Heretical sect, also known as the Good Men, as they followed the teachings of Jesus Christ as set out in the Gospel of John. Dualists who believed in the eternally warring forces of Good (things spiritual) and Evil (things material) - and that this world is, being one of matter, is evil. Purpose of life is to return to the world of the spirit. Believed everyone can speak directly to God, so no need for priests. As teachers women held equal authority with men. Threatened the existence of the Church of Rome so Pope declared a crusade against them and virtually exterminated them, burning at the stake being favoured method of execution.
Gnosticism
The primary form of Christian heresy in the very Early Church was Gnosticism. The term comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge. Gnosticism was vigorously refuted by Paul, John and Peter in the New Testament, as well as by many of the Early Church Fathers, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Justyn Martyr. General characteristics of Gnosticism include:
* They believed in salvation through gnosis, or knowledge, not through faith. They often believed that Christ was a revealer of the hidden knowledge necessary for salvation.
* Gnostics believed in a body of secret instructions given to the apostles by Christ, and would point to New Testament verses such as Mark 4:33-34 or 1 Cor 2: 6-7 as indicators of the existence of such a body of knowledge.
* Some Gnostics viewed Christ as a great prophet, but not as being divine
* Many Gnostics believed in Dualism, or the view that there are two Gods of equal power in the Universe - one evil (who created the world and all material things), and one good (who created all spiritual and heavenly things). The "evil" God was often associated with the Old Testament God. The battle between the good god and the evil god was often expressed in terms of the battle of the Kingdom of Light vs. Kingdom of Darkness.
* Some Gnostics believed that the soul (created by the "good god") was lured (by the "evil god") into the transitory physical body. Hence, the goal of humankind is to escape from the evil physical body and return to the godhead, or become one with the "good god". As a result, some Gnostics believed that one’s soul could go through multiple iterations in an impure physical body (reincarnation).
* The Gnostics believed that there was revealed truth to be found in many religions
* Since the “evil” god created everything worldly or material, the Gnostics believed that all material things are evil. Two practices came out of this view. One was an extreme form of asceticism – denial of the flesh – and the other was antinomianism. Antinomianism basically states that, since the body is inherently evil, but the soul is pure, it doesn’t matter what you do with your body (sort of the “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” view of 1900 years ago).
* Some Gnostics believed that there were different spiritual levels of human beings. Those on the highest level were guaranteed salvation; those on the lowest level were denied salvation, and everyone in between had to fight for salvation.
* Some Gnostics believed in Docetism (from Gr. dokesis, or semblance), which viewed that Christ was a pure spirit, not a flesh and blood human being. This view comes out of the dualist viewpoint that matter is created from the “evil” god, thus a manifestation of the “good” god could never exist in a carnal, fleshly form. (1 John 4:1-4, 2 John 7 may be refutations).
Origins and Influences
By modern standards, Gnosticism seems so different from Christianity as to be a different religion. As it turns out, Gnosticism was a blend of Christianity with other Middle Eastern philosophies and religions, such as Zoroastrianism and Neo-Platonism.
