Origins and Development of Gnosticism

436). That is the underlying concept of gnosis, which "involves coming to recognize the true source of divine power--namely, 'the depth' of all macrocosm" (Pagels, 1981, p. 44).

The name Gnostic was applied to the sect by the gnostics themselves (Pagels, 1981, pp. xviii-xix), as a way of describing the content of their overtake of spiritual Christianity and what could be called a minority report of a world view that differed sharply from the evolving institutional and doctrinal character of Orthodoxy. To discuss how Gnosticism evolved in the Christian era is inevitably to discuss the evolution of Christianity as well. It appears to have begun as a sectarian spiritual run that was both parallel to and in an important sense warring with the movement that was eventually to be defined as orthodox Roman Catholicism. Authorities assign the growth and challenge of Gnosticism as a type of religious alternative to orthodoxy mainly to the snatch century A.D./C.E. (passim; Green, 1982,p. 109). Green's investigation of gnosticism as a sociological phenomenon concludes that Valentinian Gnosticism whitethorn have started as a sectarian movement hardly that its texts are evidence of a relatively coherent as ordinate to institutionalize the legitimacy of its doctrines by means of standard forms of worship, despite the lack of a formal organ

On this view, Gnostics needed orthodox Christianity in order to get up a full elaboration of their spiritual case. On the opposite hand, Campbell sees gnosticism as one among many cultic responses to and aspects of the intellectual environment of the eastern Mediterranean, of which Christianity was a part. The "general association of mystical and philosophical judgment with the symbols of religion made it possible, everywhere, to pass from . . . reinvigorated verbal definitions to new iconographic combinations" across cultures and religious praxis (Campbell, 1978, p. 362). Campbell includes in his discussion not only Mediterranean religions but as well the Buddhist missions of the third century B.C. that reached into Asia Minor.

izational structure (Green, 1982, pp. 111-112).

Schepps's description of gnostics as sectarian Christians "who believed in salvation through wisdom and knowledge rather than by faith or good works" (Schepps, 1979, p. 8) is a markedly abridged but not inaccurate statement. Gnosticism is also expound as more mystical than orthodoxy and more influenced by profane Greek, especially Platonic, philosophy. In this regard, Brashler cites the Apocalypse of Peter as "a Gnostic Christology that understands delivery boy as a docetic redeemer" (Brashler, 1977, p. 338). Campbell also positions Gnosticism more generally as a docetic interpretation of Jesus Christ. As he explains:

Gnostics are identified chiefly by texts reflecting a religious point of view that differs from that of mainstream or majoritarian Christianity. Until the punt century, when orthodox doctrine began to be institutionalized as such, gnostic mind appears to have been a rival line of thought that was taken seriously by various factions of the post-apostolic church. Pagels cites some commentaries that cut into gnosticism as actually pre-Christian (not including Judaism). A number of contemporary commentators say that gnosticism has Jewish and Hellenistic intellectual roots (Yamauchi
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.