Gnosticism - Wikipedia Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός, romanized: gnōstikós, Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos], 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects
Gnosticism | Definition, Texts, Movements, Influence | Britannica gnosticism, any of various related philosophical and religious movements prominent in the Greco-Roman world in the early Christian era, particularly the 2nd century The designation gnosticism is a term of modern scholarship
Gnosticism Definition and Beliefs Explained - Learn Religions Gnosticism was a second-century religious movement claiming that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge Adherents believed that the material world was created by a lesser divinity, and only through this esoteric wisdom could one transcend this flawed reality
Gnosticism - World History Encyclopedia Gnosticism is the belief that human beings contain a piece of God (the highest good or a divine spark) within themselves, which has fallen from the immaterial world into the bodies of humans
Gnosticism: Origin, Meaning and Relation to Christianity What Was Gnosticism? Gnosticism was a notable heretical movement of the 2nd-century Christian Church, partially of pre-Christian origin The gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ represented the remote supreme divine being
Gnosticism - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Gnosticism (after gnôsis, the Greek word for “knowledge” or “insight”) is the name given to a loosely organized religious and philosophical movement that flourished in the first and second centuries CE
The Gnostic World View: A Brief Summary of Gnosticism Gnosticism embraces numerous general attitudes toward life: it encourages non-attachment and non-conformity to the world, a “being in the world, but not of the world”; a lack of egotism; and a respect for the freedom and dignity of other beings
Gnosticism - Encyclopedia. com "Gnosticism" (from the Greek gnosis, "knowledge") designates a broad variety of religious teachings that were rife in the Hellenized Near East of the first centuries CE and purported to offer knowledge of the otherwise hidden truth of total reality as the indispensable key to man's salvation
The Origins of Gnosticism While scholarly views on the origins of Gnosticism present what can be a bewildering array of competing theories, they can broadly be divided into two schools of thought The first holds that Gnosticism originated outside of Christianity and later came to wrap itself in a Christian form
What Is Gnosticism: Its Origins, Beliefs, and Influence Gnosticism is an ancient belief system centered on spiritual knowledge, or “gnosis ” Rooted in a mix of early Christian, Jewish, and pagan ideas, Gnosticism offers a unique perspective on the soul’s journey and the universe Followers of Gnosticism emphasize direct, personal experience over dogma