Concluding The Ancient Gnostic Worldview

I would like to get started this Sunday looking at some passages from 1 John that provide us with an example of early Gnostic teaching in the New Testament. In order to do that we must finish up the Ancient Gnostic Worldview focusing in on the Ancient Gnostic View of Humanity. Last week we looked at their view of Morality. What I will do is go point by point through the outline here on the blog so you can still fill in your blanks and Sunday we will start looking at those passages in 1 John. Here is a look at the Ancient Gnostic View of Humanity.

5. The Ancient Gnostic View of Humanity

• Human beings are divine sparks trapped in a body: What this is saying is that human beings are ultimately good. We are essentially divine in that we are not corrupt or depraved. We are little incarnations of divinity. We have within ourselves a purely divine nature and are not in anyway sinful. Or course this contrary to the teaching of Scripture. See Romans 3:23; Psalm 51:5; Genesis 6:11; Mark 7:21; Ephesians 5:8; Jeremiah 17:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Ephesians 2:1-3

“Your god who is within you and […] [35] have provoked you to anger [within] your souls. [Let] any one of you who is [strong enough] among human beings bring out the perfect human and stand before my face.” Taken from the gnostic Gospel of Judas

• Human beings have evil bodies: Why would this be the case? If our bodies are physical which god in their minds is responsible for this physical body? The evil god who created the physical universe is responsible. Therefore whatever is created by the evil god must itself be evil. How does this measure with Scripture? Did the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not create the physical universe and call it good? Despite the fact that the physical universe has been corrupted by sin God will still redeem it at the consummation of the age (see Genesis 1:31; Romans 8:19-21; Revelation 21:1).
• Human beings are ignorant: The idea here is that human beings are ignorant of our origins and our condition as essentially divine beings caught in the prison of the body. We need a mystical, subjective, experiential knowledge or gnosis to enlighten us as to who we really are. With this so-called “knowledge” or enlightenment we can break through not only the bondage of our own existence but we can also break through to “god.”

Here are some quotes to illustrate the point:

“To the extent that we see Christianity as a means of securing self- awareness & psychic well-being through learning secrets, we more resemble the ancient gnostics than Christians.” Michael Horton

“Rather, the kingdom is inside you and outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and embody poverty.” Taken from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas. **Sounds a little like Oprah.

• Human beings need “special knowledge” to break through to god: We’ve already dealt with this point.

I have two quotes that I want to share with you Sunday morning but I will close this section with the following quote:

“Shirley MacLaine allies herself with Oriental thinking. Just as oriental thinking believed in the superiority of spirit over matter, so Western New Age thinking believes that, by the use of mental and spiritual powers, human beings can dominate the limitations that the physical imposes upon them and thus create themselves.” Peter Jones