1. Gnosticism From gnosis = secret knowledge required for salvation
Salvation = escape from the material world and becoming one with the True God
Reincarnation
Influence from Plato
Adopted Christian ideas and symbols

2. Gnosticism
The True God = The Monad (One), Pleroma (Fullness), Bythos (Depth), Proarche (Before the Beginning), etc.
The False God = the Demiurge (from Plato’s Republic, Timaeus) = Yahweh of the O.T.
The True God emmanated out less perfect beings, resulting in the Demiurge.

3. Gnosticism
The Demiurge and his archons rule this world. He believes he is the true God
Concepts run from misguided, benevolent dictator to Satanic figure (called the Blind God, Foolish One, Angel of Death)
Jesus came from the Pleroma to impart gnosis and save us from the Demiurge & his world

4. Gnosticism Gnosticism is not an authentic strain of early Christianity
Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, claimed to be the Jewish Messiah (extra-biblical sources)
Gnosticism was a preexisting Greek religion
Four Gospels completed before 100 A.D.
Gnostic Gospels all after 100 A.D.

5. Gnosticism
Beware of people claiming to have the secret teachings of (fill in the blank)
Pseudoepigrapha = false writings
Elaine Pagels, Robert Funk in the minority in thinking Thomas authentic
Arguments for Thomas: No narrative framework, less polished, more similar to synoptics than John
Thomas probably more like Book of Mormon - poor imitation of gospel sayings