This inquiry into Gnosticism examines the character, history, and beliefs of a brave and vigorous spiritual quest that originated in the ancient Near East and continues into the present day.

Who were the Gnostics? And how did the Gnostic movement influence the development of Christianity in antiquity? Is it true that the Church rejected Gnosticism? This book offers an illuminating discussion of recent scholarly debates over the concept of ÒGnosticismÓ and the nature of early Christian diversity. Acknowledging that the category ÒGnosticismÓ is flawed and must be reformed, David Brakke argues for a more careful approach to gathering evidence for the ancient Christian movement known as the Gnostic school of thought. He shows how Gnostic myth and ritual addressed basic human concerns about alienation and meaning, offered a message of salvation in Jesus, and provided a way for people to regain knowledge of God, the ultimate source of their being. Rather than depicting the Gnostics as heretics or as the losers in the fight to define Christianity, Brakke argues that the Gnostics participated in an ongoing reinvention of Christianity, in which other Christians not only rejected their ideas but also adapted and transformed them. This book will challenge scholars to think in news ways, but it also provides an accessible introduction to the Gnostics and their fellow early Christians.

The Gnostics is a one-stop guide to everything you need to know about this mystical movement that teaches knowledge of God rather than unquestioning faith.

Gnosticism - derived from the Greek word gnosis, to know - is the name given to various religious schools that proliferated in the first centuries after Christ and, at one time, it almost became the dominant form of Christianity. Yet some Gnostic beliefs derive from the older Mystery traditions of Greece and Rome, and the various Gnostic schools came to be branded as heretical by the emerging Christian church. Indeed, although some Gnostic beliefs are close to mainstream Christianity Gnosticism also held that the world is imperfect as it was created by an evil god who was constantly at war with the true, good God; that Christ and Satan were brothers; that reincarnation exists; and that women were the equal of men As a result, the Gnostics held the Feminine Aspect of God - whom they addressed as Sophia, or Wisdom - in very high regard. They also stressed that we each have a spark of the Divine inside us which, when recognised and developed, will ultimately liberate us from the prison of the material world. Although largely stamped out by the Church by the sixth century, Gnosticism survived underground through groups such as the Bogomils and the Cathars, and influenced the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the psychologist Carl Jung, the Existentialists, the New Age movement and writers as diverse as William Blake, W.B. Yeats, Albert Camus and Philip K. Dick. In this book, Sean Martin recounts the long and diverse history of Gnosticism, and argues for its continued relevance today.

This book offers the first detailed commentary on the Gnostic treatises reported by Irenaeus in Adversus Haereses 1.29–30. It is argued that these texts represent the earliest tangible layer of the Gnostic literary tradition and served as sources for the Apocryphon of John and other later works. They also formed the starting point for Valentinus and his followers, who sought to reconcile the ideas of the Gnostics with apostolic Christianity. The book also shows that Irenaeus and later heresiologists referred to “the Gnostics” as a specific group among the great mass of heretics.

Recommended by top scholars in the field of Gnostic studies for many years, but has been virtually impossible to find until now. One of the best books on the subject, essential for any serious researcher. A virtual gold mine of Gnostic material, some translated and presented here for the first time.

Gnosticism has travelled a fascinating path, from the Manichaeans in Persia between the 3rd and 7th centuries, to the triumphs and tragedies of the Cathars in southern Europe between the 12th and 14th centuries, to, finally, today's Mandaeans in Iraq. However the revival of Gnosticism extends further than these sects, offering inspiration to a legion of literary figures, including Dan brown and Philip Pullman. Gnostcisim's emphasis on personal over organized religion, in keeping with the doctrine of the early Christian era during which it thrived, has found particular resonance with today's multicultural world. The Secret History of the Gnostics is not simply an authoritative account of one sect's practical beliefs and customs it is, in effect, a manifesto, an appeal to those inspired by or drawn to the Gnostic faith not to forget its origins.

Gnosis, derived from the ancient Greek γνῶσις (gnō̂ sis), meaning "knowledge", or also known as gnosticism, a Latinized form of γνωστικισμός (gnōstikismós), is a scientific-religious term that encompasses various teachings and religious groups that flourished in the late 19th century. 1st century and had their peak between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, acting as precursors of later currents. We could think that within these movements of connoisseurs many Christianities of a Gnostic nature perished, since Christianity was born as a broad set of spiritual movements based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The Christianity proposed by Paul of Tarsus triumphed and the Gnostic movements fell into disgrace and were considered heretical.

The point of view put forth in the following pages differs greatly from the common perspective according to which the treatises 30 to 33 constitute a single work, a Großschrift, and this single work, Plotinus’ essential response to the Gnostics. Our perspective is that of an ongoing discussions with his “Gnostic”—yet Platonizing—friends, which started early in his writings (at least treatise 6), developed into what we could call a Großzyklus (treatises 27 to 39), and went on in later treatises as well (e. g. 47-48, 51).

If Jesus Christ is not God, of the same essence with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, having all the attributes of the Trinity while on earth as well as while He reigned in Heaven, then we, of all men, are most miserable. And how do we know that He is, and always has been, God from eternity? It is written in the Holy Scriptures. But what if the version of the Bible we read is ambivalent, in one place saying He is co-equal with God, and in another place denying Him one or more of the attributes that are essential to God? Read this book and you will see that all but three of the new versions are guilty of denying Christ's goodness, sinlessness, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and a dozen more of the attributes of God. You will see it written in black and white, with exact quotations from eight of the new versions. This important challenge to the trend so evident in the new versions (the despising of the words God-breathed out through the prophets and apostles, and the mixing in of the corrupt wisdom of men), ought to be supported by every one of you who love God and His Word as HB wrote it.