Why Gnosticism Is Irrelevant
Rather than provide an encyclopedia-style description of Gnosticism, I might be able to give you a better feel for what constituted this religion by taking you on an imaginary journey to Rome, circa A.D. 150, to participate in a secret meeting where you hear a Gnostic teacher:
Imagine that you have just participated in a Roman “house church” service in a fourth-floor insula (apartment) on the Lord’s day. As you are walking down the stairs, a well-educated man of high social status who was in the service grabs your arm and strikes up a conversation. As he speaks to you, you sense his profound dissatisfaction with the teaching in this house group. He offhandedly refers to the leaders as unenlightened. He assumes you might feel the same way, so he invites you to a private gathering on Wednesday evening. Out of curiosity, you agree to attend.
The Wednesday evening gathering is small—perhaps 25 people, many of whom you recognize as fellow-believers from various insula churches around the city. They begin with a few hymns and a prayer, all of which sound Christian, but there is something different here. The speaker then steps forward and addresses the group, which is filled with new people on this occasion.
He begins with a reading of Genesis 1 and the account of creation. He says he believes precisely what this passage says when it asserts, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” So far so good. What he says next, however, shocks you to the core. He claims that there is a hidden, unknown God existing in a kingdom of light that Genesis does not even speak of; in other words, there is a second god. He asserts that the creation was a gross mistake by this creator being who he sometimes refers to as “the Demiurge” (the creator) or Sophia. It was a mistake because reality exists in the realm of the unseen; that which is seen is destined to fall into corruption and demise. As he continues, you discern that some of what he is saying sounds much like Plato’s view that there are invisible archetypes that stand behind the material creation and that the body is a prison house for the soul. Nevertheless, there are so many Old Testament and Jewish elements in what he says that you have a hard time figuring out his precise background and orientation.
As he teaches over the course of the next hour, he covers numerous topics including cosmology, the role of the savior, the nature of redemption, and the invisible world of angels and spirits. You sense that others in the group, especially those who are better educated, are convinced and excited about what he is saying. To them it makes sense philosophically—especially for understanding the problem of evil in the world. You begin to realize that this teaching will present a serious challenge to the church.
At the end of the time, he provides an opportunity to ask questions, so you take advantage of this:
You: “Thank you for your lecture and presentation. I would like to know what the implications are for the church. At the heart of the Gospel is the teaching that Christ died for my sins according to the Scripture. Do you believe this is true?”
The Teacher: This depends on what people mean by “sin.” In our way of thinking, sin is not so much an offense against the will of the creator god, but a state of ignorance. Sin is a lack of awareness that each person bears a “divine spark” from the unknown God, the Father, that longs to be freed from the shackles of material existence and reunited with the incorruptible God in the kingdom of light.
“So, the bigger problem is my body. In your way of thinking, how do I break free from it?”
Leave your church, commit yourself to our group, and we will reveal to you the knowledge (gnõsis) that you need to prepare for the day that you do break free. That will happen on the day of your death when your spirit can embark on the dangerous journey through the planetary spheres.
“What dangerous journey?”
When your spirit separates from you body, you will ascend through planetary spheres, each of which is ruled over by a powerful spirit ruler (an archõn). It is vital for you to prepare now for this ascent to the kingdom of light so that you know the proper passwords, have the right spells and formulas, to successfully navigate to the invisible realm of the unknown god.
“Where did you get this knowledge?”
When the redeemer came, he shared this knowledge with people he could trust. None of this is in your Bible. It is contained in documents that we now possess like “The Secret Teaching of John” (Apocryphon of John)—a book that contains mysteries that Jesus taught to John, the son of Zebedee, after the “resurrection.”