Hey You! (mysticism, myth, gnostic, Gnosticism, Mythology)

[Mavrikmind]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

A Gnostic is someone who seeks or believes they have found gnosis (translates knowledge, but is closer to enlightenment or awakening in meaning) of God.

The golden age of Gnosticism was in the first few centuries after Christ, most Gnostics are and were Christian based, a second large wave of Gnostic thought appeared in medieval times, but was wiped out by the Inquisition (Vatican, not Spanish).
That's not to say all Gnostics were/are Christian, there were Jewish, Islamic and pagan Gnostics. Gnostic thought also found its way into religions such Manichaenism and Mandaism.

To sum up Gnostic belief very briefly, it is that humanity has been separated from God (there are various myths to explain how) and that those who seek and find Gnosis will reunite their souls with God, usually after death.

Thanks Halcyon, that cleared it up for me

[arielmessenger]

I am a modern Gnostic with new Gnostic Christian theology. The old Gnostics worshipped the Tree of Knowledge but not the Tree of Life because life was deemed a prison for souls. Modern Gnosis honors and cherishes both because without life there is no platform for souls to work out their appointed dramas learning lessons in preparation for the world to come.

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by arielmessenger

The old Gnostics worshipped the Tree of Knowledge but not the Tree of Life because life was deemed a prison for souls.

I've never read anything about any Gnostics worshipping either Tree.

Originally Posted by arielmessenger

Modern Gnosis honors and cherishes both because without life there is no platform for souls to work out their appointed dramas learning lessons in preparation for the world to come.

Sounds more like LDS doctrine to me, not really Gnostic in the ancient or contemporary understanding.

[arielmessenger]

Modern gnosticism differs from classical gnosticism in that the ancient duality, the psychological war between body and soul, soul and the material world, has been deemed an untrue doctrine and psychologically unhealthy to maintain.

And, no, you won't find anything in classical Gnostic literature that gives my own analogy of the two Trees of the Garden and I haven't run across any modern authors using the metaphor. It is a shorthand for showing the difference between old and new Gnosticism.

And yes, Native American spirituality has influenced my otherwise Old World Holy Land religious conceptualization just as it did Joseph Smith. God has united East and West in America and neither is whole without the other.

[yuvgotmel]

I'm kind of in between a Gnostic and a Kabbalist. I study both. I initially started out studying the Jewish Kabbalah and moved into studies of Gnosticism and then into deeper parts of esotericism.

[Buttons*]

Originally Posted by yuvgotmel

I'm kind of in between a Gnostic and a Kabbalist. I study both. I initially started out studying the Jewish Kabbalah and moved into studies of Gnosticism and then into deeper parts of esotericism.

cool i think we'll get along great

[Ody]

Originally Posted by yuvgotmel

I'm kind of in between a Gnostic and a Kabbalist. I study both. I initially started out studying the Jewish Kabbalah and moved into studies of Gnosticism and then into deeper parts of esotericism.

Then you follow Hollywood Kabbalah.

[yuvgotmel]

No...I really don't. I started out studying the Torah and the Jewish writings from the "Old Testament". I attended synagagoues. I became friends with Jews, rabbis and Jewish authors, all of whom who said that I had a "Jewish soul."

I was very interested in Chassidic Judaism, which openly teaches the Kabbalah, and reads aloud from "The Zohar." However, something inside just wouldn't allow me to convert to Judaism. It was something that I struggled with, especially since I have been drawn in that area for such a long time.

So I felt torn for a long time and I became friends with some Gnostics. I started listening to their teachings and found the similarities from Kabbalah in Gnosticism as well. However, I stand firmly against communion, which I equate to human sacrifice and drinking of blood, etc.

The teachings of Jesus, in my opinion and from my research, were not "new" at the time they were presented. In fact, they not only seem reminiscent of Eastern philosophies, but they were also being taught in the Jewish communities as well.

I would convert to Judaism, except that something holds me back from it. I continue to study many religions, not because I'm "lost" or confused, but rather I look for similarities and perspectives, attempting to find the commanalities as well as dissimilarities.

[gnostic]

I am still agnostic, but like some others here, I do have a leaning towards Gnosticism, as well as towards Taoism and Buddhism. I just don't have full belief.

[spacemonkey]

I'm still here, been away for awhile though.