Gnosticism

Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek γνωστικός (gnōstikós) 'having knowledge'; Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos]) is a collection of religious and philosophical ideas and systems that coalesced in the late first century AD among early Christian sects and the sects of other religions.^[1] These diverse groups were concerned with basic questions of existence and emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions.^[2] Gnostics generally believed in a supreme being, the Monad, who emanates divine beings; one, Sophia, creates the flawed demiurge who makes the material world, trapping souls until they regain divine knowledge. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment.^[3]

Although the exact origins of Gnosticism cannot be traced,^[1] it likely originated in the late first and early second centuries around Alexandria, influenced by Jewish-Christian sects, Hellenistic Judaism, Middle Platonism, and diverse religious ideas; scholars debate whether it arose as an intra-Christian movement, from Jewish mystical traditions, or from other sources. Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean world around the second century, when the Early Church Fathers denounced them as heresy.^[4] Efforts to destroy these texts were largely successful, resulting in the survival of very little writing by Gnostic theologians.^[5] Nonetheless, early Gnostic teachers such as Valentinus saw themselves as Christians. Gnostic views of Jesus varied, seeing him as a divine revealer, enlightened human, spirit without a body, false messiah, or one among several saviors.

Judean–Israelite Gnosticism, including the Mandaeans and Elkesaites, blended Jewish-Christian ideas with Gnostic beliefs focused on baptism and the cosmic struggle between light and darkness, with the Mandaeans still practicing ritual purity today. Syriac–Egyptian groups like Sethianism and Valentinianism combined Platonic philosophy and Christian themes, seeing the material world as flawed but not wholly evil. Other traditions include the Basilideans, Marcionites, Thomasines, and Manichaeism, known for its cosmic dualism. After declining in the Mediterranean, Gnosticism persisted near the Byzantine Empire and resurfaced in medieval Europe with groups like the Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars, who were accused of Gnostic traits. Islamic and medieval Kabbalistic thought also reflect some Gnostic ideas, while modern revivals and discoveries such as the Nag Hammadi texts have influenced numerous thinkers and churches up to the present day.

Before the 1945 discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, knowledge of Gnosticism came mainly from biased and incomplete heresiological writings; the recovered Gnostic texts revealed a very diverse and complex early Christian landscape. Some scholars say Gnosticism may contain historical information about Jesus from the Gnostic viewpoint,^[6] although the majority conclude that apocryphal sources, Gnostic or not, are later than the canonical sources and many, such as the Gospel of Thomas, depended on or used the Synoptic Gospels.^[7][8][9] Elaine Pagels has noted the influence of sources from Hellenistic Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Middle Platonism on the Nag Hammadi texts.^[5] Academic studies of Gnosticism have evolved from viewing it as a Christian heresy or Greek-influenced aberration to recognizing it as a diverse set of movements with complex Jewish, Persian, and philosophical roots; consequently, modern scholars question the usefulness of "Gnosticism" as a unified category and favor more precise classifications based on texts, traditions, and socio-religious contexts.^[10][11][12]