Is Gnosticism another word for Spirituality, or a religion ?

Hello Docjp

I recall you answering one of my questions about 5 years ago - Did you ever wonder if you were the only real person and everyone else was just some kind of holographic program - your best answer as I recall was that Shakespeare had noticed the same thing and commented on it in one of his writings... I of course do not remember the exact words of either my question or your answer, but the SPIRIT of both I remember well. Spirit is what gives something its qualities, it's attributes, its tone, frequency, shape, and meaning.

Religion has a Spirit that is at once confining and instructive,

Spirituality is more curious and requires an open mind to look beyond the fear of religion.

The Cathars were of course killed by the Roman Catholics, so to pose the question to them directly is not possible and to speculate about what people may have believed outside of the consideration of their social paradigm and time period is hard to validate. We want to apply our understanding to theirs, and many do this on the surface, but I think a subtle fiction is what emerges.

In the detail you add this notation - The question is whether the ancient Gnostic's sought intellectual understanding [small k knowledge] or capital K Knowledge, which is Spiritual Union with God?

I believe I understand this addition to mean; [small k knowledge; that which can be used for manipulating others and the environment for personal gain] and [capital K Knowledge; developing a very high degree of consciousness and awareness of synchronicity, and understanding that functions in real time]

I am an alumni of an Israeli Kabbalah institution, I have studied advanced Alchemy and Western Hermetism, I have been initiated in both the order of Thelema and the Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn. and I have been initiated to the 32 degree's of Scottish rite freemasonry. Stateing this lacks humility, and for that I apologize, but there is no other way to make this point.

In being both initiate and initiator, student and teacher, master and adept, one comes to realize that every one has their own spiritual shoes, so to speak, and no others will fit. In our time we see people that seem to grasp the greatest depths of esoteric understanding, while others seem superficial.

Without knowing the specific social paradigms of the Gnostic's of the past we can not know their collective aim, because it has all become iconic over time, their transcendent beliefs are merely symbolic. What we can know by inference however can be derived from more permanent principles than from ancient unknowable paradigms. That being - the ratio of individuals in a social order that try to venture deeper, compared to those who are content to be very superficial. With that educated guess we may speculate that most of the order of Gnostic's were simply following a path that seemed to open up before them, while perhaps only a few diligently sought something more than a sporadic synchronistic connection with G-d.

For me this question is like the completion of a five year long circle of thought, where I am left once again with the helpless feeling that I can only know for sure what I think and feel, I can only know what my own motives are, and concerning all others, only guesses can be made.

It seems to me our real question ought to be is as a Gnostic, what is it exactly that I am seeking (k or K)?

Seasons Greetings.

While it is knowledge in Greek, the esoteric Spirit or Gnosis finds its origin deep in Egyptian history, it is the feminine aspect of the universal creative force, or Spirit ISIS. It is not a word for religion or spirituality, however both religion and spirituality may seek to know or understand the Gnosis as it being an element of the primary essence of God. You might say Gnosticism seeks truth, but it would be a mistake to try and understand the emotional character of Gnosis by labeling it as simple truth.

uh...no...

Gnosticism with a capital G refers to the religion of Gnosticism, and they are a Christian branch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnostic

Gnostic without a capital G (beginning of sentence here) is the opposite of agnostic. Where agsnotic states they don't think it's possible to know, a gnostic says it is possible. In this use, it is about truth and knowledge, but not as a "practice".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism

Also, knowledge and truth are not absolutes and are also not proper nouns. ...and spirituality is just spirituality...for some, it doesn't involve the truth at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality

Oh...you are one of those make up word meanings and capitalize them, and then make non-sequitur equations out of them. Trying to solve a puzzle by moving around the pieces assumes that all that pieces are there. It's so very, very H.D. Thoreau of you...and that's not a good thing.

i hope God forgive me if this an apst.

HOW important is truth to you? Does it disturb you that falsehood has distorted, even concealed, the truth about the Creator of heaven and earth? This greatly disturbed Irenaeus, a professed Christian of the second century of our Common Era. He endeavored to expose the dangerous inaccuracies of Gnosticism, an apostate form of Christianity. Earlier, the apostle Paul warned Timothy to turn away from such ‘falsely called knowledge.’—1 Timothy 6:20, 21

The Greek 'Gnosis' is a different word. Gnosticism, meaning a person who is by definition a {Gnostic} or 'Agnostic', a person who doesn't know {if} there is a God, and may believe it is impossible ever to know. in contrast to a {Theist} who believes there is a God or an {Atheist} who believes there is no God.

Gnosticism is a form of christianity that existed before Constantine legalized christianity and standardized it. Unlike modern christianity gnosticism went by many gospels instead of just the four that were put in the bible and it was much more diverse than modern day christianity. Gnosticism in many ways was actually more like the modern day eastern religions than modern day christianity.

Neither.

Gnosticism is incompatible with religion.

Religion requires (blind) faith and dogma is often irrational.

Gnosticism is a method practiced in Catharism, because its knowledge builds on experience and cognition, which is the proper comprehension of experience.

Catharism worked its way to true spirituality and full enlightenment.

It can be grasped at several levels, depending on the maturity of the Soul.

Gnosticism is the only way to full spiritual comprehension.

But gnosticism does not equal spirituality. It is the method, the approach and not all streams that call themselves "spiritual" adopt it. But all rational streams would have to recognise it.

Merry Christmas.

I like to think of it as anti-God. But yes its where they seek knowledge, and basically say that Satan was helping Eve by introducing the idea that by eating the forbidden fruit they could become like gods. I tend to find this philosophy resurfaced in many of these newer religions coincidentally...

Gnosticism can refer to an early sect of Christianity that believed the material world to be an illusion made by an evil false god (Demiurge) to cause suffering and the true God ruled the spiritual realm that was true reality; or it can refer to the opposite of agnostic, meaning that you believe you know for certain that your religious position is 100% true.

99 times out of 100, the word spiritual when used in the context of religion, means "emotional."

Of course, reality makes no concessions for what we find desirable, so truth is never found through spirituality. Only comforting myths, since ignorance is bliss when the truth sometimes hurts.