GNOSTICISM: An Overview
By Bruce Atkinson Ph.D
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
February 24, 2014
The propagation of seriously mistaken religious ideas, otherwise known as heresies, have a long history in the church. Actually, the history of heresy goes back to primitive man's pantheistic tendency to worship the created order instead of the Creator. From this tendency, humans progressed to the worship of man-made idols, imaginary gods and goddesses, and eventually to the elevation of human beings to god-like status (such as living emperors and ancestor worship). As it inevitably must, this progression now has turned into the worship of oneself (see VOL article "the god of me":http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=18147#.Utv2VRAo7IU ) Gnosticism may be the most common version of this self-worship.
History and Definition
As Douglas Winnail summarized it, one of the prime opponents of early Apostolic Christianity was Gnosticism - a radical belief system that mixed pagan ideas, Greek philosophy, mysticism and human reasoning with twisted explanations of Scripture.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
By Bruce Atkinson Ph.D
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
February 24, 2014
The propagation of seriously mistaken religious ideas, otherwise known as heresies, have a long history in the church. Actually, the history of heresy goes back to primitive man's pantheistic tendency to worship the created order instead of the Creator. From this tendency, humans progressed to the worship of man-made idols, imaginary gods and goddesses, and eventually to the elevation of human beings to god-like status (such as living emperors and ancestor worship). As it inevitably must, this progression now has turned into the worship of oneself (see VOL article "the god of me":http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=18147#.Utv2VRAo7IU ) Gnosticism may be the most common version of this self-worship.History and Definition
As Douglas Winnail summarized it, one of the prime opponents of early Apostolic Christianity was Gnosticism - a radical belief system that mixed pagan ideas, Greek philosophy, mysticism and human reasoning with twisted explanations of Scripture.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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