It’s time to reinvent how we talk about religion. Go ahead, grab a drink. Get comfortable. It’s time to chat.
Virtually everyone has heard of Christianity. How can the world not? Christian colonialism has demanded itself be heard for centuries come hell or high water. Nowadays we are familiar with its many flavors: Orthodox, Protestant, Progressive. We could subdivide those categories yet further if we wanted to. Let us not forget the Jesuits, Calvinists, Evangelicals, Mormons, and Christian Scientists.
Is your head spinning yet?
I have no idea how or why you found this blog. Was it emotional baggage that brought you? Was it exhaustion?
I get it. Me, too. Just bear with me a moment as I remind you of another sect of Christianity that deserves our full attention.
GNOSTICISM
Old practices die hard, as they so often say…and this one almost did. If the ancient fathers of Orthodox Christianity had their way, it certainly would have. It was the subject of many vitriolic writings during the first few centuries. Its egalitarian and non-dogmatic philosophies were a critical threat to the politics of the burgeoning Catholic church. Gnosticism and Empire simply did not mix.
There are many misconceptions about Gnosticism – and of course there are, because its history has been written by the same people who hated it! However, in recent years, scholars have stepped forward to clear the mud off this jewel. We are here to, in good faith, help carry on the task.
Gnosticism is properly held as an ancient faith with Christian, Jewish, and Islamic variants. Its practitioners were ancient mystics who read – and wrote – scripture with special attention to symbols and metaphors. They embraced the wisdom and practices of neighboring traditions because they believed in the freedom to explore their spirituality. They believed that whatever brought a person closer to God, was good.
In 1945, a collection of lost Gnostic texts were discovered near Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt. Among them were portions of Plato’s Republic and the Corpus Hermeticum. The discovery of these texts (including Gospels) helped give shape to a previously incomplete, jigsawed understanding of Gnostic thought.
Gnosticism is a diversified religious movement synthesizing Greek, Hermetic, and Judaic views expressing the individual’s relationship with the Divine. Most historians agree that it became part of contemporary Christianity about 200 AD.
So, what exactly does this mean about religion?
Because Gnosticism and Empire cannot coexist, it falls most comfortably into the category of mysticism. This forgoes the demand for religion altogether, since religion is often synonymous with system, dogma, and ecclesiastical hierarchy. It was, in large part, the absence of these features that earned Gnosticism its enduring label as…drum roll, please…heresy.
(Sounds like a good idea for a book title, doesn’t it?)
What was deemed “heretical” were views exposing the tense debate between early Christians:
- What was the nature of Jesus?
- What is the Trinity?
- What is the validity and meaning of the Gospels?
- Should Scripture be taken literally?
Regardless of which side of the debate one is on, it is fair to argue that most Gnostic texts were written and deemed authoritative by fundamentally pious Christians. However, practitioners did not have to necessarily identify as Christian to benefit from the tools provided in the Gnostic toolbox.
Where one reads scripture with attention to metaphor and mystery…there is, in essence, a Gnostic.
Where one not only tolerates, but is willing to learn from, other traditions…there is, in essence, a Gnostic.
Where one focuses more intently on their inner connection to the Divine than on outer authorities…there is, in essence, a Gnostic.
Gnostics maintain that there is an unknown, pre-existent, unbegotten God beyond the cycles of the ages. It is the Source of all things. The Consciousness above all. Gnostic Christians seek to understand this divine Source as Jesus himself did. This understanding is called gnosis – direct experiential knowledge of humankind’s spiritual nature and direct affinity with the Divine.
It is about becoming intimately aware of the Divine Spark within YOU.
So, stick around. Learn with me. Sparkle.