{"id":2827,"date":"2023-04-23T02:46:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T02:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=2827"},"modified":"2024-07-18T01:44:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T01:44:04","slug":"19-the-fourth-gosple-and-gnostic-christianity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=2827","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 19: The Fourth Gospel and Gnostic Christianity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 19<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Fourth Gospel and Gnostic Christianity<\/mark><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Origins of Gnosticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Chart outlining an example of the often complex theology of gnostics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gnosis is simply the Greek word for \u201cknowledge\u201d, though by this period in history it had come to be shorthand for \u201cesoteric spiritual truths one must attain to be saved.\u201d The salvation religions that competed with and influenced early Christianity each offered their adherents a unique brand of saving gnosis\u2014parceled out piecemeal as they passed through a sufficient number of initiations to prove their readiness.1<\/a><\/sup>Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities<\/em>. Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gnosticism, therefore, does not refer to a particular religion, but an orientation or outlook shared among various faiths.2<\/a><\/sup>Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities<\/em>. Oxford University Press.<\/span> The first Christian known to have promulgated a distinctly gnostic theology was a man named Cerinthus, active in the early 100s CE. Hailing from Egypt,3<\/a><\/sup>Irenaeus, Against Heresies.<\/span> Cerinthus seems to have been strongly influenced by the worldview of Philo Judaeus  of Alexandria whose works, as we have seen, melded the Jewish scriptures with Greek philosophy, writing of such concepts as the Logos\u2014an essence or \u201cemanation\u201d of God who came into being at the time of Creation and acts as an intermediary between humans and the ineffable supreme being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Artist depiction of the Spirit departing from the ordinary mortal body it inhabited on Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cerinthus shared Marcion\u2019s belief that the material world was created by a lesser deity he called the Demiurge (\u201cCraftsman\u201d) who was entirely unaware of the existence of a Supreme God above him. But unlike Marcion, he taught that strictly following the Jewish Law was also essential for salvation.4<\/a><\/sup>Williams, F. (2009). The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Book I. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill.<\/span> And like many later Gnostic Christians, he held that Jesus was a mere human who had been filled by the Holy Spirit at his baptism so he might preach gnosis to humankind, and then became emptied of the Spirit at his crucifixion.5<\/a><\/sup>Irenaeus, Against Heresies.<\/span> Gnostic Christians were also greatly influenced by the letters of Paul who drew stark distinctions between the perfection of the spiritual realm vs the corruption of the material world.6<\/a><\/sup>Magris, Aldo (2005). “Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations)”. In Jones, L. (ed.). (2004). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.). Macmillan Inc.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Artist depiction of Valentinus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The most successful and widespread form of Christian gnosis\u2014likely rivaling the popularity of the Marcionites and the Roman Church in its day\u2014was that taught by another Egyptian named Valentinus.7<\/a><\/sup>Cross, F. L.; Livingstone, E. A., eds. (2005). “Valentinus”. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd, Revised ed.). Oxford University Press.<\/span> This renowned charismatic orator and learned preacher8<\/a><\/sup>Brakke, D. (2010). The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity<\/em>. Harvard University Press.<\/span> held that Jesus and the apostle Paul had a set of secret teachings key to salvation (gnosis) which they kept from the public, only passing them down to a select few.9<\/a><\/sup>Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities<\/em>. Oxford University Press.<\/span> Though often referred to by their detractors as \u201cValentinians\u201d, his followers referred to themselves simply as Christians, seeing themselves as representing the true faith. The details of their  complicated theology and Creation myth varied even between communities, but can be roughly summarized as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n