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{{short description|Common Greek noun for knowledge}}
{{otheruses}}
{{other uses}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2008}}
{{see also-text|]}}
{{Gnosticism}}
{{Esotericism}}


'''Gnosis''' is the common ] noun for ] (], ''gnōsis'', f.).<ref name="EECO 2018">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Ramelli |author-first=Ilaria L. E. |year=2018 |title=Gnosis/Knowledge |editor1-last=Hunter |editor1-first=David G. |editor2-last=van Geest |editor2-first=Paul J. J. |editor3-last=Lietaert Peerbolte |editor3-first=Bert Jan |encyclopedia=Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online |location=] and ] |publisher=] |doi=10.1163/2589-7993_EECO_SIM_00001440 |issn=2589-7993}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Stanley E. |author-link=Stanley E. Porter |year=2016 |chapter=What Do We Mean by Speaking of Paul and Gnosis/Knowledge? A Semantic and Frequency Investigation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cc0JDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |editor1-last=Porter |editor1-first=Stanley E. |editor2-last=Yoon |editor2-first=David |title=Paul and Gnosis |location=] and ] |publisher=] |series=Pauline Studies |volume=9 |pages=7–22 |doi=10.1163/9789004316690_003 |isbn=978-90-04-31668-3 |lccn=2016009435 |s2cid=147727033}}</ref> The term was used among various ]s and ] in the ].{{refn|<ref name="EECO 2018"/><ref name="May 2008">{{cite book |author-last=May |author-first=Gerhard |year=2008 |chapter=Part V: The Shaping of Christian Theology – Monotheism and creation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&pg=PA434 |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=Margaret M. |editor1-link=Margaret M. Mitchell |editor2-last=Young |editor2-first=Frances M. |editor2-link=Frances Young |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine |location=] |publisher=] |pages=434–451, 452–456 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521812399.026 |isbn=9781139054836}}</ref><ref name="Rudolph2001p2">{{cite book|author=Kurt Rudolph|title=Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XxxkESCWz4C|year=2001|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-567-08640-2|page=2}}</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Williams |first=Michael |encyclopedia=] |title=Gnosticism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/gnosticism |date=20 July 1998 |publisher=] |location=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104224452if_/https://www.britannica.com/topic/gnosticism |archive-date=4 January 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>}} It is best known for its implication within ],<ref name="EECO 2018"/> where it signifies a ] ] or insight into ]'s real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.{{refn|<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Rudolph2001p2"/><ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005">{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |author-link=Bart D. Ehrman |year=2005 |orig-year=2003 |title=Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew |chapter=Christians "In The Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA113 |location=] |publisher=] |pages=113–134 |doi=10.1017/s0009640700110273 |isbn=978-0-19-518249-1 |lccn=2003053097 |s2cid=152458823}}</ref><ref name="Brakke 2010">{{cite book |last=Brakke |first=David |author-link=David Brakke |year=2010 |title=The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EQ1XwHg0o0C&pg=PA18 |location=] |publisher=] |pages=18–51 |isbn=9780674066038 |jstor=j.ctvjnrvhh.6 |s2cid=169308502}}</ref>}}
'''Gnosis''' (from one of the ] words for ], γνῶσις) is the spiritual knowledge of a ]<ref>"Spiritual knowledge is the state of spiritual ], when one sees invisibly and hears inaudibly and comprehends incomprehensibly the glory of God. Precisely then comprehension ceases and, what is more, he understands that he does not understand. Within the vision of the uncreated Light man also sees angels and Saints and, in general, he experiences communion with the angels and the Saints. He is then certain that resurrection exists. This is the spiritual knowledge which all the holy Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, ascetics and all the Saints of the Church had. The teachings of the Saints are an offspring of this spiritual knowledge. And, naturally, as we said earlier, spiritual knowledge is a fruit of the vision of God. "THE ILLNESS AND CURE OF THE SOUL" Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos </ref> or ] human being. Within the cultures of the term's provenance (] and ]) ''gnosis'' was a special knowledge or ] into the infinite, divine and uncreated in all and above all,<ref>] in Practical & Theological Discourses, 1.1 The ] Volume Four: When men search for God with their bodily eyes they find Him nowhere, for He is invisible. But for those who ponder in the Spirit He is present everywhere. He is in all, yet beyond all</ref> rather than knowledge strictly into the finite, natural or material world which is called ] knowledge.<ref></ref> Gnosis is a ] as well as ].<ref></ref> It indicates direct spiritual experiential knowledge<ref>The ] Volume Four Palmer, G.E.H; ]; ]. ] glossary pg 434 Spiritual Knowledge (γνῶσις) :the knowledge of the intellect (q.v.). As such, it is knowledge inspired by God, as ] (noesis) or (]al, ] knowledge (see ]) and so linked with ] and immediate spiritual perception.</ref> and ] knowledge, ] rather than that from rational or reasoned thinking. Gnosis itself is obtained through understanding at which one can arrive via inner experience or ] such as an internal ] of intuition and external epiphany such as the ].


==Etymology== == Etymology ==
''Gnosis'' is a feminine Greek noun which means "knowledge" or "awareness."<ref name=scotttufts>]
Gnosis is a Greek word, originally used in specifically ] philosophical contexts. ], for example, uses the terms ''γνωστικοί – gnostikoi'' and ''γνωστικὴ ἐπιστήμη – gnostike episteme'' in the text called ]. The word means the "knowledge to influence and control῾ ''Gnostike episteme'' was also used to indicate one's ]. The terms do not appear to indicate any mystic, ] or hidden meaning in the works of Plato, but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.<ref>Cooper and Hutchinson. "Introduction to Politikos". Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works, Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-87220-349-2.</ref> The term is used throughout Greek philosophy as a technical term for experience knowledge (see ]) in contrast to theoretical knowledge or ]. The term is also related to the study of knowledge retention or memory (see also ]). In relation to ] or ], which is how something actually is rather than how something is captured (]) and stored (]) in the mind.
γνῶσις, εως, ἡ,
A. seeking to know, inquiry, investigation, esp. judicial, "τὰς τῶν δικαστηρίων γ." D.18.224; "τὴν κατὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ γdeetr." Id.21.92, cf. 7.9, Lycurg.141; "γ. περὶ τῆς δίκης" PHib.1.92.13 (iii B. C.).
2. result of investigation, decision, PPetr.3p.118 (iii B. C.).
II. knowing, knowledge, Heraclit.56; opp. ἀγνωσίη, Hp. Vict.1.23 (dub.); opp. ἄγνοια, Pl.R.478c; "ἡ αἴσθησις γ. τις" Arist.GA731a33: pl., "Θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος" LXX 1 Ki.2.3.
b. higher, esoteric knowledge, 1 Ep.Cor.8.7,10, Ep.Eph.3.19, etc.; "χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν νοῦν, λόγον, γνῶσιν" PMag.Par.2.290.
2. acquaintance with a person, "πρός τινα" Test. ap.Aeschin.1.50; "τῶν Σεβαστῶν" IPE1.47.6 (Olbia).
3. recognizing, Th.7.44.
4. means of knowing, "αἱ αἰσθήσεις] κυριώταται τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα γ." Arist.Metaph.981b11.
III. being known, "γνῶσιν ἔχει τι", = "γνωστόν ἐστι", Pl.Tht.206b.
2. fame, credit, Hdn.7.5.5, Luc.Herod.3.
IV. means of knowing: hence, statement in writing, PLond.5.1708, etc. (vi A. D.).
V. = γνῶμα, ] s. h. v.</ref> It is often used for personal knowledge compared with intellectual knowledge (εἴδειν ''eídein''), as with the ] ''connaître'' compared with ''savoir'', the ] ''conhecer'' compared with ''saber'', the ] ''conocer'' compared with ''saber'', the ] ''conoscere'' compared with ''sapere'', the ] ''kennen'' rather than ''wissen'', or the Modern Greek γνωρίζω compared with ξέρω.<ref>
{{cite book|first=Elaine|last=Pagels|title=The Origin of Satan|year=1995|page=167|publisher=Allen Lane, The Penguin Press}}
</ref>


A related term is the adjective ''gnostikos'', "cognitive",<ref> '''γνωστ-ικός, ή, όν,'''
==The Gnostic sects==
A. of or for knowing, cognitive: ἡ -κή (sc. ἐπιστήμη), theoretical science (opp. πρακτική), Pl.Plt.258b.c., etc.; τὸ γ. ib.261b; "ἕξεις γ." Arist.AP0.100a11 (Comp.); "γ. εἰκόνες" Hierocl.in CA25p.475M.: c. gen., able to discern, Ocell. 2.7. Adv. "-κῶς" Procl.Inst.39, Dam.Pr.79, Phlp.in Ph.241.22.</ref> a reasonably common adjective in Classical Greek.<ref> 10x ], Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman 2x ], Compendium libri de animae procreatione + De animae procreatione in Timaeo, 2x ], De musica</ref> The terms do not appear to indicate any mystic, ] or hidden meaning in the works of ], but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.<ref>Cooper and Hutchinson. "Introduction to Politikos." Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works, Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. {{ISBN|0-87220-349-2}}.</ref>
{{gnosticism}}
Among the ] ], ''gnosis'' was first and foremost a matter of self-knowledge which was considered the path leading to the goal of ]. Through such self-knowledge and personal ] (] living) the adept is led to direct knowledge of God via themselves as ] or ]. Later, ] (Valentinus), taught that gnosis was the privileged ''Gnosis kardias'' "knowledge of the heart" or "]" about the ] nature of the ], that brought about ] to the '']''&mdash; the name given to those believed to have reached the final goal of sanctity. Gnosis was distinct from the secret teachings revealed to initiates once they had reached a certain level of progression akin to arcanum. Rather, these teachings were paths to obtain ''gnosis''. (See e.g. "fukasetsu", or ], a quality of realization common to many, if not most, esoteric traditions; see also ] on the difference between ] and ].) Gnosis from this perspective being analogous, to the same meaning as the words ] and arcana.<ref name="books.google.com">III The Mystery-Religions were systems of gnosis akin, and forming a stage to, those mevements to which the name of Gnosticism became attached pg 52 The ]: A Study in the Religious Background of Early Christianity By ]
Published by Courier Dover Publications, 1975
ISBN 0-486-23124-0, 9780486231242 </ref> Which is the same knowledge of ].


{{blockquote|''Stranger:'' In this way, then, divide all science into two arts, calling the one practical (''praktikos''), and the other purely intellectual (''gnostikos'').<br/>''Younger Socrates:'' Let us assume that all science is one and that these are its two forms.<ref></ref>|Plato's '']'', 258e}}
==The Gnostics in the Early Christian Era==
{{seealso|Early Christianity}}
In the formation of Christianity, various ] groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') over ] (''pistis'') in the teachings and traditions of the established community of Christians. These sectarians considered the most ] part of the process of ] to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their ] along with faith in the ] authority. These break away groups were branded ] by Hebrews (see the ]) and ] by the ] due to teaching this type of authority rejection referred to as ]. The knowledge of these sectarian groups is contested by orthodox Christian theology as speculative knowledge derived from religio-philosophical systems rather than knowledge derived from ] coming from faith.<ref>" Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter ] Appendix II The Heresies which disturbed the church in the first millennium Pg 376 Gnosticism The foundation of the Gnostic system is the idea of the creation of a higher religio-philosophical knowledge (gnosis) by uniting Greek philosophy and the philosophy of the learned Alexandrian Jew ] with the Eastern religions, especially the religion of Zoroaster. Section reprinted here due to not being included in the online version </ref>
Gnosis itself is and was obtained through understanding at which one can arrive via inner experience or ] such as an internal ] for example. For the various sectarian gnostics, gnosis was obtained as speculative gnosis, instigated by the contemplation of their religio-philosophical (Cosmological, ] and rational) systems. These systems were pagan (folk) in origin and ] in nature. The gnostic sectarians vilified the concepts of a ] creator God (Plato's ]) and ] creator God (one that creates ]) as in the Judeo-Christian God (]) and sought to reconcile the individual to their own personal deification (]), making each individual God.<ref name="books.google.com"/> As such the gnostic sects made a duality out of the difference between the activities of the spirit ('']''), called noesis (insight), and those of faith.<ref>Mystery Religions and Christianity By ] Published by Kessinger Publishing, 2003 ISBN 0-7661-3101-7, 9780766131019 </ref>


In the ] the term became associated with the mystery cults.
During the early formation of Christianity, church authorities (Fathers of the Church) exerted considerable amounts of energy attempting to weed out what were considered to be false doctrines (e.g. ]' ]). The gnostics (as one ] group) held views which were incompatible with the emerging Ante-Nicene community. Among Christian ]s, the concept of ''false gnosis'' was used to denote different Pagan, ] or ] belief systems (e.g. the ] or ]) and their various teachings of what was deemed<ref>III The Mystery-Religions were systems of gnosis akin, and forming a stage to, those movements to which the name of Gnosticism became attached pg 52 The ]: A Study in the Religious Background of Early Christianity By ]
Published by Courier Dover Publications, 1975
ISBN 0-486-23124-0, 9780486231242 </ref>
''religio-philosophical'' systems of knowledge,<ref> i.e. "Each of the Nine Ecumenical Councils condemned specific heresies of their time exactly because they deviated from this cure by attempting to transform the medical practice of the Church into ''systems'' of philosophical and mystical speculations and practices."</ref> as opposed to authentic ''gnosis'' (''see below, Gnosis among the Greek Fathers''). The sectarians used gnosis or secret knowledge to reject the traditions of the established community or church. The authorities throughout the community criticized this ] as inconsistent with the communities teachings. Hence sectarians and followers of ] were first rejected by the Jewish communities of the Mediterranean (see the ] 139–67 BCE), then by the Christian communities and finally by the late Hellenistic philosophical communities (see ]).


In the ], translated by ], the "motions of gnosis" are also referred to as "kingly motions".<ref>George Robert Stow Mead, and Stephen Ronan. ''The Complete Echoes from the Gnosis''. London, Chthonios Books, 1987, p. 113.</ref>
==In the writings of the Greek Fathers==
{{See also|Noetic Consciousness}}
The ] used the word ''gnosis'' to mean spiritual knowledge, in specific knowledge of the divine. This usage to a degree being analogous with the modern usage of the word mysticism. This positive usage was to contrast it with the use of the word by gnostic sectarians. This use carried over from ] into ] as a critical characteristic of ] practices via ] of Alexandria, ], ], ], and ]. Gnosis here meant ] knowledge, spiritual knowledge, heart knowledge (''kardiognosis''), memory of an experience of God and/or the divine. As such it was emphasized that such knowledge is not secret knowledge but rather a maturing, ] form of knowledge derived from ] ('']'' resulting from practice of ''])'', since gnosis cannot truly be derived from gnosis but rather gnosis can only be derived from theoria.<ref>Glossary of terms from the ] pg 434 the knowledge of the intellect as distinct from that of the reason(q.v.). Knowledge inspired by God, and so linked with contemplation (q.v.) and immediate spiritual perception.</ref> Gnosis thus plays an important role in relation to ] (deification/personal relationship with God) and ] (revelation of the divine, vision of God).<ref>The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-31-1) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 2002. (ISBN 0-227-67919-9) pg 218</ref> Gnosis, as the proper use of the noetic faculty plays an important role in Eastern Orthodox theology. Its importance in the economy of salvation is discussed periodically in the ] where as direct, personal knowledge of God (]; see also ]) it is distinguished from ordinary epistemological knowledge (speculative philosophy).


] used the phrase "knowledge falsely so-called" (''{{transliteration|grc|pseudonymos gnosis}}'', from 1 Timothy 6:20)<ref name="feminine nominative adjective"></ref> for the title of his book '']'', that contains the adjective ''gnostikos'', which is the source for the 17th-century English term "]".<ref>"Gnostic | Origin and meaning of the name Gnostic by Online Etymology Dictionary". ''www.etymonline.com''. Retrieved 2021-07-24</ref>
==Hellenic philosophy==
The ] philosophers, including ], rejected followers of ] as being un-] and anti-] due to their ] of Plato's creator of the universe (the ]),<ref>They claimed to be a privileged caste of beings, in whom alone God was interested, and who were saved not by their own efforts but by some dramatic and arbitrary divine proceeding; and this, Plotinus claimed, led to immorality. Worst of all, they despised and hated the material universe and denied its goodness and the goodness of its maker. For a Platonist, that is utter blasphemy – and all the worse because it obviously derives to some extent from the sharply other-worldly side of Plato's own teaching (e.g. in the ]). At this point in his attack Plotinus comes very close in some ways to the orthodox Christian opponents of Gnosticism, who also insist that this world is the work of God in his goodness. But, here as on the question of salvation, the doctrine which Plotinus is defending is as sharply opposed on other ways to orthodox Christianity as to Gnosticism: for he maintains not only the goodness of the material universe but also its eternity and its divinity. A.H. Armstrong introduction to II 9. Against the Gnostics Pages 220–222
</ref> arriving at ] as the solution to the ], taking all their truths over from Plato.<ref>The teaching of the Gnostics seems to him untraditional, irrational and immoral. They despise and revile the ancient Platonic teachings and claim to have a new and superior wisdom of their own: but in fact anything that is true in their teaching COMES FROM PLATO, and all they have done themselves is to add senseless complications and pervert the true traditional doctrine into a melodramatic, superstitious fantasy designed to feed their own delusions of grandeur. They reject the only true way of salvation through wisdom and virtue, the slow patient study of truth and pursuit of perfection by men who respect the wisdom of the ancients and know their place in the universe. A.H. Armstrong introduction to II 9. Against the Gnostics Pages 220–222
</ref> Plotinus did express that gnosis, via ], was the highest goal of the philosopher toward ].


== Comparison with ''epignosis'' ==
==Eric Voegelin==
The difference and meaning of ''epignosis'' ({{langx|el|ἐπίγνωσις}}) contrasted with gnosis is disputed. One proposed distinction is between the abstract and absolute knowledge (''gnosis'') and a practical or more literal knowledge (''epignosis''). Other interpretations have suggested that ] is referring to an "epignosis of Jesus Christ", what ] described as a "larger and more thorough knowledge". ] is seen as evidence of the deeper knowledge protecting against ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Michael |title=2 Peter & Jude |year=1987 |publisher=Eerdman's |page=70 |isbn=9780802800787 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4in0E7TPqPIC&pg=PA70}}</ref>
] (1901–1985), partially building on the concept of gnosis as used by Plato and the followers of Gnosticism, along with how it was defined by ],<ref>''The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin'' By Eric Voegelin, Ellis Sandoz, Gilbert Weiss, William Petropulos Published by Louisiana State University Press, 1989
ISBN 0-8071-1826-5, 9780807118269 </ref> defined the gnosis<ref>Glossary of Voegelin terms online Gnosis "Knowledge". Originally a general term in Greek for knowledge of various sorts. Later, especially with the Gnostic movement of the early Christian era, a purported direct, immediate apprehension or vision of truth without the need for critical reflection; the special gift of a spiritual and cognitive elite. According to Voegelin, the claim to gnosis may take intellectual, emotional, and volitional forms." </ref> of the followers of Gnosticism<ref>Glossary of Voegelin terms online Gnosticism "A type of thinking that claims absolute cognitive mastery of reality. Relying as it does on a claim to gnosis, gnosticism considers its knowledge not subject to criticism. As a religious or quasi-religious movement, gnosticism may take transcendentalizing (as in the case of the Gnostic movement of late antiquity) or immanentizing forms (as in the case of Marxism)." </ref> as religious philosophical teachings that are the foundations of cults. Voegelin identified a number of similarities between ancient Gnosticism and those held by a number of modernist political theories, particularly ] and ].


== Gnosticism ==
Voegelin identified the root of the Gnostic impulse as ], that is, a sense of disconnection with society, and a belief that this disconnection is the result of the inherent disorder, or even evil, of the world. This alienation has two effects:
{{Main|Gnosticism}}
* The belief that the disorder of the world can be transcended by extraordinary insight, learning, or knowledge, called a ''Gnostic Speculation'' by Voegelin (the Gnostics themselves referred to this as ''gnosis'').
] ] found on a Gnostic gem in ]'s ''L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures'' may be a depiction of the Demiurge.]]
* The desire to create and implement a policy to actualize the speculation, or as Voegelin described it, to '']'', to create a sort of heaven on earth within history by triggering the ].


] originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical ] and ] sects.{{sfn|Magris|2005|pp=3515–3516}} In the ], various ] groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') of the divine spark within, over ] (''pistis'') in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians.<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Brakke 2010"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Layton |first=Bentley |author-link=Bentley Layton |year=1999 |chapter=Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GC4vwTXJSaMC&pg=PA106 |editor-last=Ferguson |editor-first=Everett |editor-link=Everett Ferguson |title=Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity |location=] and ] |publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc |series=Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays |pages=106–123 |isbn=0-8153-3071-5}}</ref> Gnosticism presents a distinction between the ], and the ], "creator" of the material universe.<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Brakke 2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999">{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA108 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=] |publisher=] |pages=108–155 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.8}}</ref> The Gnostics considered the most ] part of the process of ] to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their ] along with faith in the ].<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Brakke 2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/>
Voegelin’s conception of ''gnosis'' and his analysis of Gnosticism in general has been criticized by ], who holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature. In an article entitled "Voegelin’s Gnosticism Reconsidered", Webb explains that Voegelin’s concept of Gnosticism was conceived "not primarily to describe ancient phenomena but to help us understand some modern ones for which the evidence is a great deal clearer."<ref>Webb, E; ''Voegelin’s “Gnosticism” Reconsidered''; Political Science Reviewer; 34; 2005</ref> Webb continues, "the category (of Gnosticism) is of limited usefulness for the purpose to which he put it…and the fact that the idea of Gnosticism as such has become so problematic and complex in recent years must at the very least undercut Voegelin’s effort to trace a historical line of descent from ancient sources to the modern phenomena he tried to use them to illuminate."<ref>Webb, E; "Voegelin’s “Gnosticism” Reconsidered"; Political Science Reviewer; 34; 2005</ref>


In Gnosticism, the ] in the ] was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (''gnosis'') to ] and thereby freeing them from the ] ]'s control.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a ] that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the ] and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or ], identified with the ] of the ].<ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/> Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, ] and creator of the material universe, and the ] of the ], the father of ] and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God.<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/><ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Valentinus and the Valentinians|author=Bousset, Wilhelm|author-link=Wilhelm Bousset|volume=27|pages=852-857|short=x}}</ref> In the ], ], and ] systems, ] (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he ].<ref name="Litwa 2016">{{cite book |author-last=Litwa |author-first=M. David |year=2016 |origyear=2015 |chapter=Part I: The Self-deifying Rebel – “I Am God and There is No Other!”: The Boast of Yaldabaoth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwcBDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking |location=] and ] |publisher=] |pages=47–65 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467166.003.0004 |isbn=9780199967728 |lccn=2015051032 |oclc=966607824}}</ref><ref name="Fischer-Mueller 1990">{{cite journal |last=Fischer-Mueller |first=E. Aydeet |date=January 1990 |title=Yaldabaoth: The Gnostic Female Principle in Its Fallenness |journal=] |volume=32 |issue=1 |publisher=] |location=] and ] |pages=79–95 |doi=10.1163/156853690X00205 |eissn=1568-5365 |issn=0048-1009 |jstor=1560677}}</ref><ref name="Arendzen4">{{Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Demiurge |volume=4 |first=John Peter |last=Arendzen}}</ref>
==See also==

* ]
However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref name="Logan 2002">{{cite book |author-last=Logan |author-first=Alastair H. B. |year=2002 |origyear=2000 |chapter=Part IX: Internal Challenges – Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA923 |editor-last=Esler |editor-first=Philip F. |title=The Early Christian World |location=] and ] |publisher=] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Worlds |pages=923–925 |isbn=9781032199344}}</ref> For instance, ] believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref name="Logan 2002"/> All Gnostics were regarded as ] by the ] ].<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Brakke 2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/>
* ]

=== Mandaeism ===
{{Main|Manda (Mandaeism)}}

In ], the concept of '']'' ("knowledge", "wisdom", "intellect") is roughly equivalent to the Gnostic concept of gnosis.<ref name="Buckley 2002">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-19-515385-5|oclc=65198443}}</ref> ] ('having knowledge')<ref name="auto"/> is the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity.<ref name=McGrath>{{Citation|last=McGrath|first=James|title=The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans|website=YouTube-A lunchtime talk about the Mandaeans by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University|date=23 January 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv6I02MNlc |access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=chWcZcYcyeQC}}|title=Iconography of Religions: An Introduction|editor-last=Moore|editor-first=Albert C.|date=1977|publisher=Chris Robertson|isbn=9780800604882|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Rudolph|chapter=Mandaeism|volume=21|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/iconographyofrel0000moor}}</ref>{{rp|15}} ] formally refer to themselves as ''Nasurai'' (]) meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.<ref name=RudolphEI>{{cite web|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mandaeans-2-religion |title=MANDAEANS ii. THE MANDAEAN RELIGION |access-date=3 January 2022|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica|date=7 April 2008}}</ref><ref name=HG>{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa|publisher=Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana|year=1953}}</ref> The Mandaeans emphasize salvation of the soul through secret knowledge (gnosis) of its divine origin.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mandaeanism|title=Mandaeanism &#124; religion|website=Britannica|access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=Drower1960>{{cite book | last = Drower | first = Ethel Stephana | author-link = E. S. Drower | date = 1960 | title = The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis | location = London UK | publisher = Clarendon Press | page = xvi | no-pp = true | url = http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf | access-date = 19 February 2014 | archive-date = 6 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140306132110/http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> Mandaeism "provides knowledge of whence we have come and whither we are going."<ref>Deutsch, Nathaniel. (2003) Mandaean Literature. In ''The Gnostic Bible'' (pp. 527–561). New Seeds Books</ref>{{rp|531}}

==Christian usage==
Despite rejection of Gnosticism,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gnosticism {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/gnostic/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |language=en-US}}</ref> Christianity has sometimes used the term or derivatives of it in a laudatory rather than lambasting sense.
{{see also-text|]}}

===New Testament===
The New Testament uses the term γνῶσις (Strong's G1108, Transliteration gnōsis) 28 times.<ref> Blue Letter Bible</ref>

=== Patristic literature ===
The ] used the word ''gnosis'' (knowledge) to mean spiritual knowledge or specific knowledge of the divine. This positive usage was to contrast it with how gnostic sectarians used the word. ] ("knowledge of the heart") from Eastern Christianity related to the tradition of the ] and in ] theology is the view that only God knows the condition of one's relationship with God.<ref>], ''Westminster dictionary of theological terms'', 1996, p. 39</ref><ref>Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia (2004). p. 130 Publisher: T. & T. Clark Publishers {{ISBN|978-0-567-08354-8}}</ref>
] Catholic philosopher ] notes that
{{blockquote|...even in early Christianity, matters were complex, such that an anti-gnostic writer like ] can regularly invoke the notion of ''gnostike theoria'' in a positive sense.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/gnostic-return-in-modernity-and-gnostic-apocalypse/|title=Gnostic Return in Modernity and Gnostic Apocalypse|publisher=Notre Dame}}</ref>}}

=== Eastern Orthodox thought ===
''Gnosis'' in ] (primarily ]) thought is the spiritual knowledge of a ] (one who has obtained ])<ref>"Spiritual knowledge is the state of spiritual ], when one sees invisibly and hears inaudibly and comprehends incomprehensibly the glory of God. Precisely then comprehension ceases and, what is more, he understands that he does not understand. Within the vision of the uncreated Light man also sees angels and Saints and, in general, he experiences communion with the angels and the Saints. He is then certain that resurrection exists. This is the spiritual knowledge which all the holy Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, ascetics and all the Saints of the Church had. The teachings of the Saints are an offspring of this spiritual knowledge. And, naturally, as we said earlier, spiritual knowledge is a fruit of the vision of God. "THE ILLNESS AND CURE OF THE SOUL" Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos </ref> or ] human being. Within the cultures of the term's provenance (] and ]) ''Gnosis'' was a knowledge or ] into the infinite, divine and uncreated in all and above all,<ref>] in Practical & Theological Discourses, 1.1 The ] Volume Four: When men search for God with their bodily eyes they find Him nowhere, for He is invisible. But for those who ponder in the Spirit He is present everywhere. He is in all, yet beyond all</ref> rather than knowledge strictly into the finite, natural or material world.<ref>Faith And Science In Orthodox Gnosiology And Methodology by ]
"The scientist and professor of the knowledge of the Uncreated, in the Orthodox Tradition, is the Geron/] (the Elder or Spiritual Father), the guide or "teacher of the desert." The recording of both types of knowledge presupposes empirical knowledge of the phenomenon.
The same holds true in the field of science, where only the specialist understands the research of other scientists of the same field. The adoption of conclusions or findings of a scientific branch by non-specialists (i.e. those who are unable to experimentally examine the research of the specialists) is based on the trust of the specialists credibility. Otherwise, there would be no scientific progress.
The same holds true for the science of faith. The empirical knowledge of the Saints, Prophets, Apostles, Fathers and Mothers of all ages is adopted and founded upon the same trust. The patristic tradition and the Church's Councils function on this provable experience. There is no Ecumenical Council without the presence of the glorified/deified (theoumenoi), those who see the divine (this is the problem of the councils of today!) Orthodox doctrine results from this relationship."
</ref> Gnosis is ] as well as ]. It indicates direct spiritual, experiential knowledge<ref>The ] Volume Four Palmer, G.E.H; ]; ]. {{ISBN|0-571-19382-X}}, glossary, p. 434, Spiritual Knowledge (γνῶσις): the knowledge of the intellect (q.v.). As such, it is knowledge inspired by God, as ] ('']''; see also ]) or ]al, ] knowledge (see ]) and so linked with ] and immediate spiritual perception.</ref> and ] knowledge, ] rather than that from rational or reasoned thinking. Gnosis itself is gained through understanding at which one can arrive via inner experience or ] such as an internal ] of intuition and external epiphany such as the ].

In the ''],'' it is emphasized that such knowledge is not secret knowledge but rather a maturing, ] form of knowledge derived from ] ('']'' resulting from practice of ''])'', since knowledge cannot truly be derived from knowledge, but rather, knowledge can only be derived from ''theoria'' (to witness, see (vision) or experience).<ref>Glossary of terms from the ] p. 434 the knowledge of the intellect as distinct from that of the reason(q.v.). Knowledge inspired by God, and so linked with contemplation (q.v.) and immediate spiritual perception.</ref> Knowledge, thus plays an important role in relation to '']'' (deification/personal relationship with God) and '']'' (revelation of the divine, vision of God).<ref>The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. ({{ISBN|0-913836-31-1}}) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 2002. ({{ISBN|0-227-67919-9}}) p. 218</ref> Gnosis, as the proper use of the spiritual or ] faculty plays an important role in ]. Its importance in the economy of salvation is discussed periodically in the '']'' where as direct, personal knowledge of God (''noesis'') it is distinguished from ordinary epistemological knowledge (episteme—i.e., speculative philosophy).

== Islam ==
{{main|Irfan}}

=== Sufism ===
{{further|Ma'rifa|Fana (Sufism)}}
Knowledge (or ''gnosis'') in ] refers to knowledge of ] and ]. The gnostic is called ''al-arif bi'lah'' or "one who knows by God". The goal of the Sufi practitioner is to remove inner obstacles to the knowledge of God. Sufism, understood as the quest for Truth, is to seek for the separate existence of the Self to be consumed by Truth, as stated by the Sufi poet ], who was executed for saying "I am the Truth" (ana'l haqq).<ref>{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossain |title=The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition |date=2007 |publisher=Harper Collins |page=30}}</ref>

== Jewish usage ==

=== Hellenistic Jewish literature ===
The Greek word ''gnosis'' (knowledge) is used as a standard translation of the Hebrew word "knowledge" ({{lang|he|דעת}} {{transliteration|he|]}}) in the ], thus:
{{blockquote|The Lord gives wisdom ]}}] ('']''), from his face come knowledge (''gnosis'') and understanding ]}}] ('']'')"|Proverbs 2.6}}
] also refers to the "knowledge" (''gnosis'') and "wisdom" (''sophia'') of ].<ref>New Testament studies: Society for New Testament Studies – 1981 "see also the more extensive analysis of gnosis in Philo by Hans Jonas, Gnosis und spatantiker Geist 11/1"</ref>

== See also ==
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==Notes== == References ==
{{reflist}} {{reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Magris |first=Aldo |year=2005 |title=Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations) |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |encyclopedia=Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion |edition=2nd |location=] |publisher=] |pages=3515–3516 |isbn=978-0028657332 |oclc=56057973}}
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Latest revision as of 21:26, 20 December 2024

Common Greek noun for knowledge For other uses, see Gnosis (disambiguation). See also: Noesis (phenomenology)
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Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge (γνῶσις, gnōsis, f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it signifies a spiritual knowledge or insight into humanity's real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.

Etymology

Gnosis is a feminine Greek noun which means "knowledge" or "awareness." It is often used for personal knowledge compared with intellectual knowledge (εἴδειν eídein), as with the French connaître compared with savoir, the Portuguese conhecer compared with saber, the Spanish conocer compared with saber, the Italian conoscere compared with sapere, the German kennen rather than wissen, or the Modern Greek γνωρίζω compared with ξέρω.

A related term is the adjective gnostikos, "cognitive", a reasonably common adjective in Classical Greek. The terms do not appear to indicate any mystic, esoteric or hidden meaning in the works of Plato, but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.

Stranger: In this way, then, divide all science into two arts, calling the one practical (praktikos), and the other purely intellectual (gnostikos).
Younger Socrates: Let us assume that all science is one and that these are its two forms.

— Plato's Statesman, 258e

In the Hellenistic era the term became associated with the mystery cults.

In the Acts of Thomas, translated by G.R.S. Mead, the "motions of gnosis" are also referred to as "kingly motions".

Irenaeus used the phrase "knowledge falsely so-called" (pseudonymos gnosis, from 1 Timothy 6:20) for the title of his book On the Detection and Overthrow of False Knowledge, that contains the adjective gnostikos, which is the source for the 17th-century English term "Gnosticism".

Comparison with epignosis

The difference and meaning of epignosis (Greek: ἐπίγνωσις) contrasted with gnosis is disputed. One proposed distinction is between the abstract and absolute knowledge (gnosis) and a practical or more literal knowledge (epignosis). Other interpretations have suggested that 2 Peter is referring to an "epignosis of Jesus Christ", what J. B. Lightfoot described as a "larger and more thorough knowledge". Conversion to Christianity is seen as evidence of the deeper knowledge protecting against false doctrine.

Gnosticism

Main article: Gnosticism
A lion-faced, serpentine deity found on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures may be a depiction of the Demiurge.

Gnosticism originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical Jewish and early Christian sects. In the formation of Christianity, various sectarian groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (gnosis) of the divine spark within, over faith (pistis) in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians. Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable God, and the Demiurge, "creator" of the material universe. The Gnostics considered the most essential part of the process of salvation to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their worldview along with faith in the ecclesiastical authority.

In Gnosticism, the biblical serpent in the Garden of Eden was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (gnosis) to Adam and Eve and thereby freeing them from the malevolent Demiurge's control. Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a dualistic cosmology that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the liberating savior and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or creator god, identified with the Hebrew God of the Old Testament. Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, false god and creator of the material universe, and the Unknown God of the Gospel, the father of Jesus Christ and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God. In the Archontic, Sethian, and Ophite systems, Yaldabaoth (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he created.

However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent. For instance, Valentinians believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness. All Gnostics were regarded as heretics by the proto-orthodox Early Church Fathers.

Mandaeism

Main article: Manda (Mandaeism)

In Mandaeism, the concept of manda ("knowledge", "wisdom", "intellect") is roughly equivalent to the Gnostic concept of gnosis. Mandaeism ('having knowledge') is the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity. Mandaeans formally refer to themselves as Nasurai (Nasoraeans) meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge. The Mandaeans emphasize salvation of the soul through secret knowledge (gnosis) of its divine origin. Mandaeism "provides knowledge of whence we have come and whither we are going."

Christian usage

Despite rejection of Gnosticism, Christianity has sometimes used the term or derivatives of it in a laudatory rather than lambasting sense.

See also: Eric Voegelin

New Testament

The New Testament uses the term γνῶσις (Strong's G1108, Transliteration gnōsis) 28 times.

Patristic literature

The Church Fathers used the word gnosis (knowledge) to mean spiritual knowledge or specific knowledge of the divine. This positive usage was to contrast it with how gnostic sectarians used the word. Cardiognosis ("knowledge of the heart") from Eastern Christianity related to the tradition of the starets and in Roman Catholic theology is the view that only God knows the condition of one's relationship with God. Boston College Catholic philosopher Dermot Moran notes that

...even in early Christianity, matters were complex, such that an anti-gnostic writer like Clement of Alexandria can regularly invoke the notion of gnostike theoria in a positive sense.

Eastern Orthodox thought

Gnosis in Orthodox Christian (primarily Eastern Orthodox) thought is the spiritual knowledge of a saint (one who has obtained theosis) or divinely-illuminated human being. Within the cultures of the term's provenance (Byzantine and Hellenic) Gnosis was a knowledge or insight into the infinite, divine and uncreated in all and above all, rather than knowledge strictly into the finite, natural or material world. Gnosis is transcendental as well as mature understanding. It indicates direct spiritual, experiential knowledge and intuitive knowledge, mystic rather than that from rational or reasoned thinking. Gnosis itself is gained through understanding at which one can arrive via inner experience or contemplation such as an internal epiphany of intuition and external epiphany such as the theophany.

In the Philokalia, it is emphasized that such knowledge is not secret knowledge but rather a maturing, transcendent form of knowledge derived from contemplation (theoria resulting from practice of hesychasm), since knowledge cannot truly be derived from knowledge, but rather, knowledge can only be derived from theoria (to witness, see (vision) or experience). Knowledge, thus plays an important role in relation to theosis (deification/personal relationship with God) and theoria (revelation of the divine, vision of God). Gnosis, as the proper use of the spiritual or noetic faculty plays an important role in Orthodox Christian theology. Its importance in the economy of salvation is discussed periodically in the Philokalia where as direct, personal knowledge of God (noesis) it is distinguished from ordinary epistemological knowledge (episteme—i.e., speculative philosophy).

Islam

Main article: Irfan

Sufism

Further information: Ma'rifa and Fana (Sufism)

Knowledge (or gnosis) in Sufism refers to knowledge of Self and God. The gnostic is called al-arif bi'lah or "one who knows by God". The goal of the Sufi practitioner is to remove inner obstacles to the knowledge of God. Sufism, understood as the quest for Truth, is to seek for the separate existence of the Self to be consumed by Truth, as stated by the Sufi poet Mansur al-Hallaj, who was executed for saying "I am the Truth" (ana'l haqq).

Jewish usage

Hellenistic Jewish literature

The Greek word gnosis (knowledge) is used as a standard translation of the Hebrew word "knowledge" (דעת da'ath) in the Septuagint, thus:

The Lord gives wisdom (sophia), from his face come knowledge (gnosis) and understanding (synesis)"

— Proverbs 2.6

Philo also refers to the "knowledge" (gnosis) and "wisdom" (sophia) of God.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ramelli, Ilaria L. E. (2018). "Gnosis/Knowledge". In Hunter, David G.; van Geest, Paul J. J.; Lietaert Peerbolte, Bert Jan (eds.). Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/2589-7993_EECO_SIM_00001440. ISSN 2589-7993.
  2. Porter, Stanley E. (2016). "What Do We Mean by Speaking of Paul and Gnosis/Knowledge? A Semantic and Frequency Investigation". In Porter, Stanley E.; Yoon, David (eds.). Paul and Gnosis. Pauline Studies. Vol. 9. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 7–22. doi:10.1163/9789004316690_003. ISBN 978-90-04-31668-3. LCCN 2016009435. S2CID 147727033.
  3. ^ May, Gerhard (2008). "Part V: The Shaping of Christian Theology – Monotheism and creation". In Mitchell, Margaret M.; Young, Frances M. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 434–451, 452–456. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521812399.026. ISBN 9781139054836.
  4. ^ Kurt Rudolph (2001). Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism. A&C Black. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-567-08640-2.
  5. ^ Williams, Michael (20 July 1998). "Gnosticism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Edinburgh: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2005) . "Christians "In The Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism". Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 113–134. doi:10.1017/s0009640700110273. ISBN 978-0-19-518249-1. LCCN 2003053097. S2CID 152458823.
  8. ^ Brakke, David (2010). The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 18–51. ISBN 9780674066038. JSTOR j.ctvjnrvhh.6. S2CID 169308502.
  10. Liddell Scott entry γνῶσις, εως, ἡ, A. seeking to know, inquiry, investigation, esp. judicial, "τὰς τῶν δικαστηρίων γ." D.18.224; "τὴν κατὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ γdeetr." Id.21.92, cf. 7.9, Lycurg.141; "γ. περὶ τῆς δίκης" PHib.1.92.13 (iii B. C.). 2. result of investigation, decision, PPetr.3p.118 (iii B. C.). II. knowing, knowledge, Heraclit.56; opp. ἀγνωσίη, Hp. Vict.1.23 (dub.); opp. ἄγνοια, Pl.R.478c; "ἡ αἴσθησις γ. τις" Arist.GA731a33: pl., "Θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος" LXX 1 Ki.2.3. b. higher, esoteric knowledge, 1 Ep.Cor.8.7,10, Ep.Eph.3.19, etc.; "χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν νοῦν, λόγον, γνῶσιν" PMag.Par.2.290. 2. acquaintance with a person, "πρός τινα" Test. ap.Aeschin.1.50; "τῶν Σεβαστῶν" IPE1.47.6 (Olbia). 3. recognizing, Th.7.44. 4. means of knowing, "αἱ αἰσθήσεις] κυριώταται τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα γ." Arist.Metaph.981b11. III. being known, "γνῶσιν ἔχει τι", = "γνωστόν ἐστι", Pl.Tht.206b. 2. fame, credit, Hdn.7.5.5, Luc.Herod.3. IV. means of knowing: hence, statement in writing, PLond.5.1708, etc. (vi A. D.). V. = γνῶμα, Hsch. s. h. v.
  11. Pagels, Elaine (1995). The Origin of Satan. Allen Lane, The Penguin Press. p. 167.
  12. LSJ entry γνωστ-ικός, ή, όν, A. of or for knowing, cognitive: ἡ -κή (sc. ἐπιστήμη), theoretical science (opp. πρακτική), Pl.Plt.258b.c., etc.; τὸ γ. ib.261b; "ἕξεις γ." Arist.AP0.100a11 (Comp.); "γ. εἰκόνες" Hierocl.in CA25p.475M.: c. gen., able to discern, Ocell. 2.7. Adv. "-κῶς" Procl.Inst.39, Dam.Pr.79, Phlp.in Ph.241.22.
  13. In Perseus databank 10x Plato, Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman 2x Plutarch, Compendium libri de animae procreatione + De animae procreatione in Timaeo, 2x Pseudo-Plutarch, De musica
  14. Cooper and Hutchinson. "Introduction to Politikos." Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works, Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-87220-349-2.
  15. Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
  16. George Robert Stow Mead, and Stephen Ronan. The Complete Echoes from the Gnosis. London, Chthonios Books, 1987, p. 113.
  17. feminine nominative adjective
  18. "Gnostic | Origin and meaning of the name Gnostic by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2021-07-24
  19. Green, Michael (1987). 2 Peter & Jude. Eerdman's. p. 70. ISBN 9780802800787.
  20. Magris 2005, pp. 3515–3516.
  21. Layton, Bentley (1999). "Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism". In Ferguson, Everett (ed.). Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity. Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc. pp. 106–123. ISBN 0-8153-3071-5.
  22. ^ Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 108–155. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.
  23. ^ Bousset, Wilhelm (1911). "Valentinus and the Valentinians" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). pp. 852–857.
  24. Litwa, M. David (2016) . "Part I: The Self-deifying Rebel – "I Am God and There is No Other!": The Boast of Yaldabaoth". Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 47–65. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467166.003.0004. ISBN 9780199967728. LCCN 2015051032. OCLC 966607824.
  25. Fischer-Mueller, E. Aydeet (January 1990). "Yaldabaoth: The Gnostic Female Principle in Its Fallenness". Novum Testamentum. 32 (1). Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers: 79–95. doi:10.1163/156853690X00205. eISSN 1568-5365. ISSN 0048-1009. JSTOR 1560677.
  26.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Arendzen, John Peter (1908). "Demiurge". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  27. ^ Logan, Alastair H. B. (2002) . "Part IX: Internal Challenges – Gnosticism". In Esler, Philip F. (ed.). The Early Christian World. Routledge Worlds (1st ed.). New York and London: Routledge. pp. 923–925. ISBN 9781032199344.
  28. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
  29. ^ "Mandaeanism | religion". Britannica. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  30. McGrath, James (23 January 2015), "The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans", YouTube-A lunchtime talk about the Mandaeans by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University, retrieved 8 February 2022
  31. Rudolph, Kurt (1977). "Mandaeism". In Moore, Albert C. (ed.). Iconography of Religions: An Introduction. Vol. 21. Chris Robertson. ISBN 9780800604882.
  32. Rudolph, Kurt (7 April 2008). "MANDAEANS ii. THE MANDAEAN RELIGION". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  33. Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953). The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  34. Drower, Ethel Stephana (1960). The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis (PDF). London UK: Clarendon Press. xvi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  35. Deutsch, Nathaniel. (2003) Mandaean Literature. In The Gnostic Bible (pp. 527–561). New Seeds Books
  36. "Gnosticism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy". Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  37. Lexicon: Strong's G1108 - gnōsis Blue Letter Bible
  38. Donald K. McKim, Westminster dictionary of theological terms, 1996, p. 39
  39. Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia (2004). concise dictionary of theology p. 130 Publisher: T. & T. Clark Publishers ISBN 978-0-567-08354-8
  40. "Gnostic Return in Modernity and Gnostic Apocalypse". Notre Dame.
  41. "Spiritual knowledge is the state of spiritual theoria, when one sees invisibly and hears inaudibly and comprehends incomprehensibly the glory of God. Precisely then comprehension ceases and, what is more, he understands that he does not understand. Within the vision of the uncreated Light man also sees angels and Saints and, in general, he experiences communion with the angels and the Saints. He is then certain that resurrection exists. This is the spiritual knowledge which all the holy Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, ascetics and all the Saints of the Church had. The teachings of the Saints are an offspring of this spiritual knowledge. And, naturally, as we said earlier, spiritual knowledge is a fruit of the vision of God. "THE ILLNESS AND CURE OF THE SOUL" Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
  42. St. Symeon the New Theologian in Practical & Theological Discourses, 1.1 The Philokalia Volume Four: When men search for God with their bodily eyes they find Him nowhere, for He is invisible. But for those who ponder in the Spirit He is present everywhere. He is in all, yet beyond all
  43. Faith And Science In Orthodox Gnosiology And Methodology by George Metallinos "The scientist and professor of the knowledge of the Uncreated, in the Orthodox Tradition, is the Geron/Starets (the Elder or Spiritual Father), the guide or "teacher of the desert." The recording of both types of knowledge presupposes empirical knowledge of the phenomenon. The same holds true in the field of science, where only the specialist understands the research of other scientists of the same field. The adoption of conclusions or findings of a scientific branch by non-specialists (i.e. those who are unable to experimentally examine the research of the specialists) is based on the trust of the specialists credibility. Otherwise, there would be no scientific progress. The same holds true for the science of faith. The empirical knowledge of the Saints, Prophets, Apostles, Fathers and Mothers of all ages is adopted and founded upon the same trust. The patristic tradition and the Church's Councils function on this provable experience. There is no Ecumenical Council without the presence of the glorified/deified (theoumenoi), those who see the divine (this is the problem of the councils of today!) Orthodox doctrine results from this relationship." University of Athens - Department of Theology
  44. The Philokalia Volume Four Palmer, G.E.H; Sherrard, Philip; Ware, Kallistos (Timothy). ISBN 0-571-19382-X, glossary, p. 434, Spiritual Knowledge (γνῶσις): the knowledge of the intellect (q.v.). As such, it is knowledge inspired by God, as insight (noesis; see also Noema) or revelational, intuitive knowledge (see gnosiology) and so linked with contemplation and immediate spiritual perception.
  45. Glossary of terms from the Philokalia p. 434 the knowledge of the intellect as distinct from that of the reason(q.v.). Knowledge inspired by God, and so linked with contemplation (q.v.) and immediate spiritual perception.
  46. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-31-1) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 2002. (ISBN 0-227-67919-9) p. 218
  47. Nasr, Seyyed Hossain (2007). The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition. Harper Collins. p. 30.
  48. New Testament studies: Society for New Testament Studies – 1981 "see also the more extensive analysis of gnosis in Philo by Hans Jonas, Gnosis und spatantiker Geist 11/1"

Sources

  • Magris, Aldo (2005). "Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations)". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan Inc. pp. 3515–3516. ISBN 978-0028657332. OCLC 56057973.
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