Savior In Gnosticism And Orthodoxy Essay Example For Students

Savior In Gnosticism And Orthodoxy Essay I am attempting to write one coherent essay discussing questions three and two. I propose to first characterize the opposing views of the savior in Gnosticismand in Orthodoxy. Secondly, I will compare the Valentinian and classic Gnosticsin how they differ and how the Gospel of Truth exemplifies the features ofValentinian Gnosticism. The Orthodox view the church as a necessary mediumbetween the laity and god; they argued that without the church and the hierarchyof clergy, the congregation would not be able to attain god on their own. Theysaw the coming of gods kingdom as a literal event. They also saw itpreposterous thought to separate the body from human life. That is, they sawJesus as both flesh and spirit that were inseparable. The Orthodox consideredthe crucifixion of Jesus as a historical account. They viewed Jesus as a martyrthat sacrificed his life so that we may live. It was believed that the martyrdomof Jesus allows for the forgiveness of sins and ensures resurrection and ourlife everlasting; this sacrifice allowed us to release our guilt and receiveforg iveness for our sins. On the matter of what Jesus was, the Gnosticsvehemently disagreed with the Orthodox Church. Gnostics believed that Jesus wasmore than a human martyr; Gnostics believed that the Holy Spirit (Christ) andJesus of Nazareth were two separate entities. They felt that Jesus was a man offlesh who, at baptism, received the Holy Spirit and became Christ. They lookedat it as though the spirit of Christ was occupying the body of Jesus until thecrucifixion, where the spirit was transfigured and released so that we mayattain salvation. Gnostics and the Orthodox Church also argued over the point ofthe suffering, or the passion of Jesus. Gnostics felt that Christ only appearedto suffer and die, it was the body that suffered and when Jesus passed, thespirit was transfigured and released. Gnostics and the Orthodox also disagreedon the point of the existence of God. The Gnostics rationalized that the god ofthe old testament-a god of creation and punishment was clearly a separate entityfrom the god of Jesus, who was a loving and forgiving god. How could such aloving god reach out to us with salvation and forgiveness be the same god whocreated pain, punishment and suffering. The Orthodox believed in one god,the father almighty creator of heaven and earth. In fact this was themajor claim of the creed that the orthodox Christians proclaimed as part oftheir faith. Another point of argument was how to attain salvation. OrthodoxChristians felt it was necessary to proclaim, out loud, their belief in one god. This was the discerning factor that allowed them to separate themselves from theGnostics-who were now considered heretics and a threat to the church. Gnosticsbelieved that as long as one lived in faith and held good conduct throughouttheir entire life they would achieve salvation. Gnostics felt their approach wassuperior to that of the Orthodox Christians because even hypocrites couldproclaim the creed, not believe in it and still reach life eternal andsalvation. After Jesus died, both Orthodox Christians and Gnostics claimed towitness the resurrection of Christ. The orthodox claimed that they saw thephysical reappearance of Jesus Christ and expressed the importance of this typeof sighting as the truth. Gnostics had the belief that the relationship betweensalvation and themselves was on a more personal level. Gnostics insisted that itwas merely an encounter between the witness and the spirit of Christ that hadbeen transformed. This follows the Gnostics belief that religious enlighten mentcame from introspect and self-knowledge. Once one had achieved this gnosis theywere considered to be of mature knowledge and a member of an elite group readyto receive the secret knowledge of the spirit. Gnostics believed that theybelonged to the true church of an elect few who were worthy; theorthodox Christians would not be saved because they were blind to the truth. Ignatus took the idea of the father, son and the Holy Spirit to anextreme. He felt that this same hierarchy was represented on earth by theprocession of bishop, priest and deacon. And only by worshiping the bishop as astand-in for god would they be saved. The Orthodox Church was adamant about theimportance of the clergy as the medium to god. The Valentinians were a branch ofGnosticism that often were not recognized as heretics. They rode a fine linebetween the orthodox and the Gnostics. The Valentinians were different from therest of the Gnostics because they, like the Orthodox Church, proclaimed beliefin one god. The orthodox believed that once the Valentinians were in seclusionthat they entertained the thought of a conflict between the popular image of godas the source of all being. The Orthodox Church was soon more threatened by theValentinians because they were heretics whos teachings were comparable to thatof the Orthodox in what they said-but what they meant was blasphemous. Th eValentinians were like the classic Gnostics because they disagreed with theOrthodox Church on the matter of the importance of clergy in the matter ofattaining a relationship with god. They both viewed the discussion of god as anoverlying issue to the question of spiritual authority. They stated that theOrthodox Church was more concerned with the matters of who had more power thanfocusing on the real matters. The Orthodox stressed the importance of therelationship between the succession of clergy and the connection to the father,son and the Holy Spirit. Clement, of the Orthodox Church decreed that any personwho disobeyed the power of the bishop was blasphemous and should be condemned todeath. The Gnostics expressed the importance of equality in the worship. Theyargued that by considering each other as equals, there would be lessconcentration on the fight for power and more focus on attaining knowledge andsalvation. The Gnostics took a radical position for the time and it stillemanat es today-the position of women in the church. The Gnostics allowed womento participate in all aspects of the worship; in fact, any one at any time wasallowed to assume the position of bishop. This way, there was no arguments overwho held more power. The Orthodox Church thought this was total and completeblasphemy. They felt that women had no place in the leadership of the church. Risk Taking EssayIgnatus took the idea of the father, son and the Holy Spirit to anextreme. He felt that this same hierarchy was represented on earth by theprocession of bishop, priest and deacon. And only by worshiping the bishop as astand-in for god would they be saved. The Orthodox Church was adamant about theimportance of the clergy as the medium to god. The Valentinians were a branch ofGnosticism that often were not recognized as heretics. They rode a fine linebetween the orthodox and the Gnostics. The Valentinians were different from therest of the Gnostics because they, like the Orthodox Church, proclaimed beliefin one god. The orthodox believed that once the Valentinians were in seclusionthat they entertained the thought of a conflict between the popular image of godas the source of all being. The Orthodox Church was soon more threatened by theValentinians because they were heretics whos teachings were comparable to thatof the Orthodox in what they said-but what they meant was blasphemous. TheValentinians were like the classic Gnostics because they disagreed with theOrthodox Church on the matter of the importance of clergy in the matter ofattaining a relationship with god. They both viewed the discussion of god as anoverlying issue to the question of spiritual authority. They stated that theOrthodox Church was more concerned with the matters of who had more power thanfocusing on the real matters. The Orthodox stressed the importance of therelationship between the succession of clergy and the connection to the father,son and the Holy Spirit. Clement, of the Orthodox Church decreed that any personwho disobeyed the power of the bishop was blasphemous and should be condemned todeath. The Gnostics expressed the importance of equality in the worship. Theyargued that by considering each other as equals, there would be lessconcentration on the fight for power and more focus on attaining knowledge andsalvation. The Gnostics took a radical position for the time and it stillemanates today-the position of women in the church. The Gnostics allowed womento participate in all aspects of the worship; in fact, any one at any time wasallowed to assume the position of bishop. This way, there was no arguments overwho held more power. The Orthodox Church thought this was total and completeblasphemy. They felt that women had no place in the leadership of the church. Part of the reason that Gnostics expressed their belief in equality was becauseof the way that they viewed the relationship between Jesus and his disciples. They did not see Jesus as a superior to the apostles. Rather, they saw Jesus notas a prophet with all of the answers, but as a messenger of the information thatshould be sed as a resource and a jumping-off point on their search for gnosis. The Gospel of Truth is a Christian Gnostic text linked to the Valentinin School. It is a reflection of the life and work of Jesus. It reflects the significanceof Jesus and his works. This work is exemplary of the basis of the ValentinianGnostic movement. This text expressed the Valentinian principle that theknowledge of god destroys ignorance. It spells out the mythical account of thefall of Sophia and calls it the description of error. This script talks ofJesus work as a revealer and a teacher. It expresses the point about thesignificance of his death and resurrection of his spirit and its connection toour salvation. It interprets the event of Jesus death as a revelation of theessence of the Father and the Origins of humanity within him. Through thisinsight, the powers are overcome. It describes the authentic human experience asone attained through knowledge-it introduces the contrast between this life ofknowledge and that of the hell of living in ignorance. The account spells outhow the revelation permits the eventual return to the Father. It states that theult imate goal was to eventually return to the Father. This was made possiblethrough the teachings of Christ as enlightenment to our knowledge. The Gospel ofTruth says that we should recognize where we come from and embrace our destinyto return to the father through the salvation of enlightenment and knowledge. The Orthodox Christians and the Gnostics seemed to be at opposite poles when itcame to the discussion of religion, the origin and composition of Jesus and godand the relationship of these figures to the importance of authority in thechurch. The Orthodox took a more strict position on these points of debate-Godwas only one god and the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spiritand its analogy to the hierarchy of leaders in the church. They tried to impressupon their members the importance of respecting the authority of the bishops. The Gnostics felt that neither the church, nor the bishops did have such animportant role in the matter of attaining salvation. They also argued that apunishing god of the Old Testament and the forgiving god of the New Testamentwere different entities. Valentinians seemed to be positioned somewhere in themiddle. They agreed with the Orthodox Church, at least out loud, on the pointthat there was only one god. On the other hand, they disagreed with the Orthodoxand agreed with the Gnostics on the lack of importance over the debate of whoheld authority over the worship. The Gospel of Truth was a Valentinian accountof their position and where they stand on these ideas and about the matter ofsalvation through knowledge. Religion