Gnostic Beliefs

Why are the Gnostic, not to be confused with Agnostics, important, and what 's their history? When looking at other religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Neoplatonism, we can see that Gnostics not only received some of its developing traits from these religions, but also helped pave the way for others. The topics that will be reviewed in this paper are who the Gnostics were, and what they believed, what they stood for in Paul 's day, and how they compare to the Gnostics of today.

Who were the Gnostics, and what did they believe? Gnostic ideas are the base for many ancient religions that teach that gnosis, which can be interpreted as "knowledge, enlightenment, salvation, emancipation or 'oneness with God, may be reached by practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty, sexual abstinence and diligently searching for wisdom by helping others" (Filoramo 1). Primarily defined in a Christian context, most scholars believe that Gnosticisms predated Christianity and includes pre-Christian religious beliefs and spiritual practices. Thought to be a second century development, the discussion of Gnosticism and its faith changed radically with the discovery of the

The earliest origins of Gnosticism are obscure and still disputed. For this reason, some scholars prefer to speak of "gnosis" when referring to 1st-century ideas that later developed into Gnosticism and to reserve the term "Gnosticism". The idea that Gnosticism was derived from Buddhism was first proposed by the Victorian gem collector, Charles William King in 1864 (Conze. 658) This notion is generally rejected by scholars. This idea is based on an early 3rd century author by the name of Hippolytus, who writes that Sythianus ' pupil Terebinthus had stolen the doctrine of the Two Principles and changed his name to Buddas to escape detection while passing through Judea. While trying escape, he misplaced his footing, and proceeded fall from a rooftop. This is the closest thing supporting Buddhism