History Of Gnosticism

Question 4

During the Patristic period, one of the most well known heresies is Gnosticism. While its impact is widespread, the exact origin of this movement is unknown. It comes from the Greek word γνῶσις, which means knowledge. Its origin is hard to pinpoint because it does not have a true leader, and because it has no centralized authority. It is one of the earliest and most influential of the Christian heresies, and largely relies on a distorted view of reality. In this movement, there is a revitalization of platonic thinking, leaving many people to reexamine the core tenants of Christianity in order to understand what they believe, which led them to believe they uncovered a secret key to salvation. Dr. Eccher referred to the movie The Matrix, where the Gnostics believed they had found and taken the red pill (reality) instead of living in the world of the blue pill (a fake reality).
For example, the teachings of Mormonism are a “divine revelation” that Joseph Smith found in America, and many of the tenants of Mormonism are similar to Christianity. Many Mormons believe they are Christians. The distortion of the gospel, however, fundamentally changes the outlook of their beliefs, and makes their gospel different from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The local church in the 21st century must stand firm upon the core tenants of the gospel without wavering, and must remain open to changing their third tier ideas about the gospel. Churches must affirm that Jesus is the one and only Savior of the world, but the view of things like the millennium should remain open to interpretation. Churches today need to educate their assembly on their beliefs, and allow them to think for themselves about the gospel. Churches must never allow heresy to become orthodox, and must stand fast against anyone who believes they have a new