How many different forms of Gnosticism are there?

Question

What are they? What are the beliefs of the different forms of Gnosticism? What are the similarites of all the different forms of Gnosticism if any at all? What are the differences of all the forms if any at all? As much information as possible would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for nothing G-Man.

Answer 1

[edit] Persian Gnosticism
The Persian Schools are representative of what is believed to be among the oldest of the Gnostic thought forms. These movements are considered by most to be religions in their own right, and are not emanations from Christianity or Judaism.

Mandaeanism is still practised in small numbers, in parts of southern Iraq and the Iranian province of Khuzestan. The name of the group derives from the term: Mandā d-Heyyi which roughly means "Knowledge of Life." Although the exact chronological origins of this movement are not known, John the Baptist eventually would come to be a key figure in the religion. As part of the core of their beliefs is an emphasis placed on baptism. As with Manichaeism, despite certain ties with Christianity, Mandaeans do not believe in Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed. Their beliefs and practices likewise have little overlap with the religions that manifested from those religious figures and the two should not be confused. Significant amounts of original Mandaean Scripture survive in the modern era. The primary source text is known as the Genzā Rabbā and has portions identified by some scholars as being copied as early as the 2nd century CE. Also important is the Qolastā, or Canonical Book of Prayer and The Book of John the Baptist (sidra ḏ-iahia).
Manichaeism which represented an entire independent religious heritage, but is now mostly extinct was founded by the Prophet Mani (210-276 CE). Although most of the literature/scripture of the Manichaeins was believed lost, the discovery of an original series of documents have helped to shed new light on the subject. Now housed in Cologne Germany, the Codex Manichaicus Coloniensis contains mainly biographical information on the prophet and details on his claims and teachings. Despite connections with Jesus Christ, it is not believed that the Manichaeins in any way practiced a religion with identifiable overlap with any of the various Christian sects.

[edit] Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism
The Syrian-Egyptian school derives much of its outlook from Platonist influences. Typically, it depicts creation in a series of emanations from a primal monadic source, finally resulting in the creation of the material universe. As a result, there is a tendency in these schools to view evil in terms of matter which is markedly inferior to goodness, evil as lacking spiritual insight and goodness, rather than to emphasize portrayals of evil as an equal force. These schools of gnosticism may be said to use the terms 'evil' and 'good' as being relative descriptive terms, as they refer to the relative plight of human existence caught between such realities and confused in its orientation, with 'evil' indicating the extremes of distance from the principle and source of goodness, without necessarily emphasizing an inherent negativity. As can be seen below, many of these movements included source material related to Christianity, with some identifying themselves as specifically Christian (albeit quite different from the so-called Orthodox or Roman Catholic forms).


[edit] Syrian-Egyptic scripture
Most of the literature from this category is known/confirmed to us in the modern age through the Library discovered at Nag Hammadi.

Sethian works are named after the third son of Adam and Eve, believed to be a possessor and disseminator of gnosis. These typically include:
The Apocryphon of John
The Apocalypse of Adam
The Reality of the Rulers, Also known as The hypostasis of the Archons
The Thunder-Perfect Mind
The Three-fold First Thought (Trimorphic Protennoia)
The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit (also known as the (Coptic) Gospel of the Egyptians)
Zostrianos
Allogenes
The Three Steles of Seth
Thomasine works are so-named after the School of St. Thomas the Apostle. See Thomasine Church (Gnostic). The texts commonly attributed to this school are:
The Hymn of the Pearl, or, the Hymn of Jude Thomas the Apostle in the Country of Indians
The Gospel of Thomas
The Book of Thomas: The Contender Writing to the Perfect
Valentinian works are named in reference to the Bishop and teacher Valentinius, also spelled Valentinus. ca. 153 AD/CE, Valentinius developed a complex Cosmology outside of the Sethian tradition. At one point he was close to being appointed the Bishop of Rome of what is now the Roman Catholic Church. Works attributed to his school are listed below, and fragmentary pieces directly linked to him are noted with an asterisk:
The Divine Word Present in the Infant (Fragment A) *
On the Three Natures (Fragment B) *
Adam's Faculty of Speech (Fragment C) *
To Agathopous: Jesus' Digestive System (Fragment D) *
Annihilation of the Realm of Death (Fragment F) *
On Friends: The Source of Common Wisdom (Fragment G) *
Epistle on Attachments (Fragment H) *
Summer Harvest*
The Gospel of Truth*
Ptolemy's Version of the Gnostic Myth
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
Ptolemy's Epistle to Flora
Treatise on Resurrection (Epistle to Rheginus)
Gospel of Philip
Basilidian works are named for the founder of their school, Basilides (132–? CE/AD). These works are mainly known to us through the criticisms of one of his opponents, Irenaeus in his work Adversus Haereses. The other pieces are known through the work of Clement of Alexandria:
The Octet of Subsistent Entities (Fragment A)
The Uniqueness of the World (Fragment B)
Election Naturally Entails Faith and Virtue (Fragment C)
The State of Virtue (Fragment D)
The Elect Transcend the World (Fragment E)
Reincarnation (Fragment F)
Human Suffering and the Goodness of Providence (Fragment G)
Forgivable Sins (Fragment H)

Answer 2

The very essence of Gnosticism is that you come to an understanding of the Divine - however you choose to define that word - through a personal relationship with your own True Self. Therefore, the only real answer to your question is that there are as many forms of Gnosticism as there are individuals, whether or not those individuals actually embrace Gnosticism.

There are many who would answer this question from the viewpoint of some "organized" Gnosticism, but it seems to me that true Gnosticism is never organized. I myself embrace the Thelemic view of Gnosticism which is based on one idea: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. This seems to me to be the only sensible philosophy. Each of us views the world from a unique point of view. Even those who embrace some of the most organized of religions and creeds view the world as individuals, no one agrees 100% unless they completely stop thinking for themselves.

I hope this helps. If you would like more information on the Thelemic worldview, please check out the links below.

Love is the law, love under will.

Answer 3

HI

PAX
Blessings
There are a lot of forms of Gnosticism, with different practices, perceptions, worship, etc.
There are two main branches thought, the pagan gnostic and the christian gnostic.
I belong to a Christian Gnosticism with Master Huiracocha Tradition.
Gnostic Sacred books are Pistis Sophia, Nag Hammada Library, The Hermetica (for non christian gnostics).
If you need more information please let me know.

Pleroma

Frater H de O

Answer 4

The Gnostic's believe in the power of reasoning and intellect.
Jesus was a Gnostic. Gnostic's try to show the world that fear breeds fear, that hate breeds hate, that vengeance breeds vengeance and that love breeds love.

Gnosticism is the oldest recorded religion on earth.

Gnosticism is very open and welcoming; any path to know God is valid if it is based on love.

The doctrine of salvation by knowledge. This definition, based on the etymology of the word (gnosis "knowledge", gnostikos, "good at knowing"), is correct as far as it goes, but it gives only one, though perhaps the predominant, characteristic of Gnostic systems of thought. Whereas Judaism and Christianity, and almost all pagan systems, hold that the soul attains its proper end by obedience of mind and will to the Supreme Power, i.e. by faith and works, it is markedly peculiar to Gnosticism that it places the salvation of the soul merely in the possession of a quasi-intuitive knowledge of the mysteries of the universe and of magic formulae indicative of that knowledge. Gnostics were "people who knew", and their knowledge at once constituted them a superior class of beings, whose present and future status was essentially different from that of those who, for whatever reason, did not know.

Answer 5

You will find all the answers to your questions in this link. I just came from there.

http://altreligion.about.com/library/faqs/bl_gnosticism.htm?terms=Gnosticism

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 6

As many as you want there to be.