An ancient religious movement that evolved out of nascent Jewish and Christian sects in the late 1st century A.D. Gnosticism is a very subversive set of ideas, and it's distantly related to other Abrahamic mystical traditions like Kabbalah, but was suppressed by the early orthodox Christians and Jews as a perversion of their beliefs.
Basically, Gnostics read the first chapters of Genesis in a very different way than is traditional, seeing the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve as good and viewing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as humanities first step into consciousness.
Because of this, Gnosticism posits that the god of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh, is actually an evil bastard child of the lowest aeon called Sophia (Greek for "Wisdom") who disobeyed the higher aeons and fell from grace.
Gnostic cosmogonies are complex and convoluted and very diverse across different movements, but a basic description of it would be that basically Yahweh and his archons (Greek for "rulers") created the physical world and rule over it, trapping our souls within it to keep us from the light world, the world which is ruled by the aeons and a Supreme God who is fundamentally good and who possesses both masculine and feminine hypostases.
Many Gnostics believe this good God is the God of the New Testament and they generally regard Jesus as a savior who came into the world to rescue a fallen Sophia and bring humanity back into the light world through knowledge.
Basically, Gnostics read the first chapters of Genesis in a very different way than is traditional, seeing the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve as good and viewing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as humanities first step into consciousness.
Because of this, Gnosticism posits that the god of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh, is actually an evil bastard child of the lowest aeon called Sophia (Greek for "Wisdom") who disobeyed the higher aeons and fell from grace.
Gnostic cosmogonies are complex and convoluted and very diverse across different movements, but a basic description of it would be that basically Yahweh and his archons (Greek for "rulers") created the physical world and rule over it, trapping our souls within it to keep us from the light world, the world which is ruled by the aeons and a Supreme God who is fundamentally good and who possesses both masculine and feminine hypostases.
Many Gnostics believe this good God is the God of the New Testament and they generally regard Jesus as a savior who came into the world to rescue a fallen Sophia and bring humanity back into the light world through knowledge.
Person 1: Wow! Did you hear about the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library?
Person 2: No, what does it contain?
Person 1: It contains the ancient writings of Gnosticism, a mystical religious movement that existed about 2000 years ago!
Person 2: No, what does it contain?
Person 1: It contains the ancient writings of Gnosticism, a mystical religious movement that existed about 2000 years ago!
by wugugugug September 13, 2020
Get the Gnosticism mug.opposite of agnostic, having spiritual knowledge. A small Group of Christians claimed to be Gnostics, its pretty much died out since then
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Ghinostic • gnostic • Gnosticism • Gnostician • Ghinnastic • Ginastic • Ginesticles • Gnostic Atheist • Gnosticlit • Gnostic mind virus
Gnosticlit is a creative word that combines "gnostic" (someone who claims to have special knowledge) with "lit" (modern slang for exciting or impressive). It suggests someone who tries to come across as possessing deep knowledge or insights but is ultimately not genuine in their claims.
Despite his confident demeanor, John turned out to be nothing more than a gnosticlit, peppering his conversation with complex-sounding terms that masked his lack of true understanding.
by UuwU August 15, 2023
Get the Gnosticlit mug.A respected practitioner of the first-hand experiential form of knowledge and wisdom known in the Greek philosophical lexicon as gnosis; distinguished from other forms of knowledge, such as episteme, doxa, et al.
Yo, did you hear that word of experiential knowledge my boy just dropped on social media last week? That man is a bona fide gnostician.
by ivl.i3. November 23, 2024
Get the Gnostician mug.The Gnostician? He knows. And he acts.
by ivl.i3. April 24, 2024
Get the Gnostician mug.The gnostic mind virus is belief in the general idea that man is god.
Common symptoms include: talking about "consciousness" a lot, a belief in "manifestation", belief that thoughts make reality, that we are all one, use of the term "the matrix"
It can be contracted through the use of psychedelic drugs, meditation, going down conspiracy rabbit holes
Refer to Romans 1:22-25
Common symptoms include: talking about "consciousness" a lot, a belief in "manifestation", belief that thoughts make reality, that we are all one, use of the term "the matrix"
It can be contracted through the use of psychedelic drugs, meditation, going down conspiracy rabbit holes
Refer to Romans 1:22-25
Lad 1: Me mate started meditating and now he keeps talking about "consciousness"
Lad 2: uh oh looks like he got the gnostic mind virus
Lad 2: uh oh looks like he got the gnostic mind virus
by p0o0ooo0 January 31, 2025
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