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Journal articles on the topic 'Gnosticism'

Author: Grafiati

Published: 4 June 2021

Last updated: 29 July 2024

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1

Roig Lanzillotta, Lautaro. "Albert Camus, Metaphysical Revolt, Gnosticism and Modern Cinema." Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies 5, no. 1 (March 26, 2020): 45–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2451859x-12340076.

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Abstract In The Rebel (1951) Albert Camus assigns ancient Gnosticism an important place in the history of human revolt. In his interpretation, Gnostics incarnate the spirit of proud rebellion and protest against a God deemed responsible for human suffering and death. For Camus these are the roots of metaphysical rebellion in Western history that, beginning in the eighteenth century, culminated in the fascist and socialist utopian experiments in the twentieth century. After assessing Camus’s view of Gnosticism, this article claims that modern cinema shows the impact of The Rebel on the way several recent films conceive of their rebellious protagonists. The controlled character of the revolts they promote shows that modern cinema follows Gnosticism in their analysis both the modern sentiments of alienation in contemporary society and the ways to break free in order to attain a life worthy of its name.

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Brighenti, Agenor. "O gnosticismo na Igreja antiga e na atualidade." Revista Eclesiástica Brasileira 67, no. 267 (April 9, 2019): 625. http://dx.doi.org/10.29386/reb.v67i267.1502.

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O gnosticismo, embora tenha raízes na filosofia grega e em experiências religiosas orientais, irrompeu no seio do cristianismo no século II, dizendo aperfeiçoá-lo e constituir-se na verdadeira Igreja. Ao reler as verdades cristãs desde sua cosmovisão, tornou-se um dos maiores perigos para a fé cristã, constituindo-se numa questão de vida ou morte para o cristianismo. Neste estudo, o autor dá uma visão geral do movimento, privilegiando a compreensão de sua estrutura interna como doutrina filosófico-religiosa. Começa por uma abordagem histórica do fenômeno para, em seguida, entrar no estudo do gnosticismo propriamente dito: o problema de suas raízes, seus padrões de pensamento ou mitos, as diferentes teorias dos gnósticos e seus componentes e características. O texto termina apresentando algumas formas modernas de gnosticismo, em suas concepções e doutrinas, bem como suas implicações para o cristianismo na aurora do Terceiro Milênio.Abstract: Having its roots in Greek philosophy and in Eastern religious practices, Gnosticism nevertheless reappears in the heart of Christianity in the 2nd century, claiming to be a better version of Christianity and the true Church. In so far asit reinterpreted the Christian truths according to its own view of the cosmos it became one of the greatest dangers for the Christian faith and a life or death issue for Christianity. In this study, the author presents a general survey of the movement, focusing, in particular, on its internal structure as a philosophical-religious doctrine. A historical overview of the phenomenon is followed by a study of Gnosticism itself: the problem of its roots, its thinking patterns or myths, the Gnostics’different theories and their components and main characteristics. The text ends by presenting some modern forms of Gnosticism in their conceptions and doctrines as well as their implications for Christianity in these early years of the Third Millennium.

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Bakhar, Spiridon A. "THE “MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION” IN GNOSTIC CHRISTIANITY." Научное мнение, no. 12 (December 25, 2023): 28–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.25807/22224378_2023_12_28.

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The article is intended to fill the gap existing today in the study of Gnosticism. Using the available sources and other relevant literature, the author of the article makes an attempt for the first time to reconstruct the religious and philosophical views of Gnostic authors on the idea of redemption. The significance of this idea in the teachings of Gnostics is shown, its specificity is determined. The ideas of redemption are analysed and systematised in the context of ontological, epistemological and anthropological aspects of Gnosticism. Their prerequisites are revealed. A comparison is made between the ideas of redemption in Gnostic and canonical Christianity

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Dillon, Matthew. "Impact of Scholarship on Contemporary “Gnosticism(s)”." International Journal for the Study of New Religions 9, no. 1 (December 7, 2018): 57–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.37614.

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This article examines the impact of academic discourses on Neo-Gnosticism. The identities and ritual practices of Neo-Gnostics are constructed with reference to Gnostic Studies. Analysis of two case studies (the Apostolic Johannite Church and Jeremy Puma) shows how academic discourse legitimizes, challenges, or reforms Gnostic identity in the twenty-first century.

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Burns, Dylan M. "Providence, Creation, and Gnosticism According to the Gnostics." Journal of Early Christian Studies 24, no. 1 (2016): 55–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/earl.2016.0005.

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6

Rasimus, Tuomas. "Ophite Gnosticism, Sethianism and the Nag Hammadi Library." Vigiliae Christianae 59, no. 3 (2005): 235–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1570072054640478.

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AbstractThis article discusses the definition of Ophite Gnosticism, its relationship to Sethian Gnosticism, and argues that Eugnostos, Soph. Jes. Chr., Orig. World, Hyp. Arch. and Ap. John not only have important links with each other but also draw essentially on the mythology the heresiologists called that of the Ophites. Before the Nag Hammadi findings, Ophite Gnosticism was often seen as an important and early form of Gnosticism, rooted in Jewish soil, and only secondarily Christianized. Today, not only are similar claims made of Sethian Gnosticism, but also some of the above-mentioned texts are classified as Sethian. In many recent studies, the Ophite mythology is connected with Sethian Gnosticism, even though the exact relationship between these two forms of Gnosticism has remained unclear. It is argued here that the Sethian Gnostic authors drew on earlier forms of Gnosticism, especially on the Ophite mythology, in composing some of the central Sethian texts.

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PRICOPI, Victor-Alexandru. "From Ancient Gnostics to Modern Scholars – Issues in Defining the Concept of Gnosticism." Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala 5, no. 2 (December 31, 2013): 41–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/rrem/2013.0502.04.

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8

JONES, PETER. "The Pauline Canon and Gnosticism." Unio Cum Christo 2, no. 1 (April 1, 2016): 27. http://dx.doi.org/10.35285/ucc2.1.2016.art2.

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Abstract: Gnosticism and canon are as different as contemporary theological liberalism and biblical orthodoxy! Indeed, the latest versions of liberalism seek to create a “new” view of Christianity shorn of any notion of creed or canon and based precisely on the faith of their ancient Gnostic counterparts. While the early church in its most ancient creed affirmed the validity of Scripture (1 Cor 15:3–8), the Gnostics spent a good part of their time reviling those Scriptures—opting for a “canon within the canon”— and the God, the Creator, who inspired them. This perennial heresy returns today in various spiritual forms of paganized Christianity, but they will not prevail against the historic rock of the biblical canon.

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Lain, Gary. "Cinematic Gnosticism." American Book Review 29, no. 4 (2008): 29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/abr.2008.0021.

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Barrois, Bertrand C. "Gnosticism Reformed." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 27, no. 1 (April 1, 1994): 239–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/45228341.

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11

Sariel, Aviram. "Jonasian Gnosticism." Harvard Theological Review 116, no. 1 (January 2023): 91–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0017816023000056.

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AbstractThis article proposes that Jonas’s understanding of gnosticism differs substantially from the account typically associated with him. That standard account takes the basic tenets of existentialism as the foundation to its discussion of alienated individuality, whereas Jonas’s system uses neo-Kantian epistemology to construct both alienation and individuality out of a unified field of human interaction. Within his framework, gnosticism is a single historical-philosophical episode of inauthenticity, highly influential yet isolated in time, unlike the ubiquitous understanding of it. This article reviews Jonas’s system, elements of its early and later acceptance, along with selected issues raised by critics, from Heidegger and Scholem to Colpe, Yamauchi, Williams, and King.

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Bielik-Robson, Agata. "Will There Rather Be Nothing Than Something?" Civitas. Studia z Filozofii Polityki 29 (May 18, 2022): 105–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.35757/civ.2021.29.05.

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The purpose of this essay is to put Ernst Bloch’s philosophy to a test suggested by Hans Blumenberg in The Legitimacy of the Modern Age. According to Blumenberg, modernity constitutes the second, successful, attempt at overcoming Gnosticism, after the first attempt, undertaken by Christianity, had failed. However – Blumenberg argues – it was not modern philosophy, but only science which had managed to escape Gnosticism’s ontological trap of viewing the world as an illusion bordering on nothing.

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13

Albrile, Ezio. "Tingere l’anima." ARYS: Antigüedad, Religiones y Sociedades, no. 13 (October 5, 2017): 189. http://dx.doi.org/10.20318/arys.2017.3846.

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Resumen: Una piccola chiesa nell’Italia del nord (a Valdurna-Durnholz, nei pressi di Bolzano) esibisce dei dipinti risalenti al XV secolo in cui si ripresentano antichi motivi gnostico-alchemici. In essi un angelo lava l’anima e le impartisce un battesimo celeste, una immagine che troviamo anche in un testo della biblioteca di Nag Hammadi, il Vangelo di Filippo, in cui la purificazione dell’anima e descritta nei termini di un lavaggio e di una immersione in una sostanza detergente; un lessico che trae origine dalle operazioni di lavaggio e di tintura dei tessuti, in particolare dalle manipolazioni di natura alchimica. Ermetismo alchemico, gnosticismo e cristianesimo condividono infatti un comune intento soteriológico che si e trasmesso all’Occidente in forme spesso difficili da decifrare.Abstract: In a little church of northern Italy (in Valdurna-Durnholz, near Bolzano) we can find paintings from the fifteenth century where we have ancient Gnostic-Alchemical themes, again. These works, show an angel washing a soul and gives it the heavenly baptism, something that we find also in a Nag Hammadi text as the Gospel of Philip. In this text, the soul’s purification is described as an act of washing and dipping in a cleansing substance; this is a lexicon coming from the washing and the dying of clothes, and particularly from the Alchemical manipulations. Alchemical Hermeticism, Gnosticism and Christianity share a common soteriological view which has been passed to the West in ways often difficult to understand.Parole chiave: Arte cristiana, Gnosticismo, Testi di Nag Hammadi, Alchimia, ErmetismoKey words: Christian Art, Gnosticism, Nag Hammadi texts, Alchemy, Hermeticism

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14

Borella, Jean, and G. John Campoux. "Christianity as Gnosticism." Chesterton Review 27, no. 1 (2001): 251–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/chesterton2001271/2124.

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15

Stertz, Stephen A., and Richard T. Wallis. "Neoplatonism and Gnosticism." Classical World 86, no. 6 (1993): 514. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4351413.

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16

Sonea, Ciprian. "Cioran and Gnosticism." Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Theologia Orthodoxa 63, no. 1 (June 15, 2018): 129–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.24193/subbto.2018.1.09.

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17

Majercik, Ruth. "Porphyry and Gnosticism." Classical Quarterly 55, no. 1 (May 2005): 277–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cq/bmi020.

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18

BRENNER, E. M. "Gnosticism and Psychology." Journal of Analytical Psychology 35, no. 4 (October 1990): 397–419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-5922.1990.00397.x.

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19

Kazanas, N. "Advaita and Gnosticism." Indian Historical Review 32, no. 1 (January 2005): 197–254. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/037698360503200108.

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Borella, Jean. "Christianity as Gnosticism." Chesterton Review 38, no. 3 (2012): 612–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/chesterton2012383/493.

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21

Segal, Robert A. "Jung and Gnosticism." Religion 17, no. 4 (October 1987): 301–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-721x(87)90057-1.

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22

Fossa, Fabio. "Nihilism, Existentialism, – and Gnosticism? Reassessing the role of the gnostic religion in Hans Jonas’s thought." Philosophy & Social Criticism 46, no. 1 (April 10, 2019): 64–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0191453719839455.

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Late antique Gnosticism and Heidegger’s Existentialism are usually counted among the main theoretical targets of Hans Jonas’s philosophy of life and responsibility, since they are supposed to share the dualistic and nihilistic attitude the philosopher deemed most mistaken and pernicious. In particular, Gnosticism is commonly understood as the exact opposite of what Jonas strove to accomplish in his work. However, I think it is simplistic to relegate Gnosticism to a merely antagonistic role in the development of Jonas’s philosophy. My claim is that Gnosticism, being a non-nihilistic form of dualism, might have been a relevant source of inspiration – although not the only one – for amending the flaws of Heidegger’s Existentialism. By taking a closer look at the essay Gnosticism, Existentialism, and Nihilism, this article aims to clarify the critical and constructive role that Gnosticism might have played in shaping some of the major traits of Jonas’s thought. The first part of this essay deals with Jonas’s ‘gnostic reading’ of Heidegger’s Existentialism and highlights the positive insights drawn from such interpretative strategy. The second part focuses on three main motives in Jonas’s philosophy that may be traced back to the gnostic narrative: value objectivity and vulnerability, human responsibility and involvement in the history of being, and the sense of belonging to a wider dimension capable of providing orientation and meaning to human life.

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23

Dobkowski, Mariusz. "„Uważam się za heretyka i za gnostyka, i szczycę się, że nim jestem”. Jerzego Prokopiuka ezoteryczna recepcja gnozy i gnostycyzmu." Studia Religiologica 54, no. 3 (December 1, 2021): 269–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.4467/20844077sr.21.017.16554.

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“I Consider Myself a Heretic and a Gnostic, and I Pride Myself on Being One.” Jerzy Prokopiuk’s Esoteric Reception of Gnosis and Gnosticism In the paper, the author presents Jerzy Prokopiuk’s (1931–2021) outlook on gnosis and Gnosticism. Prokopiuk was a Polish esotericist, translator, and non-academic specialist in religious studies. His views on this subject can be divided into four areas: (1) definition of gnosis; (2) the essence and de- scription of Gnosticism as a historical religious formation; (3) description and understanding of the post-Gnostic tradition; (4) gnosis and Gnosticism as a hermeneutic tool. As to (1) definition of gno- sis, the Prokopiuk presents three forms of this special kind of knowledge: escapist gnosis (know- ledge liberates the human spirit from material body and the physical world); transformational gnosis (knowledge transforms the human soul, body and earthly nature); lateral gnosis (idea of alternative worlds). Regarding (2) Gnosticism, Prokopiuk says that its source was ancient mysteries and a par- ticular type of religious experience. He sees (3) the post-Gnostic tradition as an unbroken chain of esoteric groups and figures from late antiquity to the present day. Finally, gnosis and Gnosticism are (4) a hermeneutic tool for Prokopiuk because they allow him to interpret phenomena and texts of culture (in the field of literature, cinema, psychology, and others). The paper also reflects on the usefulness of some of Prokopiuk’s ideas for contemporary humanities.

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Linjamaa, Paul, and Johnny Olsson. "Chaos Untold." Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 27, no. 1 (August 1, 2023): 29–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/nr.2023.27.1.29.

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This article analyzes the utilization of the concept “Gnosticism” in a form of Satanism that has come to be known as “Chaos Gnosticism,” or “Gnostic Satanism.” The topic of the study is the Swedish expression of this phenomenon attached to Current 218 and the Temple of Black Light, previously named the Misanthropic Luciferian Order (MLO). The group is known as one of the more radical and violent forms of Satanism. The aim here is to show how MLO relates to ancient Gnostic myths and how the particular and at times sinister worldview of MLO is legitimized by the use of Gnosticism. We also argue that the way the concept “Gnosticism” is understood within the group is reminiscent of the way it is constructed in certain scholarly circles. This brings to attention the relationship between modern academic publications and the construction of new religious movements.

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Parrott, Douglas M. "Gnosticism and Egyptian Religion by." Novum Testamentum 29, no. 1 (1987): 73–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853687x00191.

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AbstractDespite the fact that Egypt has provided the most abundant sources for the study of Gnosticism and the occasional mention of Egypt and things Egyptian in those sources, scholars have neglected Egyptian religion as a significant influence in the origin and development of Gnosticism. An examination of the early Nag Hammadi tractate Eugnostos makes it possible to see that it was significantly affected by Egyptian religious conceptions of the Urzeit. The evidence of the influence of Eugnostos upon subsequent gnostic systems suggests that it was at least one route by which Egyptian religion influenced Gnosticism at its core.

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Gaston, Thomas. "The Egyptian Background of Gnostic Mythology." Numen 62, no. 4 (June 8, 2015): 389–407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685276-12341378.

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The mythologies recorded by Irenaeus that he ascribes to the Gnostics contain many features that are difficult to explain by reference solely to Jewish sources, whether orthodox or heterodox. Previously, Douglas Parrott proposed an Egyptian background for the pattern of divinities found in the Gnostic textEugnostos. In this article, it is argued that the so-called Ophite mythology recorded by Irenaeus is earlier thanEugnostosand has more compelling parallels with Egyptian theogony. An Egyptian background for the Barbeloite mythology is also speculated. These parallels demonstrate that there is scope for further research into the Egyptian origins of Gnosticism.

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27

Borodai, T. Iu. "Plotinus's Critique of Gnosticism." Russian Studies in Philosophy 42, no. 1 (July 2003): 66–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/rsp1061-1967420166.

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Parrott, Douglas M. "Gnosticism and Egyptian Religion." Novum Testamentum 29, no. 1 (January 1987): 73. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1560811.

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29

Edwards, M. J. "Review: What Is Gnosticism?" Journal of Theological Studies 56, no. 1 (April 1, 2005): 198–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jts/fli032.

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Brown, D. "HD'S TRILOGY: MODERN GNOSTICISM?" Literature and Theology 10, no. 4 (December 1, 1996): 351–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/litthe/10.4.351.

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Buckley, J. J. "Review: What is Gnosticism?" Journal of the American Academy of Religion 72, no. 2 (June 1, 2004): 547–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfh051.

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Kaufmann, David. "Beyond Gnosticism and Magic." New German Critique 40, no. 1 (2013): 29–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/0094033x-1812559.

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Tite, Philip L. "Voluntary Martyrdom and Gnosticism." Journal of Early Christian Studies 23, no. 1 (2015): 27–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/earl.2015.0013.

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Allen, R. T. "Flew, Marx and Gnosticism." Philosophy 68, no. 263 (January 1993): 94–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031819100040079.

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Professor Flew has recently sought to demolish the philosophical pretensions of Marx and the Marxists by the use of Hume's Fork and Popper's demand for falsifiable consequences. Marx tried to derive matters of ‘fact and existence’ from ‘relations of ideas’, which Hume's Fork states to be impossible. From this and not from empirical study, he derived predictions for the future course of history which neither he nor his followers have ever properly tested by empirical enquiries. Nor have they ever provided any clear, unambiguous and therefore testable formulations of those predictions. In particular, Flew claims, they have never given any concrete content to the central notion of ‘alienation’ such that an Index of Alienation could be drawn up and enquiries could be made as to whether, for example, the workers are more or less alienated under the private or public ownership of factories. Both faults stem from Marx's continuation of German, specifically Hegelian, philosophy.

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Segal, Alan F., and Henry A. Green. "Green's "Origins of Gnosticism"." Jewish Quarterly Review 77, no. 2/3 (October 1986): 244. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1454490.

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Tally, Justine. "The Gnosis of Toni Morrison: Morrison’s Conversation with Herman Melville, with a Nod to Umberto Eco." Contemporary Women's Writing 13, no. 3 (November 2019): 357–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cww/vpaa011.

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Abstract Long before Toni Morrison was extensively recognized as a serious contender in the “Global Market of Intellectuals,” she was obviously reading and absorbing challenging critical work that was considered “provocative and controversial” by the keepers of the US academic community at the time. While no one disputes the influence of Elaine Pagels’ work on Gnosticism at the University of Princeton, particularly its importance for Jazz and Paradise, the second and third novels of the Morrison trilogy, Gnosticism in Beloved has not been so carefully considered. Yet this keen interest in Gnosticism coupled with the author’s systematic study of authors from the mid-19th-century American Renaissance inevitably led her to deal with the fascination of Renaissance authors with Egypt (where the Nag Hammadi manuscripts were rediscovered), its ancient civilization, and its mythology. The extensive analysis of a leading French literary critic of Herman Melville, Prof. Viola Sachs, becomes the inspiration for a startlingly different reading of Morrison’s seminal novel, one that positions this author in a direct dialogue with the premises of Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick, also drawing on the importance of Gnosticism for Umberto Eco’s 1980 international best-seller, The Name of the Rose.

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Marina, Marko. "Authority as a Challenge." Specimina Nova Pars Prima Sectio Medaevalis 12, no. 1 (November 25, 2023): 11–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.15170/spmnnv.2023.12.01.

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The early Christian world was diverse. Various groups of Christians held opposite views on crucial theological and social elements while claiming to be the true followers of Jesus Christ. In this diversity, two streams of Christianity were particularly popular: proto-orthodox Christians and Valentinian Gnostics. These groups were included in the sharp polemical discussions and battles, as they tried to gain a monopoly in the early Christian world. In the end, proto-orthodoxy won thus marginalizing Valentinian Gnostics. In that process, Church authors, such as Irenaeus and Justin Martyr reclaimed the history of Christianity by defining themselves as the guardians of orthodoxy. Furthermore, they put the label of “heresy” on Valentinians claiming that they are not real Christians, but a subversive group that had corrupted the original message of Jesus and his disciples. In this paper, I have tried to demonstrate that one of the crucial reasons for the triumph of the Great Church was related to the concepts of authority and organization. To show that, I have analysed what kind of attitude Valentinian Gnostics had toward authority and organization. As sources reflect, Valentinian Gnosticism was an anti-structural movement that emphasized an individual approach to the divine through esoteric knowledge. Furthermore, their belief in the threefold division of humanity affected their attitude toward bishops and apostolic succession. Consequently, they rejected the authority of bishops and presbyters and put the emphasis on the small philosophical circle of students that would gather around influential teachers. Eventually, such a spiritual and religious perspective made it impossible to create a network of connected communities whose sense of universal identity would transgress local and regional borders. In the end, Valentinian Gnosticism was a conglomerate of independent communities scattered across the Mediterranean. In other words, Valentinian’s theological beliefs that modelled their attitude toward authority and social structure were a crucial factor in their marginalization within the early Christian world.

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Tibaldeo, Roberto Franzini. "Hans Jonas’ ‘Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism’, and Ludwig von Bertalanffy." Philosophy & Social Criticism 38, no. 3 (March 2012): 289–311. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0191453710389451.

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‘Gnosticism and Modern Nihilism’ (published in Social Research, 1952) is indeed one of Hans Jonas’ most famous essays, to which its author reserved very deep attention during his philosophical career. As a former pupil of Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann, Jonas started to deal with religious topics, and specifically with Gnosticism, from the very outset of his philosophical career in the 1920s. After gaining recognition thanks to his remarkable philosophical-existential interpretation of Gnosticism, he returned to the modern age and its philosophical characters. Principally, Jonas discovered that modern philosophy up to Heidegger and Sartre suffered from a peculiar spiritual disease – namely, nihilism – that he had already traced in ancient Gnosticism and that he intended to reject. Therefore, Jonas’ acquaintance with ancient religion and thinking gave him a deep insight into the modern age and provided him with a first glimpse of what was later to become his biological philosophy. However, whoever could imagine that the idea of tracing similarities between Gnosticism and modern thinking came to Jonas at the beginning of 1950 from the famous philosopher and biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy? In this article, I shall endeavour to demonstrate this thesis by quoting from unpublished documents. However, I shall also try to prove that Jonas did not follow von Bertalanffy’s advice completely. The overall aim is, therefore, both to highlight the origins of an essential turning point in the thinking of Hans Jonas, and, on such a basis, to outline the innovation and originality of his philosophical contribution.

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Tite, Philip L. "Categorical Designations and Methodological Reductionism: Gnosticism as Case Study1." Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 13, no. 1-4 (2001): 269–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006801x00246.

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AbstractDebate continues between reductionists and non-reductionists over sui generis discourse within the academic study of religion. In this article, Gnosticism is explored as a case study for applying methodological reductionism to categorical designations. Metaphysical reductionist approaches to Gnosticism have been present in the field, rendering "Gnosticism" as a transhistorical phenomenon which is irreducible to social scientific methods. After discussing the phenomenological approach of Hans Fonas and the cognitive approach of Ioan Couliano, this article, rejecting both ontological and metaphysical reduction, advocates the application of methodological reductionism. Methodological reduction helps to shift classifications away from conflation with reality to be seen, instead, as analytical devices for theorizing first-order data. A relative approach to the function of classification tools enables us to explore the modes of relation within particular classificatio constructions.

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Kwiatkowski, Fryderyk. "A Critical Analysis of the Concept of “Gnosticism” in Polish Literary Studies." Canadian-American Slavic Studies 52, no. 1 (March 22, 2018): 50–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22102396-05201003.

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Abstract In Polish literary-historical criticism, the concept of Gnosticism has been used most frequently as a hermeneutical category that makes it possible to understand better the oeuvre of authors from Central and Eastern Europe. Polish scholars have successfully identified (neo)gnostic ideas present in the works of Jerzy Hulewicz, Tadeusz Miciński, and Franz Kafka. By referring to the works of Hans Jonas, Kurt Rudolph, and Jerzy Prokopiuk, many of them, unfortunately, have reproduced stereotypes on Gnosticism. In light of more recent studies on Gnosticism, the conclusions of their inquiries have become problematic. The main goal of this paper, therefore, is to highlight the most common errors present in the examination of Polish literary scholars from the perspective of Gnostic studies, as well as the inaccuracies in their methodology that stem from outdated scholarly materials.

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Mihăilă, Corin. "The Gnostic and Hellenistic Backgrounds of Sophia in 1 Corinthians 1-4." Perichoresis 17, s2 (July 1, 2019): 3–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/perc-2019-0032.

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Abstract First Corinthians 1-4 discusses the concept of sophia or wisdom as a central theme. It seems to be both a worldly standard by which the Corinthians judged their teachers and a concept which Paul redefines in light of the cross. Over the last century, two major proposals have been put forth as an explanation for the background of sophia: Gnosticism and Hellenistic Jewish wisdom. Those who advance the hypothesis of Gnosticism behind the concept, correctly identify in these chapters words and terminology that are commonly associated with Gnosticism. However, the literary context of 1 Corinthians 1-4, as determinative of meaning for these words, suggests different meanings associated with the cross. Moreover, claiming Gnostic influence on the writing of 1 Corinthians is guilty of anachronism. The Hellenistic Jewish wisdom proposal is likewise based on alleged linguistic and conceptual parallelism with Philonic type wisdom. It is argued, among other things, that the Corinthians were taught such wisdom by Apollos. This argument, however cannot be sustained, when we look at Apollos’ ministry in light of the information we have in the New Testament. As a result, both Gnosticism and Hellenistic Jewish wisdom are not viable hypothesis for the background of sophia.

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Tite, Philip L. "Transgression and Countercultural Gnosticism: A Review Essay of April DeConick’s The Gnostic New Age." Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 49, no. 2 (November 22, 2019): 253–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0008429819884468.

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This review essay presents and critically engages April DeConick’s The Gnostic New Age, thereby elucidating a series of theoretical problems currently facing the study of Gnosticism and ancient religion more broadly. Notably, a post-theoretical shift—identified as pervasive in the field of religious studies in the 2010s—has emerged in recent Gnostic studies, a shift that has failed to embrace the critical insights offered by Michael Williams (1996) and Karen King (2003) and is on the rise in Gnostic studies. In addition, a historical “mapping” (in the sense offered by J. Z. Smith) of ancient religion into dichotomies leaves us with a romanticized ”Gnosticism” and a caricatured understanding of ancient religion and ancient Christianity. On the positive side, however, DeConick illustrates a rising interest in studying the experiential in Gnosticism while advocating the application of cognitive science of religion.

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Barton, Jason. "The Gnostic Accusation." Journal for Continental Philosophy of Religion 5, no. 1 (March 31, 2023): 27–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/25889613-bja10037.

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Abstract Initiated almost 200 years ago, the accusation that G.W.F. Hegel’s philosophy qualifies as Gnostic has stood the test of time. Beginning with Ferdinand Christian Baur’s 1835 Die christliche Gnosis, thinkers have attempted to inextricably bind Hegel’s philosophical endeavors to the ancient form(s) of religious knowledge production known as ‘Gnosticism’. Two additional figures have surfaced more recently who also champion the Gnostic accusation, namely Eric Voegelin and James Lindsay. Voegelin’s 1968 Science, Politics, and Gnosticism as well as his 1972 ‘On Hegel: A Study in Sorcery’ seek to justify and legitimize the Gnostic accusation in unequivocal terms. Lindsay’s 2022 best-seller, Race Marxism, further perpetuates the charge of Gnosticism against Hegel. I aim to deal with each of these figures and their respective accusations in reverse chronological order, demonstrating how each of them must artificially construct Hegel as a Gnostic in order to successfully defend their accusations.

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Drączkowski, Franciszek. "Ideał kapłaństwa w pismach Klemensa Aleksandryjskiego." Verbum Vitae 12 (December 14, 2007): 141–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.31743/vv.1444.

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In analyzing the writings of Clement of Alexandria, the author of the article states that the priestly ideal is in them in essence close to the ideal of holiness and perfection, typical of Christians called Gnostics. That is why in the formation and priestly work, Cłement treats with priority the perfect knowledge of Sacred Scripture and Apostolic and Church Tradition, life in accord with the Gospel and the teaching ministry in the Church of Christ - typical traits for the Christian-Gnostic. Taking into consideration the w hole ecclesiology of the Alexandrian, one can say that he distinguished two parallel hierarchies in the Church: the hierarchy of perfection and the hierarchy of office. The scope of both these hierarchies could, but did not have to link together. In the Church, Clement gave a greater place to the hierarchy of perfection (related with Gnosticism) because its scope was much broader thail the other. From the group of Gnostics, only some received offices for service in the Church.

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Desjardins, Michel. "Rethinking the Study of Gnosticism." Religion and Theology 12, no. 3-4 (2005): 370–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157430106776241169.

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AbstractPointing to parallels in the study of Jesus traditions and Pauline literature, but focusing explicitly on Gnosticism, it is argued that the Gestalt of ancient religions are often the result of ideological projections into the texts and the assumed religious traditions standing behind them by modern scholars. Dealing more appropriately with such a problematic phenomenon as Gnosticism, would entail reconsidering the conceptual categories employed in the description and interpretation of the phenomenon, as well as an object lesson in scholarly humility to avoid the hybris of colonising ancient texts and the communities who produced and valued them.

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VERSLUIS, Arthur. "Christian Theosophy and Ancient Gnosticism." Studies in Spirituality 7 (January 1, 1997): 228–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.2143/sis.7.0.2004130.

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May, Henry F., and Harold Bloom. "Democratic Gnosticism: The American Religion?" Reviews in American History 21, no. 2 (June 1993): 185. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2703197.

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Desjardins, Michel, and Pheme Perkins. "Gnosticism and the New Testament." Journal of the American Oriental Society 115, no. 2 (April 1995): 306. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/604681.

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Segal, Robert, and Michael Howard. "The Jungian Reading of Gnosticism." San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal 13, no. 2 (June 1994): 51–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/jung.1.1994.13.2.51.

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McCarthy, Michael C. "Book Review: What is Gnosticism?" Theological Studies 65, no. 3 (September 2004): 639–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/004056390406500313.

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