Metaphysical Tea - Gnosticism

Join us for a roundtable discussion, our Metaphysical Tea, on gnosticism. Do some research and join the conversation. Bring a healthy snack to share.

From Wikipedia: Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek γνωστικός (gnōstikós) 'having knowledge'; Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos]) is a collection of religious and philosophical ideas and systems that coalesced in the late first century AD among sects of early Christianity and other faiths.^[1] It is not a singular, homogeneous tradition or religion, but an umbrella term used by modern scholars to describe different groups and beliefs that shared certain characteristics.^[2] These diverse Gnostic groups generally emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the authority, traditions, and proto-orthodox teachings of organized religious institutions.^[3] The Gnostic worldview typically distinguished between a hidden, uncorrupted supreme being and a flawed demiurge responsible for creating material reality. Gnostics held this material existence to be evil and believed the principal element of salvation was direct knowledge of th…