There is a vast spiritual movement that arose during the earliest years of Christianity that was conducted in secret, which created impressive, yet illegal texts that produced a very different form of salvation than the Jewish, Roman, and all other orthodox teachings had ever produced. This movement is called Gnosticism and consisted of many different groups of early Christian mystics and philosophers who sought concealed or hidden knowledge from within themselves.
They were spiritual revolutionaries living during the most crucial period of the formation of the Christian Church. When the Gnostics lived, the orthodox authorities were developing strict dogmas and hierarchical structures with the intent of providing a literal interpretation of the Holy scriptures. The traditional responses to the problems of suffering in the world were no longer adequate for these seekers, so the Gnostics devised a radically different concept of God. The Gnostics not only strove to seek explanations for why we suffer in this material world but, moreover, sought to direct us toward an understanding of our own true, pristine origins as divine beings.
As a result of their journey, the Gnostics ultimately created one of history's most intriguing lost chapters, which has provided a connection between the early Christian teachings and overwhelming mystical insight. This week, we will travel back to Egypt, where a discovery in 1945 revealed a vast library of underground writings that contain the answers to the essential questions regarding humanity's divinity, the Gnostics derived this understanding through self-knowledge and spiritual contemplation of the soul, and through these explanations thereby created a path to attain tremendous spiritual awakening.
The Problem the Gnostics Did not Ignore
In their time, most traditional theologians were focused on obeying the Church's dictates, having faith in a distant, judgmental Deity and on human beings as a whole being sinful. The Gnostics began with an expansive subject matter that many of their peers avoided throughout their lives due to its frightening yet majestic characteristics: the material realm was irrevocably flawed, but the human essence, or soul, is divine.
There is comfort in believing that the world was created perfectly by a benevolent God, that suffering is simply a test or punishment for sin, and that salvation comes from external authorities. There is a deep-seated need for closure, safety, and guarantee; we yearn for the convenience of a system of simple rules/routines by which to live a spiritual existence. Even the most learned individuals within the Early Christian Church believed that God remains wholly separate from humanity and exists solely above them with authority over their lives.
