From: Dr. Blake Nelson (bnelson301@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Sep 29 2003 - 09:48:55 EDT
In many gnostic sects, the purpose was to learn hidden
knowledge (hence the name) that would literally allow
you to escape the world upon death (passwords, etc.).
So, the analogy is generally apt.
--- George Murphy <gmurphy@raex.com> wrote:
> RFaussette@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 9/27/03 9:31:42 AM Eastern
> Daylight Time, gmurphy@raex.com
> > writes:
> >
> > > This is why Christianity has always had to
> resist (with greater or lesser
> > > success) gnostic ideas that salvation is about
> > > somehow escaping from the physical world &
> "going to heaven."
> > >
> > >
> >
> > gnosticism is not about escaping from the world -
> it's about facing it - this
> > is also the common misconception regarding
> Buddhism.
>
> I have said nothing about Buddhism, about which my
> knowledge is limited. I do
> know something about gnosticism, in the sense in
> which the word is used to describe
> religious movements in the Mediterranean world in
> the early centuries of the Christian
> era. Characteristic beliefs of these movements were
> that the physical world was some
> sort of inferior production of a lesser deity, and
> that salvation came through knowledge
> (hence the name) which would enable our true selves
> to be freed from the world. Of
> course I state this in very general terms: There
> was a wide variety of gnostic ideas.
>
> Shalom,
> George
>
> George L. Murphy
> gmurphy@raex.com
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
>
>
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