Gnosticism is not a specific heretical movement in church history, but rather a broad umbrella term categorizing a loose collection of false beliefs.
Questions concerning the origins of Gnosticism are still unsolved. Some think Gnosticism originated as a heresy that diverted from orthodox Christian teaching, while others see the movement as an independent, non-Christian movement stemming from paganism.
What does it mean?
Everett Ferguson breaks down the diverse teachings of Gnosticism into eight categories:
- A preoccupation with the problem of evil
- A sense of alienation from the world
- A desire for special and intimate knowledge of the secrets of the universe
- A psychological (body and soul) and ethical (good and evil) dualism
- A cosmology wherein all beings are derivative from the first, originating principle
- A hierarchical anthropology of different classes of human beings with fixed destinies
- A radically realized eschatology that denied the resurrection of the dead
- A variety of ethical implications ranging from libertinism and asceticism - Continue Reading>>>
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