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    Gnosticism

    What do people here think about gnosticism? I've been reading about the subject for the past two days and find the belief structure to be fascinating where I can't stop reading about it. A majority of gnostic sources are Christian in origin however I'm more interested in pagan gnosticism like Hermeticism.

    I'm starting to think of all Abrahamic beliefs relating to the Demiurge where paganism is the way to transcend all of it spiritually.


    Some try to say pre Christian gnosticism is absent historically but I don't believe this for a moment since the character of gnosticism seems to be a very pagan one especially going into Egyptian Hermeticism.

    This becomes very apparent understanding a pre Christian pagan element to gnosticism especially when reading about Flavius Claudius Iulianus Augustus.
    Last edited by Pythagoras; 04 Jun 2019, 18:05.
    "When Zeus was setting all things in order there fell from him drops of sacred blood, and from them, as they say, arose the race of men."- Flavius Claudius Iulianus Augustus



    #2
    Re: Gnosticism

    I don't agree with primacy of spirit or consider the material to be, shall we say, subpar.
    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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      #3
      Re: Gnosticism

      Originally posted by Pythagoras View Post
      What do people here think about gnosticism? I've been reading about the subject for the past two days and find the belief structure to be fascinating where I can't stop reading about it. A majority of gnostic sources are Christian in origin however I'm more interested in pagan gnosticism like Hermeticism.

      I'm starting to think of all Abrahamic beliefs relating to the Demiurge where paganism is the way to transcend all of it spiritually.


      Some try to say pre Christian gnosticism is absent historically but I don't believe this for a moment since the character of gnosticism seems to be a very pagan one especially going into Egyptian Hermeticism.

      This becomes very apparent understanding a pre Christian pagan element to gnosticism especially when reading about Flavius Claudius Iulianus Augustus.
      I love a lot of aspects of it (and especially since it, along with Hermeticism, drew from Neoplatonic thought in a more direct manner than the New Testament) but it does tend to be too dualistic in the manner of not rising above the false dichotomies that mainstream Christianity itself is trapped in. It tends to be the area that a more metaphorical understanding is more beneficial. Aside from that I can't help but see the folly in emanationism either way.
      Reading the many Gnostic texts are very enjoyable however and there's always something awesome to find and discover!

      The concept of Gnosis (Ihsan/Irfan, Jnana, Bodhi etc) itself, however, is another topic entirely, to which it is my central focus in life.
      Last edited by LuxNur; 11 Dec 2019, 16:24.

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        #4
        Re: Gnosticism

        If I remember correctly, gnosticism found its roots in Alexandria where the big minds all got together to discuss 'big things' in philosophy. Hermeticism was absolutely represented, as was Judaism, certain forms of paganism, and a new and forming Christianity. Gnosticism grew out of a blend of the great philosophies of the time.

        I have a soft spot for gnosticism, and studied it a fair bit several years ago. It draws me in, to be sure!
        Last edited by cesara; 13 Dec 2019, 08:00.
        Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

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