Gnosis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Gnosis (disambiguation).
See also:
Noesis (phenomenology)
 
Part of a series on
Gnosticism
Gnostic concepts
Gnostic sects and founders
Proto-Gnosticism
Judean / Israelite
Christian Gnosticism
Syrian-Egyptian
Alexandrian
Roman
Persian Gnosticism
Chinese Gnosticism
Islamic Gnosticism
Modern
Scriptures
Texts
Codices
Influenced by
Influence on
Part of a series on
Esotericism
Esoteric symbolism
Key concepts
Esoteric rites
Esoteric societies
Notable figures

Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge (γνῶσις, gnōsis, f.).[1][2] The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world.[1][3][4][5] It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism,[1] where it signifies a spiritual knowledge or insight into humanity's real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.[3][4][5][6][7]

Etymology

Gnosis is a feminine Greek noun which means "knowledge" or "awareness."[8] It is often used for personal knowledge compared with intellectual knowledge (εἴδειν eídein), as with the French connaître compared with savoir, the Portuguese conhecer compared with saber, the Spanish conocer compared with saber, the Italian conoscere compared with sapere, the German kennen rather than wissen, or the Modern Greek γνωρίζω compared with ξέρω.[9]

A related term is the adjective gnostikos, "cognitive",

esoteric or hidden meaning in the works of Plato, but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.[12]

Plato The Statesman 258e

— Stranger: In this way, then, divide all science into two arts, calling the one practical (praktikos), and the other purely intellectual (gnostikos). Younger Socrates: Let us assume that all science is one and that these are its two forms.[13]

In the Hellenistic era the term became associated with the mystery cults.

In the Acts of Thomas, translated by G.R.S. Mead, the "motions of gnosis" are also referred to as "kingly motions".[14]

On the Detection and Overthrow of False Knowledge, that contains the adjective gnostikos, which is the source for the 17th-century English term "Gnosticism".[16]

Comparison with epignosis

The difference and meaning of epignosis (

2 Peter is referring to an "epignosis of Jesus Christ", what J. B. Lightfoot described as a "larger and more thorough knowledge". Conversion to Christianity is seen as evidence of the deeper knowledge protecting against false doctrine.[17]

Gnosticism

Main article: Gnosticism
A lion-faced, serpentine deity found on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures may be a depiction of the Demiurge.

worldview along with faith in the ecclesiastical authority.[3][6][7][20]

In Gnosticism, the

Jesus Christ and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God.[3][6][20][21] In the Archontic, Sethian, and Ophite systems, Yaldabaoth (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he created.[22][23][24]

However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.

Early Church Fathers.[3][6][7][20]

Mandaeism

Main article: Manda (Mandaeism)

In Mandaeism, the concept of manda ("knowledge", "wisdom", "intellect") is roughly equivalent to the Gnostic concept of gnosis.[26] Mandaeism ('having knowledge')[27] is the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity.[28][29]: 15  Mandaeans formally refer to themselves as Nasurai (Nasoraeans) meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.[30][31] The Mandaeans emphasize salvation of the soul through secret knowledge (gnosis) of its divine origin.[27][32] Mandaeism "provides knowledge of whence we have come and whither we are going."[33]: 531 

Christian usage

Despite rejection of Gnosticism,[citation needed] Christianity has sometimes used the term or derivatives of it in a laudatory rather than lambasting sense.

See also: Eric Voegelin

New Testament

The New Testament uses the term γνῶσις (Strong's G1108, Transliteration gnōsis) 28 times.[34]

Patristic literature

The Church Fathers used the word gnosis (knowledge) to mean spiritual knowledge or specific knowledge of the divine. This positive usage was to contrast it with how gnostic sectarians used the word. Cardiognosis ("knowledge of the heart") from Eastern Christianity related to the tradition of the starets and in Roman Catholic theology is the view that only God knows the condition of one's relationship with God.[35][36] Boston College Catholic philosopher Dermot Moran notes that

...even in early Christianity, matters were complex, such that an anti-gnostic writer like Clement of Alexandria can regularly invoke the notion of gnostike theoria in a positive sense.[37]

Eastern Orthodox thought

Gnosis in

intuitive knowledge, mystic rather than that from rational or reasoned thinking. Gnosis itself is gained through understanding at which one can arrive via inner experience or contemplation such as an internal epiphany of intuition and external epiphany such as the theophany
.

In the

Orthodox Christian theology. Its importance in the economy of salvation is discussed periodically in the Philokalia
where as direct, personal knowledge of God (noesis) it is distinguished from ordinary epistemological knowledge (episteme—i.e., speculative philosophy).

Islam

Main article: Irfan

Sufism

Further information: Ma'rifa and Fana (Sufism)

Knowledge (or gnosis) in

Mansur al-Hallaj, who was executed for saying "I am the Truth" (ana'l haqq).[44]

Jewish usage

Hellenistic Jewish literature

The Greek word gnosis (knowledge) is used as a standard translation of the Hebrew word "knowledge" (דעת

da'ath) in the Septuagint
, thus:

The Lord gives wisdom [

tevuna] (synesis
)"

— Proverbs 2.6

Philo also refers to the "knowledge" (gnosis) and "wisdom" (sophia) of God.[45]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 2589-7993
    .
  2. S2CID 147727033
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781139054836
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-567-08640-2
    .
  5. ^ a b Williams, Michael (20 July 1998). "Gnosticism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Edinburgh: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  6. ^
    S2CID 152458823
    .
  7. ^
    S2CID 169308502
    .
  8. Liddell Scott entry
    γνῶσις, εως, ἡ, A. seeking to know, inquiry, investigation, esp. judicial, "τὰς τῶν δικαστηρίων γ." D.18.224; "τὴν κατὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ γdeetr." Id.21.92, cf. 7.9, Lycurg.141; "γ. περὶ τῆς δίκης" PHib.1.92.13 (iii B. C.). 2. result of investigation, decision, PPetr.3p.118 (iii B. C.). II. knowing, knowledge, Heraclit.56; opp. ἀγνωσίη, Hp. Vict.1.23 (dub.); opp. ἄγνοια, Pl.R.478c; "ἡ αἴσθησις γ. τις" Arist.GA731a33: pl., "Θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος" LXX 1 Ki.2.3. b. higher, esoteric knowledge, 1 Ep.Cor.8.7,10, Ep.Eph.3.19, etc.; "χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν νοῦν, λόγον, γνῶσιν" PMag.Par.2.290. 2. acquaintance with a person, "πρός τινα" Test. ap.Aeschin.1.50; "τῶν Σεβαστῶν" IPE1.47.6 (Olbia). 3. recognizing, Th.7.44. 4. means of knowing, "αἱ αἰσθήσεις] κυριώταται τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα γ." Arist.Metaph.981b11. III. being known, "γνῶσιν ἔχει τι", = "γνωστόν ἐστι", Pl.Tht.206b. 2. fame, credit, Hdn.7.5.5, Luc.Herod.3. IV. means of knowing: hence, statement in writing, PLond.5.1708, etc. (vi A. D.). V. = γνῶμα,
    Hsch.
    s. h. v.
  9. ^ Pagels, Elaine (1995). The Origin of Satan. Allen Lane, The Penguin Press. p. 167.
  10. ^ LSJ entry γνωστ-ικός, ή, όν, A. of or for knowing, cognitive: ἡ -κή (sc. ἐπιστήμη), theoretical science (opp. πρακτική), Pl.Plt.258b.c., etc.; τὸ γ. ib.261b; "ἕξεις γ." Arist.AP0.100a11 (Comp.); "γ. εἰκόνες" Hierocl.in CA25p.475M.: c. gen., able to discern, Ocell. 2.7. Adv. "-κῶς" Procl.Inst.39, Dam.Pr.79, Phlp.in Ph.241.22.
  11. ^ In Perseus databank 10x Plato, Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman 2x Plutarch, Compendium libri de animae procreatione + De animae procreatione in Timaeo, 2x Pseudo-Plutarch, De musica
  12. ISBN 0-87220-349-2
    .
  13. ^ Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
  14. ^ George Robert Stow Mead, and Stephen Ronan. The Complete Echoes from the Gnosis. London, Chthonios Books, 1987, p. 113.
  15. ^ feminine nominative adjective
  16. ^ "Gnostic | Origin and meaning of the name Gnostic by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2021-07-24
  17. ISBN 9780802800787
    .
  18. ^ Magris 2005, pp. 3515–3516.
  19. ISBN 0-8153-3071-5
    .
  20. ^
    JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8
    .
  21. ^ a b c Bousset, Wilhelm (1911). "Valentinus and the Valentinians" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). pp. 852–857.
  22. OCLC 966607824
    .
  23. JSTOR 1560677
    .
  24. ^  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Arendzen, John Peter (1908). "Demiurge". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  25. ^
    ISBN 9781032199344
    .
  26. OCLC 65198443
    .
  27. ^ a b "Mandaeanism | religion". Britannica. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  28. ^ McGrath, James (23 January 2015), "The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans", YouTube-A lunchtime talk about the Mandaeans by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University, retrieved 8 February 2022
  29. ISBN 9780800604882
    .
  30. ^ Rudolph, Kurt (7 April 2008). "MANDAEANS ii. THE MANDAEAN RELIGION". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  31. ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953). The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  32. ^ Drower, Ethel Stephana (1960). The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis (PDF). London UK: Clarendon Press. xvi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  33. ^ Deutsch, Nathaniel. (2003) Mandaean Literature. In The Gnostic Bible (pp. 527–561). New Seeds Books
  34. ^ Lexicon: Strong's G1108 - gnōsis Blue Letter Bible
  35. Donald K. McKim
    , Westminster dictionary of theological terms, 1996, p. 39
  36. ISBN 978-0-567-08354-8
  37. ^ "Gnostic Return in Modernity and Gnostic Apocalypse". Notre Dame.
  38. theoria, when one sees invisibly and hears inaudibly and comprehends incomprehensibly the glory of God. Precisely then comprehension ceases and, what is more, he understands that he does not understand. Within the vision of the uncreated Light man also sees angels and Saints and, in general, he experiences communion with the angels and the Saints. He is then certain that resurrection exists. This is the spiritual knowledge which all the holy Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, ascetics and all the Saints of the Church had. The teachings of the Saints are an offspring of this spiritual knowledge. And, naturally, as we said earlier, spiritual knowledge is a fruit of the vision of God. "THE ILLNESS AND CURE OF THE SOUL" Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos [1]
  39. St. Symeon the New Theologian in Practical & Theological Discourses, 1.1 The Philokalia
    Volume Four: When men search for God with their bodily eyes they find Him nowhere, for He is invisible. But for those who ponder in the Spirit He is present everywhere. He is in all, yet beyond all
  40. ^ Faith And Science In Orthodox Gnosiology And Methodology by George Metallinos "The scientist and professor of the knowledge of the Uncreated, in the Orthodox Tradition, is the Geron/Starets (the Elder or Spiritual Father), the guide or "teacher of the desert." The recording of both types of knowledge presupposes empirical knowledge of the phenomenon. The same holds true in the field of science, where only the specialist understands the research of other scientists of the same field. The adoption of conclusions or findings of a scientific branch by non-specialists (i.e. those who are unable to experimentally examine the research of the specialists) is based on the trust of the specialists credibility. Otherwise, there would be no scientific progress. The same holds true for the science of faith. The empirical knowledge of the Saints, Prophets, Apostles, Fathers and Mothers of all ages is adopted and founded upon the same trust. The patristic tradition and the Church's Councils function on this provable experience. There is no Ecumenical Council without the presence of the glorified/deified (theoumenoi), those who see the divine (this is the problem of the councils of today!) Orthodox doctrine results from this relationship." University of Athens - Department of Theology
  41. contemplation
    and immediate spiritual perception.
  42. ^ Glossary of terms from the Philokalia p. 434 the knowledge of the intellect as distinct from that of the reason(q.v.). Knowledge inspired by God, and so linked with contemplation (q.v.) and immediate spiritual perception.
  43. ISBN 0-227-67919-9
    ) p. 218
  44. ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossain (2007). The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition. Harper Collins. p. 30.
  45. ^ New Testament studies: Society for New Testament Studies – 1981 "see also the more extensive analysis of gnosis in Philo by Hans Jonas, Gnosis und spatantiker Geist 11/1"

Sources

  • Magris, Aldo (2005). "Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations)". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.).
    OCLC 56057973
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gnosis&oldid=1209778551"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Gnosis. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy