Why Christians Still Hate Gnostics

A while back, I set up a Google alert that sends me an e-mail when someone posts something online about "gnosticism," "gnostics," or "gnosis." These can be anything from blog posts to forum entries. I've read through each of the items that comes into my Inbox. The reason I set this up was primarily to see the discourse regarding Gnosticism unfold online, both from the Gnostics point of view and from the modern-day Christian heresiologists. It's really a fascinating conversation to see.

On the one hand, you have the Gnostics (amateur students, practitioners, and ordained ministers) discussing the path to gnosis amongst themselves on sites like Palm Tree Garden and some of the gnostic blogs. In general, I've not seen any anti-Christian rhetoric, calls for the destruction of the Church, or anything like that. In fact, I think I'm more confrontational in my posts than anyone on the Gnostic side of the spectrum.

Then, on the other hand, you have anti-Gnostic posts from fundamentalist Christians and Catholics alike; heresiological apologists so to speak. Obviously, questions are being asked within the flock. People are looking at the Nag Hammadi texts or reading about the Gnostics in modern literature or watching shows on the History Channel, and they're asking how this fits in with their faith. These inconvenient little forays into non-canonical territory are a little like Toto pulling at the curtain and showing the man behind the Wizard.

The Wizard: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

The Christian response to the resurgence of interest in Gnosticism is the same as it was roughly 1800 years ago, when the frail body of the Church was just beginning to form and questions were raised that threatened (in their eyes) to destroy the Church before it was even built. Old, effectively intimidating words like "blasphemy" and "heresy" are employed, and the great disdain that Ireneaus felt for the Gnostics of his age is reborn in the rhetoric of the modern apologist blogger.

So, where does this disdain come from? What is it about the Gnostics that the Christians hate so much? I've compiled a list of things that I (neophyte that I am) feel have been consistently disputed across the millennia:

• First and foremost, in my opinion, is that the Gnostics call into question the validity of the Holy Bible. The additional scriptures the Gnostics wrote (including the ones in the Nag Hammadi Library, Pistis Sophia, and others) coupled with the Gnostic tendency to discount the importance of the Old Testament (except for the Wisdom books) is really too much to bear for most fundamentalists. Their basic belief is in the inerrancy of the Scripture in the Bible. According to the Basic Beliefs of the Southern Baptist Convention: "The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trusthworthy (sic)."
• Secondly, the Gnostics believe that the Jehovah God of the Old Testament is a fallible, imperfect Demiurge, known by many names, including Yaldabaoth, Saklas, and Samael, none of which are favorable names to have. Christians believe that the Creator of the world and the Father of Christ are one in the same. Gnostics see the imperfection of this world, the harsh realities of life, and the sheer madness and cruelty of the Old Testament Jehovah and they can't rationalize how that relates to the Loving Father that Jesus the Christos spoke of.
  
• Thirdly, the Gnostics dispute the purpose and form of Jesus. Christians believe that Christ's blood sacrifice and our willingness to believe in Him is what grants us salvation. Gnostics again, can't cope with the idea that salvation has to come from a blood-thirsty god who demands an animal or human sacrifice, much less the slaughter of his own son. This is not a god that we care to worship or praise. The Logos (the Word) came to us in order to awaken us to our true selves and lead us into a direct experiential knowledge (gnosis) of the True God, who is Father to us all. Whether or not the Christos appeared to be human or actually took human form is something that is still debated in Gnostic circles. That fact also distresses the Christians.

I'll end on three bullet points in order that I can be a little symbolic. But suffice it to that the Gnostics basically counter the very basic principles of mainstream Christianity. They ask questions where the Church authorities demand unwavering belief. They have the audacity to question the actions of "God" in the Old Testament. But seriously, can you blame us? How barbaric does this sound?

If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. [Deuteronomy 32:42 (King James Version)]

This is "God" speaking to his faithful servant Moses, right before he tells him, "Oh, by the way, for all your hard work in keeping my children together, you'll get to see Israel, but you won't set foot there. Yay Me."

The point is that Christians have hated Gnostics since the beginning of the Christian Era, and they're not likely to start liking them any time soon. The differences between the two are fundamental and unresolvable. Unfortunately for them, however, Toto has already pulled aside the curtain. What is seen cannot be unseen. What is said cannot be unsaid. Nearly 1800 years have passed since the Christians tried to purge society of Gnosticism, but these thousands of years passed with the Gnostic thread of thought always under the surface, occasionally resurfacing in movements like Manichaeism, Catharism, Alchemy, Theosophy, etc. and finally culminating in Mohammed Ali Samman's discovery at Nag Hammadi, Egypt.

As for the Gnostics, there is no hatred for Christians -- just the occasional (or not-so-occasional) chuckle when they contradict themselves. We focus on what we can focus on, which is our own practice and our own striving for gnosis. When you know the truth, you don't need to justify yourself.

Gnostics and Ninjas: The Mysterious Connection Between the Cult of God and the Cult of Death

How can a person connect the Gnostics and the Ninjas, you might ask. On the surface, the two groups are not only separated by hundreds (if not thousands) of years and thousands of miles, but they are also greatly divided in their purpose ... or are they? Modern mainstream media has given us a pretty warped view of both groups.

The infamous Ninjamania movies of the 1980's told us that the ninjas were nothing more than assassins. Their sole purpose was to wreak havoc, dishearten enemy warriors, and brutally murder whoever got in their way. At best, we got to see the spiritual side of ninjutsu as Sho Kosugi angrily and tearfully performed kuji-kiri (hand gestures) and recite sutras in front of a Buddha in "Revenge of the Ninja" and "Pray for Death."

Modern literature/cinema has given us a glimpse of Gnostics as well, though the Gnostics of "The DaVinci Code" were just good at hiding secrets in artwork and having group sex in basements. At best most people think that the Gnostics were a group of people who were pretty smart and connected to some great power. At worst, they were a bunch of libertines who defied God and "His Church."

The truth is that both groups were just different from the accepted norm, and that got them both into trouble with the authorities of their time.

Ninjas were small, local clans of kinsmen who trained in the martial arts to survive the harsh times of a country embroiled in battle after battle. They accepted the teaches of outcast Chinese generals, Shinto priests, yamabushi Buddhist ascetic monks, and samurai who refused to slit open their own bellies just because their master lost a battle. They treated both sexes as important, and many women became valuable fighters as well, known as kunoichi. Because they didn't adhere to the codes of conduct prevalent at the time, they came to be seen as practitioners of dark arts, or even tengu (mountain goblins). They understood the value of melding the spiritual with the physical, of coexisting and working with Nature to achieve their goals, and to use their strengths to make a difference in the world. The stronger, more prevalent aspect of society, however, saw them as a threat and attempted to destroy them. Over time, they moved deeper underground, passing their traditions on to a select few or to other masters, if a master died without an heir. Only in recent years have they enjoyed the freedom to come out of the shadows back into society.

Gnostics were small groups of men and women who, at least in Christian times, existed within the structure of orthodox Christian society. However, living as many of them did at the crossroads of thought, Alexandria, they were exposed to the beliefs of many other people. They began to see that God was a lot more than what they had been told by the orthodox teachers. Melding the philosophies of Christianity, Neo-Platonism, the Mystery traditions, Zoroastrianism, and possibly Eastern philosophies, they began to get a fuller picture of the Divine and the Cosmos. They began to see the true purpose and mission of Christ the Logos. As they moved beyond the beliefs of society, so too did they change their views of women. Women were allowed to be ordained and to teach. In fact, the great aeon of Gnosticism became Sophia, the feminine aspect of God. Their beliefs threatened the power of the Church, however, and soon a campaign was launched against them to wipe out their books and their beliefs. They too survived into the modern age by going underground ... literally placing their sacred texts in an earthen jar in a cave at Nag Hammadi.

What both groups represent is a desire by a select few to see beyond what society tells everyone else to see. They sought to reach their full potential, and that was something their societies couldn't tolerate. Power cannot be placed in the hands of the individual if repressive societies are to endure. Freedom can only be allowed in the small doses meted out by those in authority. To do otherwise is blasphemy.