Subj : Bible
To   : RALPH ZETTER
From : Curtis Johnson
Date : Wed Nov 01 2000 10:03 pm

 > 
 >  His peculiar usage of "gnostic" is another example--but we've
 > already been through that, haven't we?


 RZ> Didn't the gnostics believe that we were pieces of God that become
 RZ> trapped in the world, and 
 RZ> that through their teachings we could regain our divinity?

	Usage note:  to avoid confusion, "Gnostic" should be capitalized
to indicate reference to the Basilideans, Valentinians, etc., etc.
Uncapitalized, "gnostic" is more of a general attitude that there is
secret spiritual wisdom, etc.  Church Father Clement of Alexandria,
for instance, while arguing against Gnostics, went on at great length
about the path of the "true Christian gnostic" such as himself.

	The Gnostics were a pretty diverse bunch, and their cosmogonies
were quite complex and varied, so one hesitates to generalize.  But
your statement tends to fit the Neo-Platonists (IIRC) and the Manicheans
much better.  A lot depends also on what you mean by "regain our
divinity."  The Gnostics did not have a program of becoming God(s),
nor did the Manicheans.




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