revealed by the Savior. 4) Christian Beliefs: Believed that the humanity of Christ was a necessary part of God’s plan for salvation. Gnostic Beliefs: Believed that their views on matter led most to reject the humanity of Christ and, consequently, the reality of his suffering and death.
Conclusion • Finally, by insisting that they possessed a higher wisdom revealed secretly to their predecessors by Christ, Gnostic Christians suggested that the Gospel as it was preached publicly in the churches was incomplete. • Thus, Gnostic Christianity challenged beliefs that were central to emerging mainstream Christianity and also questioned the authority of the churches founded by the Apostles. For this reason, much of the phrasing of the creeds produced by church councils in the fourth and fifth centuries was anti- Gnostic in intent.
