Christian Philosopher
Although, Gnosticism is an orientation towards religion, here we focus on Gnostic Christianity as taught by Paul, John, Thomas, and Valentinus.
The Congress of Messina, meeting in 1966, made a huge mistake by defining “gnosis” as “knowledge of the divine mysteries reserved for an elite.”[1] Following their lead, many have continued to repeat this mistake. Gnosis, writes Elaine Pagels, “is not primarily rational knowledge.” Rather, it is “an intuitive process of knowing.”[2] It is, in the…
Before we talk about Gnosticism, we must define it. But defining Gnosticism has become one of the leading problems in the field. Whole books have been dedicated to the subject (See books by Karen L. King and Michael Allen Williams). The problem is that Western scholars see religion as something dealing with beliefs. So, naturally,…