Gnostic Influence On Christianity

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With the spread of Christianity during the “Jesus Movement” of the first three centuries came the phenomenon of Gnosticism. Due to a discovery of documents, The Nag Hammadi document, in Egypt (1947), the Gnostic Christians can be dated back as early as the second century and continued to have some influence and followers through the 4th century and on. The Gnostics were rival groups of mainstream Christianity and expressed their differing views on Jesus, his role, and on humanity in general. However, since the mainstream Christians were trying to establish a more unified group of followers with set beliefs, the Gnostics were not met with open arms from these mainstream Christians. Instead, writers often targeted the group to halt beliefs that contradicted those of mainstream Christianity and their view of Jesus, his connection to humans and God and the world state.
The main belief that Gnostics shared was that they have secret religious knowledge that allowed them to know the truth about the origins of the universe and who Jesus was. They believed that they gained this …show more content…

For example, Valentinus, who influenced many Gnostics from 120-160 A.D, states that there was a being that is unknown to humans, Thought, and 14 pairs of Aeons, whom made up the perfect spiritual world that is outside and before time. Since this God is completely unknowable he must not be the Jewish God of the Old Testament. Also, a disruption this spiritual world caused an escape of spiritual substance and the Jewish God created the material world to trap these spirits, which the Gnostics see as themselves, in human bodies. According to Valentinus, this entrapment is the reason Jesus was sent to u,. Jesus, who he claims is not human, but strictly divine (Epistle to Agatopous (VFrE)). brought the secret knowledge to aid the escape from material

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