DEFINITION | GNOSTICISM

1. What is Gnosticism and its relationship to the Bible?

a) Gnosticism was a religious and philosophical movement that came to life around 100 A.D. in the Roman Empire. It believed that secret esoteric (which means only understood by a few) knowledge was the source for salvation. Only those considered special were to have it. I don't believe in this theory, since Christians are to proclaim the Gospel to everyone, even when the people hearing it don't accept it (see Matthew 28:18-20, Philippians 1:15-18, Romans 10:12-15). Also, some version of reincarnation or the transmigration of souls is involved in Gnostic theorizing, which I reject since the dead are dead and don't know anything since there's no immortal soul. Eternal life is only gained through a resurrection (see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10; 1Corinthians 15:16-19). We did not have any prior lives so life is a single one-way trip.

b) Gnostics were radical dualists, and believed matter was intrinsically evil and spirit good. This goes way too far. The author C.S. Lewis observed that God likes matter since He created it. The flesh is only evil if we choose to violate God's law, such as concerning having sex outside of marriage.

c) All variations of Gnosticism had one central belief in common in regard to the Bible. This belief was that the Old Testament was a revelation from one God while what is written in the New Testament is a revelation from a DIFFERENT God. The God of the Old Testament was evil since He created the world as per Genesis 1. No Christian could accept such views, since Jesus was the Creator God or God of the Old Testament (John 1:1-3, Ephesian 3:9). Additionally, the Bible is clear that God is perfectly good with no 'darkness' or evil in him at all (1John 1:5). The New Testament builds upon the Old Testament's authority (2Timothy 3:16-17; 1Corinthians 10:4, 11), and so the two are not opposed to each other foundationally as Gnostics believed.

d) Although the subject of Gnosticism is fairly large, we hope this brief description will motivate you to look further and study deeper into this topic.