noun
definition
A believer in Gnosticism
adjective
definition
Of, or relating to, intellectual or spiritual knowledge
definition
Of, or relating to Gnosticism
adjective
definition
Knowing; wise; shrewd
Examples of gnostic in a Sentence
A Gnostic sect of the 2nd century was known by the name of Cainites.
There exists, however, in a single MS. in Italian a longish gospel with this title, written from a Mahommedan standpoint, but probably embodying materials partly Gnostic in character and origin.
It has been argued that the sacramental rites of the Christians were largely imitated from the pagan mysteries; but for the first two hundred years this is hardly true, except perhaps in the case of certain Gnostic sects whose leaders intentionally amalgamated the new faith with old pagan ideas and rites.
Later Jewish and Christian speculation followed on the lines of the angelology of the earlier apocalypses; and angels play an important part in Gnostic systems and in the Jewish Midrashim and the Kabbala.
The importance of the work has, however, been much overrated; a close examination of the sources for the exposition of the Gnostic system which is con " tained in it has Proved that the information it gives is not always trustworthy.
The Gnostic religion is full of such sacraments.
The Philonic and Gnostic philosophies thus appear to be merely an historical anticipation of the Neoplatonic, without any real connexion.
The influence of Christianity - whether Gnostic or Catholic - on Neoplatonism was at no time very considerable, although individual Neoplatonists, after Amelius, used Christian texts as oracles, and put on record their admiration for Christ.
The Apotheosis and Hamartigenia are polemic, the first against the disclaimers of the divinity of Christ, the latter against the gnostic dualism of Marcion and his followers.
Epiphanius still had the opportunity of making personal acquaintance with Gnostic sects.
Numerous fragments and extracts from Gnostic writings are to be found in the works of the Fathers who attacked Gnosticism.
Gnostic fragments are certainly also preserved for us in the Acts of Thomas.
Generally also much Gnostic matter is contained in the apocryphal histories of the Apostles.
Complete original Gnostic works have unfortunately survived to us only from the period of the decadence of Gnosticism.
Here Hippolytus gave a second exposition supplemented by fresh Gnostic original sources with which he had become acquainted in the meanwhile.
The truth of the matter must be that Hippolytus probably made use of a collection of Gnostic texts, put together by a Gnostic, in which were already represented various secondary developments of the genuine Gnostic schools.
It is also possible that the compiler has himself attempted here and there to harmonize to a certain extent the various Gnostic doctrines, yet in no case is this collection of sources given by Hippolytus to be passed over; it should rather be considered as important evidence for the beginnings of the decay of Gnosticism.
Especially important are the Excerpta ex Theodoto, the author of which is certainly Clement, which are verbally extracted from Gnostic writings, and have almost the value of original sources.
If we wish to grasp the peculiar character of the great Gnostic movement, we must take care not to be led astray by the catchword " Gnosis."
Much more material is to be found in the original Gnostic writings, especially in the PistisSophia and the two books of Ieu, and again in the Excerpta ex Theodoto, the Acts of Thomas, and here and there also in the pseudo-Clementine writings.
Above all we can see from the original sources of the Mandaean religion, which also represents a branch of Gnosticism, how great a part the sacraments played in the Gnostic sects (Brandt, Mandciische Religion, p. 96 seq.).
Finally, sacred formulas, names and symbols are of the highest importance among the Gnostic sects.
We must now proceed to define more exactly the peculiar and distinctive character of the Gnostic system.
Thus the Gnostic systems make great use of the idea of a fall of the Deity himself; by the fall of the Godhead into the world of matter, this matter, previously insensible, is animated into life and activity, and then arise the powers, both partly and wholly hostile, who hold sway over this world.
All these efforts at reconciliation show how clearly the problem of evil was realized in these Gnostic and half-Gnostic sects, and how deeply they meditated on the subject; it was not altogether without reason that in the ranks of its opponents Gnosticism was judged to have arisen out of the question, 7r60ev TO KaK6P; This dualism had not its origin in Hellenic soil, neither is it related to that dualism which to a certain extent existed also in late Greek religion.
Another characteristic feature of the Gnostic conception of the universe is the role played in almost all Gnostic systems by the seven world-creating powers.
And here the question arises, how it came about that in the Gnostic systems the Seven appear as subordinate, half-daemonic powers, or even completely as powers of darkness.
We must also reject the theory that this degradation of the planetary deities into daemons is due to the influence of Hebrew monotheism, for almost all the Gnostic sects take up a definitely hostile attitude towards the Jewish religion, and almost always the highest divinity among the Seven is actually the creator-God of the, Old Testament.
These Persian fancies can hardly be borrowed from the Christian Gnostic systems, their definiteness and much more strongly dualistic character recalling the exposition of the Mandaean (and Manichaean) system, are proofs to the contrary.
They are derived from the same period in which the underlying idea of the Gnostic systems also originated, namely, the time at which the ideas of the Persian and Babylonian religions came into contact, the remarkable results of which have thus partly found their way into the official documents of Parsiism.
Gnosticism is to a great extent dominated by the idea that it is above all and in the highest degree important for the Gnostic's soul to be enabled to find its way back through the lower worlds and spheres of heaven ruled by the Seven to the kingdom of light of the supreme deity of heaven.
We cannot here undertake to set forth and explain in detail all the complex varieties of the Gnostic systems; but it will be useful to take a nearer view of certain principal figures which have had an influence upon at least one series of Gnostic systems, and to examine their origins in the history of religion.
But Gnostic speculation gives various accounts of the descent or fall of this goddess of heaven.
The character of the great goddess of heaven is still in many places fairly exactly preserved in the Gnostic speculations.
Hence we are able to understand how the Gnostic µirTrtp, the Sophia, appears as the mother of the Hebdomas (4360µas).
But the connexion is clear, and hence it also explained the curious Gnostic myth mentioned above, namely that the i carnip (the light-maiden) by appearing to the archontes (cipxovrES), the lower powers of this world, inflames them to sexual lusts, in order to take from them that share of light which they have stolen from the upper world.
This is a Gnostic interpretation of the various myths of the great mother-goddess's many loves and love-adventures with other gods and heroes.
And when the pagan legend of the Syrian Astarte tells how she lived for ten years in Tyre as a prostitute, this directly recalls the Gnostic myth of how Simon found Helena in a brothel in Tyre (Epiphanius, Ancoratus, c. 104).
This figure of the Primal Man can particularly be compared with that of the Gnostic Sophia.
The meaning of this figure in the Gnostic speculations is, however, clear.
A parallel myth to that of the Primal Man are the accounts to be found in most of the Gnostic systems of the creation of the first man.
And here it must be premised that, intimately as the conception of salvation is bound up with the Gnostic religion, the idea of salvation accomplished in a definite historical moment to a certain extent remained foreign to it.
Indeed, nearly all the Christian Gnostic systems clearly exhibit the great difficulty with which they had to contend in order to reconcile the idea of an historical redeemer, actually occurring in the form of a definite person, with their conceptions of salvation.
And this decision is not affected by the fact that in certain Gnostic sects figured historical personages such as Simon Magus and Menander.
The Gnostic ideas of salvation were in the later schools and sects transferred to these persons whom we must consider as rather obscure charlatans and miracle-mongers, just as in other cases they were transferred to the person of Christ.
This explains the laborious and artificial way in which the person of Jesus is connected in many Gnostic systems with the original Gnostic conception of redemption.
What drew these two forces together was the energy exerted by the universal idea of salvation in both systems. Christian Gnosticism actually introduced only one new figure into the already existing Gnostic theories, namely that of the historical Saviour Jesus Christ.
This figure afforded, as it were, a new point of crystallization for the existing Gnostic ideas, which now grouped themselves round this point in all their manifold diversity.
The Gnostic Marcion has been rightly characterized as a direct disciple of Paul.
In nearly all the Gnostic systems the doctrine of the seven world-creating spirits is given an anti-Jewish tendency, the god of the Jews and of the Old Testament appearing as the highest of the seven.