What is Gnosticism?

1. Gnosticism and Early Christianity: The Valentinian School and Its Interaction with Christians in the Second Century C. E. Christopher Renshaw, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences and Honors College Faculty Mentor: Laura Stern, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences What is Gnosticism? Abstract Sources and Texts Gnosticism is a general term that refers to various religious and philosophical sects that flourished in the first few centuries C. E. There was no uniform set of beliefs among Gnostics although many of the rival sects referenced common mythologies. Some Gnostic sects were drawn to and adopted Christian beliefs while others may have originated in the Church and later left to form their own schools of thought. Common to most manifestations of Gnosticism is the concept of a fallen material world, created through a cosmological accident by an evil deity, the Demiurge. They thought humans should strive to escape the imprisonment of the physical world by recognizing the spiritual component of themselves – the divine spark that could be activated through a saving, esoteric knowledge they called gnosis. • For this study, many of the texts from the Nag Hammadi library will be used, as well as some of the writings of the opponents of Gnosticism. Some texts that are attributed to Valentinus or his followers are : • Gospel of Truth • Gospel of Philip • Letter of Ptolemaeus to Flora • Harvest – a poem believed to be written by Valentinus • Sources from opponents of Gnosticism: • Against Heresies by Irenaeus • Hippolytus’s Refutation of All Heresies • Excerpts of Theodotus by Clement Ancient Gnosticism and its interaction with early Christianity will be examined. Special attention will be paid to the later, more complex system of Gnosticism associated with Valentinus, a Second Century C.E. teacher located in Rome who would later be denounced as a heretic. The project also considers influences on the development of Gnosticism and compares its evolution with that of Christianity over the same period. Sources utilized for the study will include several Gnostic texts from the Nag Hammadi library, such as The Gospel of Truth, as well as the accounts of the heresiologists, focusing mostly on Irenaeus’ Against Heresies. School of Valentinus The example of Valentinus and his school is valuable to the historian. Valentinus was active in Rome during the mid- second century, a period when Christians were only beginning to develop an ecclesiastical structure. Likewise, interaction between Valentinians and Christians was not uncommon and they may even have attended the same religious meetings. Less is known about the Valentinian school and its adherents because so few of their writings have survived. It was not until after the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 that historians were able to begin to understand Valentiniansim. Works Cited Dunderberg, Ismo. Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus. New York: Columbia UP, 2008. McCue, James F. "Orthodoxy and Heresy: Walter Bauer and the Valentinians." Vigiliae Christianae 33.2 (1979): 118-30. Quispel, Gilles. "The Original Doctrine of Valentinus the Gnostic." Vigiliae Christianae 50.4 (1996): 327-52. Thomassen, Einar. "Orthodoxy and Heresy in Second-Century Rome." The Harvard Theological Review 97.3: 241-56. Gnosticism and Christianity Several recent studies have focused on the relation of Gnosticism to Christianity. Is it probable that Gnosticism in some way influenced Christianity? Or it is more accurate to speak of Christianity’s influence on Gnosticism? Some scholars have suggested that certain heretical teachers would not have been excluded from the church during their lifetimes. In fact, Valentinus and Marcion might have been respected within the Christian community as there was no official church doctrine at that time and it seems that a wide spectrum of beliefs was tolerated. So the issue is whether there were doctrinal boundaries – lines that could not be crossed – in nascent Christianity, which would have resulted in some beliefs being rejected as heretical. Gnostics declared heretics Perhaps what was most offensive to the orthodox critics of Gnosticism was the belief that there was a separate, malevolent god, the Demiurge, in addition to the Supreme deity. The creation myths devised by Gnostics served to demonstrate the evil nature of the physical world and the necessity of escaping to the spiritual world above. Gnostic teachers, such as Valentinus, used Biblical characters in their construction of these myths. The roles of God and humanity, however, were reversed when compared to the account of Genesis. To be granted salvation through gnosis, Adam and Eve had to disobey the Demiurge and eat the forbidden fruit, as they were urged by the serpent. Such beliefs were declared heretical – although, probably not during the lifetime of Valentinus – and led to the exclusion of Gnostics from the official Christian Church that later emerged. Acknowledgments Laura Stern, Ph. D., Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences Wendy K. Wilkins, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic AffairsGloria C. Cox, Ph.D., Dean, Honors CollegeAndrea Kirk, Ph.D., Lecturer, Honors College