Becker Bible Teacher Resources

Gnosticism was a secret religion with esoteric knowledge, which was influenced by the mystery religions in the early days of early Christian belief. The Gnostics were a host of different movements with similar ideas; some existed in the midst of 'mainstream' Christianity and others were followers of non-Christian religions. They were the biggest and most controversial movement within Christianity at the time of the early church.

Dualism, belief in two principles of good and evil which are intrinsically opposed, was common to all Gnostics. This dualism was expressed in the evil physical world and the good spiritual world. To explain evil, some imagined weaker gods, while others developed elaborate mythology to explain its existence. Ireaeus, a late second-century Christian from Anatolia, wrote a book attacking the religion, which led to the development of the standards of Orthodoxy. (Hill, 65,66)

Bibliography

Hill, Jonathan. "Early Christianity: A World Religion." Handbook to the History of Christianity. Zondervan, 2006.