Gnosticism

[Danage]

Thank you Archbishop for setting up this forum. It will prove to be a useful information resource.

My question: can someone please explain what Gnosticism is, please?

Thank you.

Also, I think we need to put a general order to the replies, such as:

Oxford Dictionary Definition:

Wikipedia Definition:

General Definition:

Varients in spelling etc.

What do you think?

[RabbiBarry]

The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion defines Gnosticism in this way:

A term used for a category of religions that emphasize knowledge as essential to salvation. Gnosticism appears int he early Christian centuries, but its origins and age are much debated, and at the present state of research it can hardly be proven to exist prior to Christianity. Neither unequivocally Christian, Jewish, Greek, nor Iranian, Gnosticism is not a clearly delineated religion, but rather a specific religious interpretative perspective. Gnosticism lives mainly in or on the edges of Christianity and Judaism and it bears a number of philosophical, astrological, and magical marks loosely belonging in the Near Eastern and Inner Mediterranean areas.

[Danage]

Thank you RabbiBarry.