A Companion to epistemology, second edition. Second edition. Edited by Dennis Patterson. A Companion to philosophy of Religion, second edition. Edited by Charles Taliaferro, Paul Draper, and Philip L. Existentialism: Basic Writings, Richard Rorty, The Cambridge Companion to Heidegger, and two short.

• • • Gnosticism (from: γνωστικός gnostikos, 'having knowledge', from γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) is a modern name for a variety of ancient religious ideas and systems, originating in Jewish in the first and second century AD. Based on their readings of the and other Biblical writings, [ ] these systems believed that the material world is created by an emanation of the highest God, trapping the within the human body. This Divine spark could be liberated by of this Divine spark.

The Gnostic ideas and systems flourished in the Mediterranean world in the second century AD, in conjunction with and influenced by the early Christian movements and. After the Second Century, a decline set in, but Gnosticism persisted throughout the centuries as an undercurrent of western culture, remanifesting with the as, taking prominence with modern. In the Persian Empire, Gnosticism spread as far as China with, while is still alive in Iraq.

A major question in scholarly research is the qualification of Gnosticism, based on the study of its texts, as either an interreligious phenomenon or as an independent religion. Main article: Gnosis refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is or esoteric based on direct participation with the divine. In most Gnostic systems, the sufficient cause of salvation is this 'knowledge of' ('acquaintance with') the divine. It is an inward 'knowing,' comparable to that encouraged by (), and differs from Christian proto-orthodox views. The usual meaning of gnostikos in Classical Greek texts is 'learned' or 'intellectual', such as used by Plato in the comparison of 'practical' ( praktikos) and 'intellectual' ( gnostikos).

Plato's use of 'learned' is fairly typical of Classical texts. By the, it began to also be associated with, becoming synonymous with the Greek term musterion. The adjective is not used in the New Testament, but speaks of the 'learned' ( gnostikos) Christian in complimentary terms. The use of gnostikos in relation to heresy originates with interpreters of. Some scholars consider that Irenaeus sometimes uses gnostikos to simply mean 'intellectual', whereas his mention of 'the intellectual sect' is a specific designation. The term 'Gnosticism' does not appear in ancient sources, and was first coined in the 17th Century by in a commentary on the seven letters of the, where More used the term 'Gnosticisme' to describe the heresy in. The term Gnosticism was derived from the use of the Greek adjective gnostikos (Greek γνωστικός, 'learned,' 'intellectual') by St.

185 AD) to describe the school of as he legomene gnostike haeresis 'the heresy called Learned (gnostic).' Origins [ ] The earliest origins of Gnosticism are obscure and still disputed. The Christian groups called Gnostics a branch of Christianity, [ ] but according to the modern scholars the theology's origin is closely related to Jewish sectarian milieus and early Christian sects. Gnostics seem to have originated in and coexisted with the early Christians until the 4th Century AD. Because there was as yet no fixed church authority, with pre-existing belief systems as well as new religions was often embraced. Some scholars prefer to speak of 'gnosis' when referring to First Century ideas that later developed into gnosticism, and to reserve the term 'gnosticism' for the synthesis of these ideas into a coherent movement in the Second Century. No gnostic texts have been discovered that pre-date Christianity, and 'pre-Christian Gnosticism as such is hardly attested in a way to settle the debate once and for all.'

Judeo-Christian origins [ ]. See also: and Contemporary scholarship largely agrees that Gnosticism has Jewish or Judeo-Christian origins, originating in the late First Century AD in nonrabbinical Jewish sects and early Christian sects. Many heads of gnostic schools were identified as by Church Fathers, and Hebrew words and names of God were applied in some gnostic systems. The speculations among Christian Gnostics had partial origins in and.

This theses is most notably put forward by (1897–1982) and (1916–2006). Scholem detected Jewish gnosis in the imagery of the, which can also be found in 'Christian' Gnostic documents, for example Paul's ascension to the. Quispel sees Gnosticism as an independent Jewish development, tracing its origins to Alexandrian Jews, to which group Valentinus was also connected. According to Robert M.

Dare Nabi Par Para Rahon Ga Naat Mp3 Free Download. Grant, Gnosticism developed out of 'the remains of apocalyptic eschatological expectations after the fall of Jerusalem', which shattered the hopes of the coming of God's kingdom on earth and led to a rejection of the world. Gnosticism united material from the 'outer fringes of Judaism' such as the and the Diaspora Judaism of the Aramaic Syro-Mesopotamian world. Many of the make reference to Judaism, in some cases with a violent rejection of the Jewish God.

Once described Gnosticism as 'the Greatest case of metaphysical anti-Semitism'. Professor said gnosticism would be better characterized as.

Recent research into the origins of Gnosticism shows a strong Jewish influence, particularly from literature. Within early Christianity, the teachings of Paul and John may have been a starting point for Gnostic ideas, with a growing emphasis on the opposition between flesh and spirit, the value of charisma, and the disqualification of the Jewish law.

The mortal body belonged to the world of the archons, and only the spirit or soul could be saved. The term gnostikos may have acquired a deeper significance here. Alexandria was of central importance for the birth of Gnosticism. The Christian ecclesia was of Jewish–Christian origin, but also attracted Greek members, and various strand of thought were available, such as 'Judaic,, Greek philosophy, and Hellenistic.' Regarding the angel Christology of some early Christians, Darrell Hannah notes: [Some] early Christians understood the pre-incarnate Christ, ontologically, as an angel.

This 'true' angel Christology took many forms and may have appeared as early as the late First Century, if indeed this is the view opposed in the early chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Elchasaites, or at least Christians influenced by them, paired the male Christ with the female Holy Spirit, envisioning both as two gigantic angels. Some Valentinian Gnostics supposed that Christ took on an angelic nature that he might be the Saviour of angels. The author of the Testament of Solomon held Christ to be a particularly effective 'thwarting' angel in the exorcism of demons. The author of De Centesima and Epiphanius’ 'Ebionites' held Christ to have been the highest and most important of the first created archangels, a view similar in many respects to Hermas’ equation of Christ with Michael. Finally, a possible exegetical tradition behind the Ascension of Isaiah and attested by Origen's Hebrew master, may witness to yet another angel Christology, as well as an angel Pneumatology. The Christian text identifies Jesus with angel Christology: [The Lord Christ is commissioned by the Father] And I heard the voice of the Most High, the father of my LORD as he said to my LORD Christ who will be called Jesus, ‘Go out and descend through all the heavens.

Is a Christian literary work considered as by some of the early such as. Jesus is identified with angel Christology in parable 5, when the author mentions a Son of God, as a virtuous man filled with a Holy 'pre-existent spirit'. Neoplatonic influences [ ]. See also:,, and In the 1880s Gnostic connections with neo-Platonism were proposed.

Ugo Bianchi, who organised the Congress of Medina of 1966 on the origins of Gnosticism, also argued for Orphic and Platonic origins. Gnostics borrowed significant ideas and terms from Platonism, [ ] using Greek philosophical concepts throughout their text, including such concepts as (reality, existence), (essence, substance, being), and demiurge (creator God).

Both Gnostics and Gnostics seem to have been influenced by,, and academies or schools of thought. Both schools attempted 'an effort towards conciliation, even affiliation' with late antique philosophy, and were rebuffed by some, including Plotinus. Persian origins or influences [ ] Early research into the origins of Gnosticism proposed Persian origins or influences, spreading to Europe and incorporating Jewish elements. According to (1865–1920), Gnosticism was a form of Iranian and Mesopotamian syncretism, and (1861–1931) most famously situated the origins of Gnosticism in Persia.

Carsten Colpe (b. 1929) has analyzed and criticised the Iranian hypothesis of Reitzenstein, showing that many of his hypotheses are untenable. Nevertheless, Geo Widengren (1907–1996) argued for the origin of (Mandaean) Gnosticism in (Zoroastrianism), in conjunction with ideas from the Aramaic Mesopotamian world. Buddhist parallels [ ].

This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged and. (July 2017) () The Syrian–Egyptian traditions postulate a remote, supreme Godhead, the. From this highest divinity lower divine beings, known as. The Demiurge, one of those Aeons, creates the physical world. Divine elements 'fall' into the material realm, and are locked within human beings. This divine element returns to the divine realm when Gnosis, or of the divine element within, is obtained.

Dualism and monism [ ] Gnostic systems postulate a between God and the world, varying from the 'radical dualist' systems of to the 'mitigated dualism' of classic gnostic movements. Radical dualism, or absolute dualism, posits two co-equal divine forces, while in mitigated dualism one of the two principles is in some way inferior to the other.

In qualified monism the second entity may be divine or semi-divine. Valentinian Gnosticism is a form of, expressed in terms previously used in a dualistic manner. [ ] Moral and ritual practice [ ] Gnostics tended toward, especially in their sexual and dietary practice. In other areas of morality, Gnostics were less rigorously ascetic, and took a more moderate approach to correct behaviour. In normative early Christianity the administered and prescribed the correct behaviour for Christians, while in Gnosticism it was the internalised motivation that was important.

Ritualistic behaviour was not important unless it was based on a personal, internal motivation. Ptolemy's Epistle to Flora describes a general asceticism, based on the moral inclination of the individual. Concepts [ ] Monad [ ].

Main article: Pleroma (Greek πληρωμα, 'fullness') refers to the totality of God's powers. The heavenly pleroma is the center of divine life, a region of light 'above' (the term is not to be understood spatially) our world, occupied by spiritual beings such as aeons (eternal beings) and sometimes archons. Jesus is interpreted as an intermediary aeon who was sent from the pleroma, with whose aid humanity can recover the lost knowledge of the divine origins of humanity.

The term is thus a central element of Gnostic. Pleroma is also used in the general Greek language, and is used by the in this general form, since the word appears in the book of. Proponents of the view that, such as, view the reference in Colossians as a term that has to be interpreted in a gnostic sense. Emanation [ ]. Main article: In late antiquity some variants of Gnosticism used the term archon to refer to several servants of the demiurge.

In this context they may be seen as having the roles of the and demons of the. According to 's, a sect called the posited the existence of seven archons, beginning with Iadabaoth or Ialdabaoth, who created the six that follow: Iao,, Adonaios, Elaios, Astaphanos, and Horaios.

Similarly to the and, a form of, Ialdabaoth had a head of a lion. Other concepts [ ] Other Gnostic concepts are: • – earthly, hidebound, ignorant, uninitiated. The lowest level of human thought; the fleshly, instinctive level of thinking. • – lowest order of the three types of human. Unable to be saved since their thinking is entirely material, incapable of understanding the gnosis. • psychic – 'soulful', partially initiated.

Matter-dwelling spirits • – 'spiritual', fully initiated, immaterial souls escaping the doom of the material world via gnosis. • – the visible or manifest cosmos, 'lower' than the pleroma • – gift, or energy, bestowed by pneumatics through oral teaching and personal encounters • – the divine ordering principle of the cosmos; personified as Christ. • – literally 'that which stands beneath' the inner reality, emanation (appearance) of God, known to psychics • – essence of God, known to pneumatics. Specific individual things or being. Jesus as Gnostic saviour [ ] Jesus is identified by some Gnostics as an embodiment of the who became to bring gnōsis to the earth, while others adamantly denied that the supreme being came in the flesh, claiming Jesus to be merely a human who attained divinity through gnosis and taught his disciples to do the same. [ ] Among the, Jesus was considered a mšiha kdaba or ' who perverted the teachings entrusted to him.

Still other traditions identify and – third son of – as salvific figures. Development [ ] Three periods can be discerned in the development of Gnosticism: • Late First Century and early Second Century: development of Gnostic ideas, contemporaneous with the writing of the New Testament; • mid-Second Century to early Third Century: high point of the classical Gnostic teachers and their systems, 'who claimed that their systems represented the inner truth revealed by Jesus'; • end of Second Century to Fourth Century: reaction by the proto-orthodox church and condemnation as heresy, and subsequent decline. During the first period, four types of tradition developed: • Genesis was reinterpreted in Jewish milieus, viewing Jahweh as a jealous God who enslaved people; freedom was to be obtained from this jealous God; • A wisdom tradition developed, in which Jesus' sayings were interpreted as pointers to an esoteric wisdom, in which the soul could be divinized through identification with wisdom. Some of Jesus' sayings may have been incorporated into the gospels to put a limit on this development. The conflicts described in 1 Corinthians may have been inspired by a clash between this wisdom tradition and Paul's gospel of crucifixion and arising; • A soteriology developed from popular forms of Platonism in which the soul ascended to union with the Divine; • A mythical story developed about the descent of a heavenly creature to reveal the Divine world as the true home of human beings. Jewish Christianity saw the Messiah, or Christ, as 'an eternal aspect of God's hidden nature, his 'spirit' and 'truth', who revealed himself throughout sacred history'. The movement spread in areas controlled by the and Goths, and the.

It continued to develop in the Mediterranean and Middle East before and during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, but decline also set in during the Third Century, due to a growing aversion from the Catholic Church, and the economic and cultural deterioration of the Roman Empire. Conversion to Islam, and the (1209–1229), greatly reduced the remaining number of Gnostics throughout the Middle Ages, though a few Mandaean communities still exist. Gnostic and pseudo-gnostic ideas became influential in some of the philosophies of various esoteric movements of the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and North America, including some that explicitly identify themselves as revivals or even continuations of earlier gnostic groups. Relation with early Christianity [ ] Dillon notes that Gnosticism raises questions about the development of. Orthodoxy and heresy [ ]. See also: The Christian heresiologists, most notably, regarded Gnosticism as a Christian heresy. Modern scholarship notes that early Christianity was very diverse, and Christian orthodoxy only settled in the 4th Century, when the Roman Empire declined and Gnosticism lost its influence.

Gnostics and proto-orthodox Christians shared some terminology. Initially, they were hard to distinguish from each other. According to Walter Bauer, 'heresies' may well have been the original form of Christianity in many regions. This theme was further developed by Elaine Pagels, who argues that 'the proto-orthodox church found itself in debates with gnostic Christians that helped them to stabilize their own beliefs.' According to Gilles Quispel, Catholicism arose in response to Gnosticism, establishing safeguards in the form of the, the, and the of holy books. Historical Jesus [ ].

See also: and The Gnostic movements may contain information about the historical Jesus, since some texts preserve sayings which show similarities with canonical sayings. Especially the Gospel of Thomas has a significant amount of parallel sayings.

Yet, a striking difference is that the canonical sayings center on the coming endtime, while the Thomas-sayings center on a kingdom of heaven that is already here, and not a future event. According to Koester, this is because the Thomas-sayings are older, implying that in the earliest forms of Christianity Jesus was regarded as a wisdom-teacher. An alternative hypothesis states that the Thomas authors wrote in the Second Century, changing existing sayings and eliminating the apocalyptic concerns. According to April DeConinck, such a change occurred when the endtime did not come, and the Thomasine tradition turned toward a 'new theology of mysticism' and a 'theological commitment to a fully-present kingdom of heaven here and now, where their church had attained Adam and Eve's divine status before the Fall.' Johannine literature [ ] The prologue of the describes the incarnated Logos, the light that came to earth, in the person of Jesus. The Apocryphon of John contains a scheme of three descendants from the heavenly realm, the third one being Jesus, just as in the Gospel of John. The similarities probably point to a relationship between gnostic ideas and the Johannine community.

According to Raymond Brown, the Gospel of John shows 'the development of certain gnostic ideas, especially Christ as heavenly revealer, the emphasis on light versus darkness, and anti-Jewish animus.' The Johannine material reveals debates about the redeemer myth.

The Johannine letters show that there were different interpretations of the gospel story, and the Johannine images may have contributed to Second Century Gnostic ideas about Jesus as a redeemer who descended from heaven. According to DeConinck, the Gospel of John shows a 'transitional system from early Christianity to gnostic beliefs in a God who transcends our world.' According to DeConinck, the John shows a beginning bifurcation between Jesus' 'Father in Heaven,' and the Jews 'Father of the Devil,' which may have developed into the gnostic idea of the Monad and the Demiurge. Paul and Gnosticism [ ] calls Paul 'the apostle of the heretics', because Paul's writings were attractive to gnostics, and interpreted in a gnostic way, while Jewish Christians found him to stray from the Jewish roots of Christianity.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church members as 'having knowledge' (: τον εχοντα γνωσιν, ton echonta gnosin). Dunn claims that in some cases, Paul affirmed views that were closer to gnosticism than to proto-orthodox Christianity. According to, the disciples of Valentinus said that Valentinus was a student of a certain, who was a student of Paul, and Elaine Pagels notes that Paul's epistles were interpreted by Valentinus in a gnostic way, and Paul could be considered a proto- as well as a proto.

Many Nag Hammadi texts, including, for example, the Prayer of Paul and the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, consider Paul to be 'the great apostle'. The fact that he claimed to have received his gospel directly by revelation from God appealed to the gnostics, who claimed gnosis from the risen Christ. The Naasenes, Cainites, and Valentinians referred to Paul's epistles. Authors such as Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy have expanded upon this idea of Paul as a gnostic teacher; nevertheless, Paul does not claim to be a gnostic, and his revelation was different from the gnostic revelations. Major movements [ ] Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism [ ] Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism includes,,, Thomasine traditions, and Serpent Gnostics, as well as a number of other minor groups and writers. Super Street Fighter 2 Hd Remix Download Pc more.

Hermeticism is also a western Gnostic tradition, though it differs in some respects from these other groups. The Syrian–Egyptian school derives much of its outlook from Platonist influences. It depicts creation in a series of from a primal monadic source, finally resulting in the creation of the material universe. These schools tend to view evil in terms of matter that is markedly inferior to goodness and lacking spiritual insight and goodness rather than as an equal force. Many of these movements used texts related to Christianity, with some identifying themselves as specifically Christian, though quite different from the or forms.

And several of his apostles, such as, claimed as the founder of the, figure in many Gnostic texts. Is respected as a Gnostic leader, and is considered superior to the by some gnostic texts, such as the. Is claimed as a Gnostic by some Gnostic interpreters, as is even. Most of the literature from this category is known to us through the Nag Hammadi Library. Sethite-Barbeloite [ ]. Main article: Sethianism was one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd to 3rd centuries, and the prototype of Gnosticism as condemned by Irenaeus. Sethianism attributed its gnosis to, third son of and, wife of, who also plays a role in and.

Their main text is the Apocryhon of John, which does not contain Christian elements, and is an amalgam of two earlier myths. Earlier texts such as show signs of being pre-Christian and focus on the Seth, third son of Adam and Eve. Later Sethian texts continue to interact with Platonism. Sethian texts such as and draw on the imagery of older Sethian texts, but utilize 'a large fund of philosophical conceptuality derived from contemporary Platonism, (that is, late middle Platonism) with no traces of Christian content.' According to, German and American scholarship views Sethianism as 'a distinctly inner-Jewish, albeit syncretistic and heterodox, phenomenon', while British and French scholarship tends to see Sethianism as 'a form of heterodox Christian speculation'. Roelof van den Broek notes that 'Sethianism' may never have been a separate religious movement, and that the term refers rather to a set of mythological themes which occur in various texts. According to Smith, Sethianism may have begun as a pre-Christian tradition, possibly a cult that incorporated elements of Christianity and Platonism as it grew.

According to Temporini, Vogt, and Haase, early Sethians may be identical to or related to the, the, or the sectarian group called. According to Turner, Sethianism was influenced by and, and originated in the Second Century as a fusion of a Jewish baptizing group of possibly priestly lineage, the so-called Barbeloites, named after, the first emanation of the Highest God, and a group of Bibilical exegetes, the Sethites, the 'seed of '. At the end of the Second Century, Sethianism grew apart from the developing Christian orthodoxy, which rejected the view of the Sethians on Christ. In the early Third Century, Sethianism was fully rejected by Christian heresiologists, as Sethianism shifted toward the contemplative practices of Platonism while losing interest in their own origins. In the late Third Century, Sethianism was attacked by neo-Platonists like, and Sethianism became alienated from Platonism. In the early- to mid-Fourth Century, Sethianism fragmented into various sectarian Gnostic groups such as the, Audians,, and Phibionites, and perhaps, and Secundians).

Some of these groups existed into the Middle Ages. Samaritan Baptist sects [ ] According to Magris, Samaritan Baptist sects were an offshoot of. One offshoot was in turn headed by,, and. It was in this milieu that the idea emerged that the world was created by ignorant angels. Their baptismal ritual removed the consequences of sin, and led to a regeneration by which natural death, which was caused by these angels, was overcome.

The Samaritan leaders were viewed as 'the embodiment of God's power, spirit, or wisdom, and as the redeemer and revealer of 'true knowledge '. The were centered on Simon Magus, the magician baptised by Philip and rebuked by Peter in Acts 8, who became in early Christianity the archetypal false teacher. The ascription by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and others of a connection between schools in their time and the individual in Acts 8 may be as legendary as the stories attached to him in various apocryphal books.

Justin Martyr identifies Menander of Antioch as Simon Magus' pupil. According to Hippolytus, Simonianism is an earlier form of the. The or Basilideans were founded by of in the Second Century. Basilides claimed to have been taught his doctrines by Glaucus, a disciple of, but could also have been a pupil of Menander.

Basilidianism survived until the end of the 4th Century as knew of Basilidians living in the Delta. It was, however, almost exclusively limited to, though according to it seems to have found an entrance into through a certain Mark from. States that the were infected with it. Valentinianism [ ]. Main article: Valentinianism was named after its founder (c. 100 – 180), who was a candidate for of Rome but started his own group when another was chosen.

Valentinianism flourished after the middle of the 2nd Century. The school was popular, spreading to Northwest Africa and Egypt, and through to Asia Minor and Syria in the east, and Valentinus is specifically named as gnostikos by Irenaeus. It was an intellectually vibrant tradition, with an elaborate and philosophically 'dense' form of Gnosticism. Valentinus' students elaborated on his teachings and materials, and several varieties of their central myth are known. Valentinian Gnosticism may have been monistic rather than dualistic.

In the Valentinian myths, the creation of a flawed materiality is not due to any moral failing on the part of the Demiurge, but due to the fact that he is less perfect than the superior entities from which he emanated. Valentinians treat physical reality with less contempt than other Gnostic groups, and conceive of materiality not as a separate substance from the divine, but as attributable to an error of perception which becomes symbolized mythopoetically as the act of material creation. The followers of attempted to systematically decode the Epistles, claiming that most Christians made the mistake of reading the Epistles literally rather than allegorically. Valentinians understood the conflict between Jews and Gentiles in to be a coded reference to the differences between (people who are partly spiritual but have not yet achieved separation from carnality) and (totally spiritual people). The Valentinians argued that such codes were intrinsic in gnosticism, secrecy being important to ensuring proper progression to true inner understanding. According to 'Classical Gnosticism' and 'The School of Thomas' antedated and influenced the development of Valentinus, whom Layton called 'the great [Gnostic] reformer' and 'the focal point' of Gnostic development. While in Alexandria, where he was born, Valentinus probably would have had contact with the Gnostic teacher, and may have been influenced by him.

Simone Petrement, while arguing for a Christian origin of Gnosticism, places Valentinus after Basilides, but before the Sethians. According to Petrement, Valentinus represented a moderation of the anti-Judaism of the earlier Hellenized teachers; the demiurge, widely regarded as a mythological depiction of the Old Testament God of the Hebrews, is depicted as more ignorant than evil.

Thomasine traditions [ ] The Thomasine Traditions refers to a group of texts which are attributed to the apostle Thomas. King notes that 'Thomasine Gnosticism' as a separate category is being criticised, and may 'not stand the test of scholarly scrutiny'.

Marcion [ ] was a Church leader from (present-day Turkey), who preached in Rome around 150 CE, but was expelled and started his own congregation, which spread throughout the Mediterranean. He rejected the Old Testament, and followed a limited Christian canon, which included only a redacted version of Luke, and ten edited letters of Paul. Some scholars do not consider him to be a gnostic, but his teachings clearly resemble some Gnostic teachings. He preached a radical difference between the God of the Old Testament, the, and the highest God, who had sent Jesus to the earth to free mankind from the tyranny of the Jewish Law. Like the Gnostics, Marcion argued that Jesus was essentially a divine spirit appearing to men in the shape of a human form, and not someone in a true physical body. Marcion held that the heavenly Father (the father of Jesus Christ) was an utterly alien god; he had no part in making the world, nor any connection with it. Hermeticism [ ] is closely related to Gnosticism, but its orientation is more positive.

Other Gnostic groups [ ] • Serpent Gnostics. The, and the gave prominence to snake symbolism, and snake handling played a role in their ceremonies. 100), the founder of a heretical school with gnostic elements. Like a Gnostic, Cerinthus depicted Christ as a heavenly spirit separate from the man Jesus, and he cited the demiurge as creating the material world. Unlike the Gnostics, Cerinthus taught Christians to observe the Jewish law; his demiurge was holy, not lowly; and he taught the Second Coming.

His gnosis was a secret teaching attributed to an apostle. Some scholars believe that the First Epistle of John was written as a response to Cerinthus.

• The are so-named since Hippolytus of Rome claims that they worshiped, as well as,, and the. There is little evidence concerning the nature of this group. Hippolytus claims that they believed that indulgence in sin was the key to salvation because since the body is evil, one must defile it through immoral activity (see ). The name Cainite is used as the name of a religious movement, and not in the usual Biblical sense of people descended from Cain. • The, a sect following only the • The, a libertine Gnostic, said to be descended from the Persian Gnosticism [ ] The Persian Schools, which appeared in the western Persian province of (in particular, within the province of ), and whose writings were originally produced in the Aramaic dialects spoken in Babylonia at the time, are representative of what is believed to be among the oldest of the Gnostic thought forms.

These movements are considered by most to be religions in their own right, and are not emanations from Christianity. Manichaeism [ ]. Main article: Manichaeism was founded by the (216–276). Mani's father was a member of the sect of the, a subgroup of the.

At ages 12 and 24, Mani had visionary experiences of a 'heavenly twin' of his, calling him to leave his father's sect and preach the true message of Christ. In 240–41, Mani travelled to the of the in modern-day, where he studied and its various extant philosophies. Returning in 242, he joined the court of, to whom he dedicated his only work written in Persian, known as the. The original writings were written in, in a unique. Manichaeism conceives of two coexistent realms of light and darkness that become embroiled in conflict. Certain elements of the light became entrapped within darkness, and the purpose of material creation is to engage in the slow process of extraction of these individual elements.

In the end the kingdom of light will prevail over darkness. Manicheanism inherits this dualistic mythology from, in which the eternal spirit is opposed by his antithesis,.

This dualistic teaching embodied an elaborate cosmological myth that included the defeat of a primal man by the powers of darkness that devoured and imprisoned the particles of light. According to Kurt Rudolph, the decline of that occurred in Persia in the 5th Century was too late to prevent the spread of the movement into the east and the west. In the west, the teachings of the school moved into Syria, Northern Arabia, Egypt and North Africa. There is evidence for Manicheans in Rome and in the 4th Century, and also in Gaul and Spain. From Syria it progressed still farther, into Palestine, and Armenia.

The influence of Manicheanism was attacked by imperial elects and polemical writings, but the religion remained prevalent until the 6th Century, and still exerted influence in the emergence of the, and Cathari in the Middle Ages, until it was ultimately stamped out by the Catholic Church. In the east, Rudolph relates, Manicheanism was able to bloom, because the religious monopoly position previously held by Christianity and Zoroastrianism had been broken by nascent Islam. In the early years of the Arab conquest, Manicheanism again found followers in Persia (mostly amongst educated circles), but flourished most in Central Asia, to which it had spread through Iran. Here, in 762, Manicheanism became the state religion of the. Mandaeanism [ ]. Mandaean house of worship in, Iraq The Mandaeans are and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic. Their religion has been practised primarily around the lower, and and the rivers that surround the waterway, part of southern Iraq and in Iran.

Mandaeanism is still practiced in small numbers, in parts of southern Iraq and the Iranian province of, and there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide. The name of the group derives from the term Mandā d-Heyyi, which roughly means 'Knowledge of Life.'

Although the exact chronological origins of this movement are not known, John the Baptist eventually came to be a key figure in the religion, as an emphasis on baptism is part of their core beliefs. As with Manichaeism, despite certain ties with Christianity, Mandaeans do not believe in Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed. Their beliefs and practices likewise have little overlap with the religions that manifested from those religious figures and the two should not be confused. Significant amounts of original Mandaean Scripture, written in, survive in the modern era. The primary source text is known as the and has portions identified by some scholars as being copied as early as the 3rd Century.

There is also the, or Canonical Book of Prayer and The Book of John the Baptist (sidra ḏ-iahia). Middle Ages [ ] After its demise in the Mediterranean world, Gnosticism lived on in the periphery of the Byzantine Empire, and resurfaced in the western world. The, an group which flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the, were accused by orthodox medieval sources of being Gnostic and quasi Christian. The, emerged in between 927 and 970 and spread throughout Europe. It was as of Armenian and the reform movement.

The (Cathari, Albigenses or Albigensians) were also accused by their enemies of the traits of Gnosticism; though whether or not the Cathari possessed direct historical influence from ancient Gnosticism is disputed. If their critics are reliable the basic conceptions of Gnostic cosmology are to be found in Cathar beliefs (most distinctly in their notion of a lesser, Satanic, creator god), though they did not apparently place any special relevance upon knowledge ( gnosis) as an effective salvific force.

[ ] Influence on Islam [ ] Gnostic thoughts found their way into during the early medieval age. The Quran and Islamic share gnostic ideas and appear especially among the, and traditions.

However, according to the Islamic belief in strict, there was no room for a lower deity; such as the, although some early writings and exegesis mentioned as the ruler over the lower heavens and earth. Especially in the 'Um-al Kitab' resembles the gnostic demiurge. Like the demiurge, he is endowed with the ability to create his own world and seeks to imprison humans in the material world, but here, his power is limited and depends on the higher God. Like the gnostic conception of human beings imprisoned in matter, Islam acknowledges the human soul is an accomplice of the material world and subject to bodily desires similar to the way spheres envelop the pneuma.

The must therefore gain victory over the lower and material-bound psyche, to overcome his animal nature. A human being captured by his animal desires, mistakenly claims autonomy and independence from the 'higher God', thus resembling the lower deity in classical gnostic traditions. The higher God or is identified by Sufis with the in the Quran. Kabbalah [ ] Gnostic ideas found a Jewish variation in the mystical study of.

Many core Gnostic ideas reappear in Kabbalah, where they are used for dramatically reinterpreting earlier Jewish sources according to this new system. The Kabbalists originated in 13th Century, which was at that time also the center of the Gnostic. While some scholars in the middle of the 20th Century tried to assume an influence between the Cathar 'gnostics' and the origins of the Kabbalah, this assumption has proved to be an incorrect generalization not substantiated by any original texts. On the other hand, other scholars, such as Scholem, have postulated that there was originally a 'Jewish gnosticism', which influenced the early origins of gnosticism.

Kabbalah does not employ the terminology or labels of non-Jewish Gnosticism, but grounds the same or similar concepts in the language of the (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). The 13th Century ('Splendor'), a foundational text in Kabbalah, is written in the style of a Jewish Aramaic Midrash, clarifying the five books of the Torah with a new Kabbalistic system that uses completely Jewish terms. Modern times [ ]. • perseus.tufts.edu, LSJ entry: γνωστ-ικός, ή, όν, A. Of or for knowing, cognitive: ἡ -κή (sc. Ἐπιστήμη), theoretical science (opp. Πρακτική), Pl.Plt.258e, etc.; τὸ γ.

Ib.261b; 'ἕξεις γ.' Arist.AP0.100a11 (Comp.); 'γ.

Εἰκόνες' Hierocl.in CA25p.475M.: c. Gen., able to discern, Ocell. '-κῶς' Procl.Inst.39, Dam.Pr.79, Phlp.in Ph.241.22. • Williams: 'On the other hand, the one group whom Irenaeus does explicitly mention as users of this self-designation, the followers of the Second Century teacher Marcellina, are not included in Layton's anthology at all, on the grounds that their doctrines are not similar to those of the 'classic' gnostics.44 As we have seen, Epiphanius is one of the witnesses for the existence of a special sect called 'the gnostics,' and yet Epiphanius himself seems to distinguish between these people and 'the Sethians' (Pan 40.7.5), whereas Layton treats them as both under the 'classic gnostic' category.' References [ ].

Contents • • • • Books [ ] • Heidegger and the Problem of Knowledge (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1983). • Editor, Dostoevsky's 'The Grand Inquisitor,' with Related Chapters of 'The Brothers Karamazov' (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993).

Includes a 40-page editor's introduction. • Co-editor (with D. Pereboom), Existentialism: Basic Writings (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995). Book introduction and introductions to Nietzsche and Heidegger.

• Editor, The Good Life (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1999). Book introduction and introductions to 25 readings. • (with Frank C. Richardson and Blaine Fowers). Re-envisioning Psychology: Moral Dimensions of Theory and Practice (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999). • Co-editor (with David C. Richard Rorty, “Philosophy in Focus” series (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).

• Editor, The Existentialists (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). • On Being Authentic (a volume in the Thinking in Action series) (London: Routledge, 2004). • Editor, Cambridge Companion to Heidegger (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993). Includes editor's introduction and one chapter ('Authenticity, Moral Values, and Psychotherapy').

[Translated in Portuguese and Romanian]. Second enlarged edition, with new editor’s Preface: 2006.

[Translated into Chinese]. • Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Underground”, edited with an Introduction (40 pages) with K. Aho (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett Publishing, 2009). See also [ ] • • • References [ ].