Gnosticism is not a single thing. It is not a belief system at all. Rather, it is an orientation towards religion. So in Gnostic Christianity, the orientation is Gnostic, but the belief system is Christian. In other words, it is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ as taught by Paul, John, Thomas, and Valentinus.
In order to help the reader understand what I mean by Gnostic Christianity, I offer the following definition, taken from my book Understanding Gnosticism:
Gnostic Christianity
- aims for salvation through mystical knowledge (gnosis) of God through Christ.
- approaches Scripture as primarily myths, though they contain some historical facts.
- interpret Scripture allegorically, though some things might be literally true, the deeper truths never are.
- seek new revelations from God, and therefore is open to further Scriptural works.
- reserve secret truths for the initiated.
- follows the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Prophet, Priest, King, Messiah, Savior, and God in the flesh.
It appears to me that Sethian Gnosticism went astray, by confusing the secret teaching with gnosis (mystical experience). Jesus Christ and mystic union with God got lost in the secret teaching, occult knowledge, and myths making. Valentinus, therefore, is the true representative of the Christianity taught by Paul, John, and Thomas. Too many confuse occultist and mystics. Gnostic Christian were, in my view, mystics.
References
Jay N. Forrest, Understanding Gnosticism: Rethinking Church History, United States: Tserrof Books, 2024.