Gnosticism, Etc

Every now and again, a discussion will arise that is tedious yet necessary. At Titusonenine, they are discussing gnosticism. Gnosticism is a broad term for a set of beliefs that were condemned by the church for a variety of reasons.

So, are you a gnostic? Are liberals "gnostics"? Gnostics, it is said, elevate self "knowledge" above all. And there is a lot of discussion about "knowledge" and what that means. There is less discussion of what a "self" is, and that, to me, is the root of the confusion.

How intellectually useful is the "self"? Are we autonomous, in any way, constructing private languages and making intricate, rationally chosen economic decisions every moment of our lives? I submit, merely bodily. Our consciousness is always linked to the consciousness of others. But I move to fast, dear reader. Would you recognize a gnostic if they said "hello" or asked you for a dime, or invited you to a poker game?

Gnostics traditionally believed in something called "radical dualism." The world was sinful. God, who was fully spirit, was good. Some people - not all, but the elect - understood this, and had a spark of the good trapped inside their material body. They also understood that they had the wisdom to know God and how god worked. And they knew this through various esoteric stories, secret handshakes and elaborate rituals. Often they were quite egalitarian within the group, but contemptuous of everyone else, in part because they were made of the world's "stuff" and didn't recognize the spirit inside them.

If you're the sort of person who likes secret societies, wants to be a member of a club, favors "spirit" over the world, then you might like gnosticism. You can be an intellectual [only the smart can join] or even a Southern Baptist [only the chosen, called and pious know God]. You can be a wishy-washy liberal who says only liberals know God, or a conservative who condemns the materiality of sex. But people who really like gnosticism as gnosticism are really Californians.

But then you have gnostics who say they hate gnostics. They don't like the notion that God might be material, and they like to say they know God certainly.

When people call each other gnostics, they're really just name calling. It's like saying, "you're a Republican" or "you're fat." Lots of republicans. And lots of overweight people out there. But it's not nice. People just need some help and encouragement.

Comments

[D. C.]

One of the most understandable summaries of gnosticism I've seen. My only quarrel with it is that it sets up a category of unfortunates -- people who need help and encouragement -- and then lumps us Republicans in with gnostics and overweight people -- oops, I qualify on two out of three, not just one .... :-)