In my search to understand Gnosticism, I will share you this excerpt I wrote on Wikipedia when discussing Comparative Religion:
Quote:
It should be noted that there are two kinds of religions:
The first kind is a Society Model Religion which assumes that everything that happens on earth happens in said divine, otherworldly or invisible realm, therefore, God is maker and father of all. God rewards and punishes through messengers and various judgments handed down by laws. God loves and hates certain people in his creation, he is depicted as a human being. This is founded in human social interactions. According to the social model, God is Lord and as lord wants praise and worship. What matters is the interpersonal relationships among those he has created, both with each other and with the creator. These ideas are the basis of the western religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Because of adherence to a dogmatic style of thinking, adherents of society model religions often assume their scriptures are based on a historical point in time when in fact, like many religions and sects before them, the scriptures used myth and allegory within the narrative.
The second kind of religion is a Mind Model religion which assumes that the universe, whole reality and divine are thought to be like a mind, mental terms are formed in metaphor. In this model, the nature of reality can only be known through introspection and unlike the society model of religious adherence, salvation does not come from proper behavior, obedience and submission to the word of law. Rather, salvation comes from knowledge (e.g. Gnosis or Enlightenment), insight and meditation. It should be noted however that through meditation and insight self-discipline can be achieved. Mind Model religions are common in the eastern world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, and in esoteric western traditions such as Kabbalah and Gnosticism. There writings include myths and allegories; however they also have transformative properties that affect the reader who understands what is written.
It is dangerous to try and interpret a mind model religion into a society model religion as it will lead to misunderstanding. A great example would be the dispute between Gnosticism and Christianity where people believe that Gnosticism is an off-shoot of Christianity, when in fact it came before Christianity and was founded by a sect of Hellenize Jews who started this tradition, therefore much misunderstanding has erupted over the nature and roots of Gnosticism.
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Knowing that Gnosticism is about the mind, its about you... You are all the aspects and characters being discussed in Gnostic texts and in them it discusses how you can achieve wholeness with your positive and negative aspects. The demiurge, Sophia, Christos, The Pleroma and The World of Forms.
Gnosticism answers some of the existential questions thats exist in the world today and how to address and answer those questions. I am only beginning to learn but I get little clicks in my mind once and while, these clicks go beyond words but understanding within... Understanding myself... But in order to understand something you need to know it first this is Gnosis.
For example I know the sky is blue but why is the sky blue? The understanding comes when someone tells you the sky is blue because... The Sunlight, The Gases in the atmosphere... etc. In the words of Socrates "The unexamined Life is not worth living."
04-28-2006, 10:02 PM
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