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GNOSTIC TEACHINGS
The radical and subversive nature of Gnosticism can best be appreciated when contrasted with the teachings of Scripture. The Bible reveals that an all-powerful God created the earth and the universe (Genesis 1:1). This magnificent creation was produced according to a well-thought-out plan (Psalm 139:14; Proverbs 8:22-31; Job 38). Everything God made was very good (Genesis 1:10, 18, 21). God created human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Male and female were created as separate genders for the purpose of marrying and reproducing in a family context (Genesis 1:28, 2:22-25). Satan, in the form of a serpent (Ezekiel 28:13), deceived the first human beings by insinuating that God was a liar and was withholding valuable information from them (Genesis 3). Adam and Eve were banished from the garden paradise for disobedience. Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind, making it possible to be reconciled to God, receive the Holy Spirit, gain eternal life and participate in the future kingdom of God (John 3:16-17; Acts 2:38; Mark 1:14-15).
Gnostic teaching totally reverses nearly every detail of these biblical accounts! Gnostics taught that the real God is unknowable and incomprehensible. This world "is a stupendous mistake, created by a foolish or vicious creator-god" (Mystery Religions in the Ancient World, Godwin, 1981, p. 84). Humans are merely "fragments of the universe... sediment from a lost heaven" (Lacarriere, pp. 16, 19). This evil, incompetent god was self-conceived by Sophia (goddess of wisdom) and later seduced Eve, who then gave birth to Cain and Abel. The serpent was actually sent by the true God to teach wisdom to Adam and Eve before they were unmercifully expelled from the garden. This wicked god, the Jehovah of the Hebrew Scriptures, tricked people into worshiping him as the true God, and the Old Testament "is the story of his tyranny and egotism" (Ibid., p. 85). The villains of the Bible (Cain, Esau, the Sodomites, etc.) are regarded as heroes by Gnostics for standing up to this evil god!
In Gnostic belief, salvation is obtained not by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and changing our life, but by learning secret knowledge. For Gnostics, knowledge comes from within oneself—not from revealed Scripture, yet the Bible says just the opposite (Proverbs 3:5; John 17:17)! For Gnostics, this world is evil; the body is the evil—a corrupt prison for the soul—from which one must seek to escape. Marriage and procreational sex are also seen as evils dreamed up by the wicked creator-god. The real hope, to Gnostics, is not to see the future kingdom of God, but to regain an imagined past, freed from the fetters of this world (spirit from matter, light from darkness) in a timeless and incorporeal Kingdom of Light. It is not hard to see why the ideas of Simon and his followers "flew in the face of the whole Apostolic doctrine and the teaching of Jesus" (Lacarriere, p. 47). Gnostics literally turn the Bible upside down!
..............
one faction as anti-sex another faction is sex without boundaries
PERVERTED PRACTICES
Some of the most controversial teachings of the Gnostics had to do with the lifestyle they advocated. Marriage and procreational sex were scorned as the distractions of a wicked god. This led to drastic extremes! Certain teachers, such as Marcion and Valentinus, advocated asceticism (self-denial). They forbade marriage and taught that Gnostics should remain celibate. Initiates already married were told to abstain from sexual relations for life (After Jesus, Reader's Digest, 1992, p. 132). Since some Gnostics taught that Adam was created without gender, the ideal state one should aspire to is androgyny—where sexual identity is suppressed or eliminated. The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas states, "when you make the male and female into one, so that the male is not male and the female is not female... then you shall enter the kingdom" (Unearthing the Lost Words of Jesus, Dart and Riegert, 1998, p. 54). Celibate asceticism—denying one's sexuality and abhorring marriage—was a way of achieving this androgynous ideal and becoming like the true God.
However, other Gnostic teachers advocated just the opposite! Simon Magus appears to have rejected marriage and promoted free love! Gnostics saw laws given by an evil creator-god as restrictive and inhibiting. They taught the "practice of free love must be the means of bursting out of the social straight jacket specifically invented to stifle its [love's] liberating spontaneity... in the promiscuity of men and women lies the true communion" (Lacarriere, p. 51). Some Gnostic sects participated in orgiastic rites of almost indescribable perversion. The idea was that to extirpate evil, it must be practiced until it is exhausted! This stood in marked contrast to the biblical admonitions to "flee sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) and avoid all forms of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
Let us glean some of the ideas presented by these early fathers of Christianity:
Women are the root of all evil -
(This contradicts God's own words in Genesis 1:31 and also contradicts directly 1 Timothy 6:10)
Those who have sex with their wives for pleasure are adulterers -
(This contradicts the definition of adultery in Greek and Hebrew, not to mention many scriptures, such as Leviticus 18:7-23)
Marriage only exists only after the Fall of Man -
(This contradicts Genesis 1:23-24, as it states the marriage design and that Eve was one flesh with Adam, both prior to the Fall)
Christians marry only to produce children -
(Although this one is less in error than most of the other statements above, it does contradict the Song of Solomon, which has nothing to do with producing children and everything to do with the joys of love and sex.)
Women are the Devil's Gateway. Meaning, sin was a result of you, via sex and temptation. -
(Here we see the influence of Gnosticism and Platonism on sex. Apples were considered the fruit, as it symbolizes sex in ancient times. Hence the woman had sex with the man early, and this is where sin came from. And it is assumed the man is somehow without sense when a woman seduces. However, none of this is from scripture. This is all a cleverly devised fable, which we are warned against believing. Further, it contradicts Genesis 3:1-8, as it says they ate a fruit, not that they had wild premarital sex or ate an apple. Last, God created woman as a helper, not as a devilish gateway to sin. Today, we laugh at this viewpoint, however, this is the ground on which many ideas in the church derive. )
Women are temptresses. -
(When I read this, it reminds me of the mindset of many muslim societies. It is not the man's fault, that he wants to have sex with a woman, but rather the woman for tempting him. This is just passing blame. Every man is responsible for his actions, as is made clear in these passages: 1 Peter 4:5, Matthew 3:8-12, Ezekiel 3:18. Further, this assumes a general state of evil within woman, which is greater than sinful nature, which is not accounted for within scripture).
Women's only function is to bear children. -
(Again, this would contradict both God's design of woman as a "helper", equal to man, contradicts Song of Solomon and simple common sense).
Gnostic Beliefs In The Church
Anyone who claims to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should want nothing to do with this dangerous heresy, which is why we must now take a closer look into their doctrines and deeds. It might surprise you to know that many dangerous Gnostic heresies have actually found their way into modern Christian thought.
Scripture
The Gnostics did not believe we should take the Scriptures literally, but instead taught that they must be understood allegorically. They were constantly looking for hidden spiritual meaning while mostly ignoring the literal meaning of the text. This secret knowledge led to various different interpretations of the Scriptures. According to the Gnostic Epistle of Barnabas, the law of Moses was never meant to be taken literally.
Their allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament led them to spiritualize everything, and give everything a Christian meaning. We see the same type of allegory and spiritualization being applied today when preachers try to interpret hidden spiritual meaning behind certain verses, claiming things like, “the Church is spiritual Israel”.
Their allegorical interpretations led them to conclude that when Paul spoke about the Jews, he was actually referring to those who have the secret knowledge. Thus according to them, the “Jews” spiritually represented the Gnostic Christians. We see this same type of manipulation happening today in dispensational theology, when dispensationalists claim that “Israel” in the Bible represents the “Church” today. They place heavy emphasis on this type of allegorical interpretation, however, their interpretation requires special revelation or knowledge that not everyone has access to, and this special knowledge is rooted in Gnosticism. Peter warns us against this type of interpretation when he said,
“knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20)
Marcion was the first to suggest that we separate the Old Testament from the New Testament. In fact, he completely rejected the Old Testament and took it upon himself to create his own New Testament canon that included only a modified version of the Gospel of Luke, and Paul’s epistles. Irenaeus made note of this in his book Against Heresies, saying,
“Wherefore also Marcion and his followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures, not acknowledging some books at all; and, curtailing the Gospel according to Luke and the Epistles of Paul, they assert that these are alone authentic, which they have themselves thus shortened.” – Irenaeus
Marcion’s suggestion lives on today in Bibles that separate the Old Testament from the New, and especially in Bible’s that contain only a New Testament.
Most people are not aware of the fact that some of Marcion’s modifications actually appear in certain modern Bible translations. One such example is the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Luke. Marcion’s mutilated prayer can be found in the New International Version (and various other modern translations). Let’s compare the NIV and the KJV to see what was changed.
He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'” (NIV)
Now read the true version of the prayer that was preserved in the King James Version.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. (KJV)
Did you notice the things that are missing from Marcion’s version?
[OUR] Father [WHICH ART IN HEAVEN] – without this, you could be praying to any “Father”. This could be a prayer to Satan or even to the Pope, because they are both called “father” by their followers. “Father” is a term used by Buddhists, occultists, and even satanists. But there is only one “Father which art in heaven.”
Thy kingdom come. [THY WILL BE DONE, AS IN HEAVEN, SO IN EARTH] – again, this signifies who’s kingdom and who’s will. It is the one who is in Heaven, but when this is left out, we could be praying for Satan’s kingdom to come, or the kingdom of the Antichrist. Also, it is not just a prayer for the kingdom to come, but it includes the important desire for Yahweh’s will to be done on earth.
And lead us not into temptation; [BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL]. – this again signifies who we are praying to, the only one who can deliver us from evil. Satan cannot deliver us from evil, the Pope can’t deliver us from evil, and neither can the Antichrist, but OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN CAN!
And this is what Christianity has done with the Tanakh, over-spiritualized everything to support their doctrines...Even to the point of modifying it...
Richard, The Bible is a spiritual book recording revelations from God. They can NOT be over-spiritualized, but they can be and have been over-carnalized by our carnal-minded ancestors.
GNOSTIC TEACHINGS
The radical and subversive nature of Gnosticism can best be appreciated when contrasted with the teachings of Scripture. The Bible reveals that an all-powerful God created the earth and the universe (Genesis 1:1). This magnificent creation was produced according to a well-thought-out plan (Psalm 139:14; Proverbs 8:22-31; Job 38). Everything God made was very good (Genesis 1:10, 18, 21). God created human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Male and female were created as separate genders for the purpose of marrying and reproducing in a family context (Genesis 1:28, 2:22-25). Satan, in the form of a serpent (Ezekiel 28:13), deceived the first human beings by insinuating that God was a liar and was withholding valuable information from them (Genesis 3). Adam and Eve were banished from the garden paradise for disobedience. Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind, making it possible to be reconciled to God, receive the Holy Spirit, gain eternal life and participate in the future kingdom of God (John 3:16-17; Acts 2:38; Mark 1:14-15).
Gnostic teaching totally reverses nearly every detail of these biblical accounts! Gnostics taught that the real God is unknowable and incomprehensible. This world "is a stupendous mistake, created by a foolish or vicious creator-god" (Mystery Religions in the Ancient World, Godwin, 1981, p. 84). Humans are merely "fragments of the universe... sediment from a lost heaven" (Lacarriere, pp. 16, 19). This evil, incompetent god was self-conceived by Sophia (goddess of wisdom) and later seduced Eve, who then gave birth to Cain and Abel. The serpent was actually sent by the true God to teach wisdom to Adam and Eve before they were unmercifully expelled from the garden. This wicked god, the Jehovah of the Hebrew Scriptures, tricked people into worshiping him as the true God, and the Old Testament "is the story of his tyranny and egotism" (Ibid., p. 85). The villains of the Bible (Cain, Esau, the Sodomites, etc.) are regarded as heroes by Gnostics for standing up to this evil god!
In Gnostic belief, salvation is obtained not by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and changing our life, but by learning secret knowledge. For Gnostics, knowledge comes from within oneself—not from revealed Scripture, yet the Bible says just the opposite (Proverbs 3:5; John 17:17)! For Gnostics, this world is evil; the body is the evil—a corrupt prison for the soul—from which one must seek to escape. Marriage and procreational sex are also seen as evils dreamed up by the wicked creator-god. The real hope, to Gnostics, is not to see the future kingdom of God, but to regain an imagined past, freed from the fetters of this world (spirit from matter, light from darkness) in a timeless and incorporeal Kingdom of Light. It is not hard to see why the ideas of Simon and his followers "flew in the face of the whole Apostolic doctrine and the teaching of Jesus" (Lacarriere, p. 47). Gnostics literally turn the Bible upside down!
..............
one faction as anti-sex another faction is sex without boundaries
PERVERTED PRACTICES
Some of the most controversial teachings of the Gnostics had to do with the lifestyle they advocated. Marriage and procreational sex were scorned as the distractions of a wicked god. This led to drastic extremes! Certain teachers, such as Marcion and Valentinus, advocated asceticism (self-denial). They forbade marriage and taught that Gnostics should remain celibate. Initiates already married were told to abstain from sexual relations for life (After Jesus, Reader's Digest, 1992, p. 132). Since some Gnostics taught that Adam was created without gender, the ideal state one should aspire to is androgyny—where sexual identity is suppressed or eliminated. The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas states, "when you make the male and female into one, so that the male is not male and the female is not female... then you shall enter the kingdom" (Unearthing the Lost Words of Jesus, Dart and Riegert, 1998, p. 54). Celibate asceticism—denying one's sexuality and abhorring marriage—was a way of achieving this androgynous ideal and becoming like the true God.
However, other Gnostic teachers advocated just the opposite! Simon Magus appears to have rejected marriage and promoted free love! Gnostics saw laws given by an evil creator-god as restrictive and inhibiting. They taught the "practice of free love must be the means of bursting out of the social straight jacket specifically invented to stifle its [love's] liberating spontaneity... in the promiscuity of men and women lies the true communion" (Lacarriere, p. 51). Some Gnostic sects participated in orgiastic rites of almost indescribable perversion. The idea was that to extirpate evil, it must be practiced until it is exhausted! This stood in marked contrast to the biblical admonitions to "flee sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) and avoid all forms of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
Let us glean some of the ideas presented by these early fathers of Christianity:
Women are the root of all evil -
(This contradicts God's own words in Genesis 1:31 and also contradicts directly 1 Timothy 6:10)
Those who have sex with their wives for pleasure are adulterers -
(This contradicts the definition of adultery in Greek and Hebrew, not to mention many scriptures, such as Leviticus 18:7-23)
Marriage only exists only after the Fall of Man -
(This contradicts Genesis 1:23-24, as it states the marriage design and that Eve was one flesh with Adam, both prior to the Fall)
Christians marry only to produce children -
(Although this one is less in error than most of the other statements above, it does contradict the Song of Solomon, which has nothing to do with producing children and everything to do with the joys of love and sex.)
Women are the Devil's Gateway. Meaning, sin was a result of you, via sex and temptation. -
(Here we see the influence of Gnosticism and Platonism on sex. Apples were considered the fruit, as it symbolizes sex in ancient times. Hence the woman had sex with the man early, and this is where sin came from. And it is assumed the man is somehow without sense when a woman seduces. However, none of this is from scripture. This is all a cleverly devised fable, which we are warned against believing. Further, it contradicts Genesis 3:1-8, as it says they ate a fruit, not that they had wild premarital sex or ate an apple. Last, God created woman as a helper, not as a devilish gateway to sin. Today, we laugh at this viewpoint, however, this is the ground on which many ideas in the church derive. )
Women are temptresses. -
(When I read this, it reminds me of the mindset of many muslim societies. It is not the man's fault, that he wants to have sex with a woman, but rather the woman for tempting him. This is just passing blame. Every man is responsible for his actions, as is made clear in these passages: 1 Peter 4:5, Matthew 3:8-12, Ezekiel 3:18. Further, this assumes a general state of evil within woman, which is greater than sinful nature, which is not accounted for within scripture).
Women's only function is to bear children. -
(Again, this would contradict both God's design of woman as a "helper", equal to man, contradicts Song of Solomon and simple common sense).
When I read this I am reminded of what PLAGIARISM and a cut and past quote look like?
Richard, The Bible is a spiritual book recording revelations from God. They can NOT be over-spiritualized, but they can be and have been over-carnalized by our carnal-minded ancestors.
i can say the same for the so-called rabbinic oral laws that the rabbis invented many of which contracted the torah laws
Modern Gnostic regimes (Marxist Communism, Hitler's Socialism) began by rejecting the Triune God and Christ's deity, denying objective standards of right and wrong, and forcing Darwinism---which dehumanizes mankind---onto an unwitting population. Darwinism allows the gnostikoi to throw out sanctity of life and reduce mankind to matter in motion. The end case in every instance, was to place absolute power over dehumanized masses (somatics) in the hands of antihuman psychopaths and autocratic states to be wielded without restraint or mercy.
Of all belief systems, modern Gnosticism has been by far the bloodiest. In his book, Death by Government, R.J. Rummel comprehensively details the roughly 170 million people murdered by Gnostic governments during the 20th century.
Even at its mildest, as is thus far the case here in America, there is a steady level of lying, confiscation, corruption, fraud, and stifling of freedoms and free speech. For the first time ever, Americans are afraid of saying certain words. Parents fear disciplining their own children. More ominously, the gnostikoi in control of American institutions---government, seminaries, education, media, science, finance, and law have nearly succeeded in replacing the living, transcendent God with Darwinism, thus allowing them to throw out both sanctity of life and objective standards. "We the people" have been dehumanized---reduced to matter and energy in motion.
As early as 1926, President Calvin Coolidge was aware of and deeply concerned by the insidious spread evolutionary materialism (Gnostic neo-paganism) in America. As he knew, Americans are free only because of the supernatural Judeo-Christian foundation laid by the country's founders. In a speech he delivered in Philadelphia (July 5, 1926) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence he tried to call Americans back to their Biblically-based heritage.
He reminded Americans that the Declaration's principles of liberty arise from man's God-given inalienable rights. And these are found, said Coolidge,
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