What is Gnosticism?

What is Gnosticism?

Gnosticism refers to various ancient religious movements from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE that were prominent alongside early Christianity. The name comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "knowledge." Gnostics believed that salvation is achieved through special, secret knowledge about the universe and a person's divine origin, rather than through faith alone.

They taught that the physical world is flawed and was created by a lesser, ignorant deity, often called the Demiurge, rather than the true, supreme God. According to Gnostic belief, humans have a divine spark trapped within their physical bodies. This spark can be freed through gnosis, allowing it to return to the spiritual realm of the true God. This dualistic view—where spirit is good and matter is evil—was central to Gnostic teachings.

These ideas were condemned as heresy by early Christian leaders but have influenced later mystical and esoteric traditions. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 provided direct access to these previously lost Gnostic writings.

The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of thirteen ancient books, or codices, containing a total of 52 individual texts. Found in Egypt in 1945, these documents were mostly written in Coptic, and their discovery greatly expanded knowledge about Gnosticism and early Christianity. Many of the texts had been lost to history.

The library includes a wide variety of writings, such as gospels, apocalypses, treatises, and philosophical discussions. Some are explicitly Christian, others are Gnostic, and a few represent other traditions like Hermeticism.

Some of the most notable texts include:

The Gospel of Thomas: A collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus, emphasizing salvation through knowledge.

The Gospel of Philip: A Gnostic text that discusses sacraments, the role of Mary Magdalene, and Jesus as a spiritual revealer.

The Apocryphon of John: A detailed Gnostic creation myth describing the supreme God and the origin of the evil Demiurge.

The Gospel of Truth: A Valentinian Gnostic text outlining a path to spiritual knowledge.

The Hypostasis of the Archons: An account of the world's creation and the conflict between spiritual forces and the Archons, or cosmic rulers.

Core Concepts of Gnosticism
Gnosis: The central pillar of Gnosticism, meaning "knowledge" or direct, mystical insight into divine truths. It's not intellectual but an experiential realization of one's true spiritual nature, leading to liberation from the material world.

Dualism: A worldview that divides reality into opposing forces: the transcendent spiritual realm (good, light, divine) versus the material world (evil, dark, illusory).

Monad: Also called the One or Bythos, the Monad is the ultimate, ineffable supreme being and the absolute source of all existence.

Pleroma: The "fullness" or harmonious spiritual realm inhabited by the Monad and its emanations. It symbolizes the true home of divine beings, in contrast to the deficient material cosmos.

Aeons: Eternal, divine emanations or hypostases from the Monad, existing in male-female pairs (syzygies) within the Pleroma. They represent various aspects of the divine mind.

Sophia: "Wisdom," a key aeon whose passionate desire or mistake causes a rupture in the Pleroma. Her fall leads to the creation of the Demiurge and matter.

Demiurge: The "craftsman" or ignorant creator god (often called Yaldabaoth) who fashions the physical universe from chaos, believing himself to be the supreme deity. He is often identified with the Old Testament God.

Archons: "Rulers" or planetary authorities created by the Demiurge to govern the material world. These tyrannical beings enforce fate and illusion, blocking the soul's ascent to the Pleroma.

Divine Spark: The immortal, spiritual essence within humans, originating from the Pleroma. Trapped in the body, it awakens through gnosis, enabling escape from reincarnation and return to the divine.

Salvation: Achieved not by works, faith, or sacrifice, but by gnosis—the realization of one's divine origin and the transcendence of the Demiurge's illusions.