The Gnostic belief system contained a multifaceted and complex belief system which remains in circulation today probably more than any other heresy in the history of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
Who Were the Gnostics?
Gnostics were profoundly mystical people who were constantly seeking an interior experience of God. This personal experience of God which would free them from worldly attachments was of more importance to them than dogma.
Gnostics believed there was a secret oral tradition that contained a higher and more secret teaching than the Gospels.
Though many books remain in circulation today of the Gnostic writings, it was still considered absolutely essential that the individual have a personal experience of God. Reading the texts would not be enough.
Where the beliefs became more controversial occurred with their views of a good and evil God which ruled this world and the next. It was the Gnostic view that an evil God ruled the earth, and one had to transcend the God of this world in order to reach the good God beyond.
Although this can be initially seen as a bizarre belief, it is not that different from Christianity in the sense that Jesus Christ said the world belonged to Lucifer. Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world, while Satan’s kingdom was this world.
It was very important for Gnostics to open up to the spiritual realities in order to actually become true followers of Christ and to begin to really know themselves. As a result, the Gnostics separated followers into three categories:
- Spiritually Advanced Pneumatics
- The Less Aware Psychics
- Totally Materialistic Somatics
Another area where Gnostic texts differed from Christian Texts was in the inclusion of women. Gnostic writings were often written by women and Jesus was purported to have many women followers along with the male disciples.
Heresy According to the Early Church Fathers
Although the Early Church Fathers were never able to fully squelch the Gostic heresy, they had very strong views against them.
“Those, moreover, who follow Valentinus, make copious use of the Gospel according to John to illustrate their conjunctions. However, they, too, will be proved to be totally in error.” according to (Irenaeus) A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers.
The Great Gnostic Teacher, Valentinus
Valentinus was a powerful and important teacher of Gnosticism in his time. Valentinus was known to say that Jesus had said “I became very small, so that through my humility I might take you up to the great height when you had fallen," according to the Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics.
Valentinus himself wrote a book which became known as The Gospel of Truth. In it, Valentinus was quoted as saying, ”Ignorance ...brought about by anguish and terror. And the anguish grew solid like a fog, so that no one was able to see. For this reason, error is powerful...Whoever has not known himself has known nothing, but he who has known himself has at the same time already achieved knowledge about the depths of all things.” (Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics) This simple explanation sums up the basis of Gnosic teachings quite well.
Other interesting heresies include the Free Spirit brotherhood and the Gugliemites.
Sources:
- Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics, by Charles S. Clifton.
- A Catholic Dictionary, by William E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, M.A.
- Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, by Dr. Ludwig Ott
- A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present, by Bernhard Lohse.
- The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325 - 1870, by Philip Hughes.
- A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers, Edited by David W. Bercot.
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