Dave,
Thanks for your response. The Sophian Tradition is a oral gnostic christian tradition that its oral teaching state has a appostolic succession going back to St. Mary Magdelene, but can be traced back to the 1700's, I think. It's non-dualistic, based on a form of christian kabbalah, and pre-Nag Hammadi with deep Jewish roots. It's teachings have resently been made public by linage holder Tau Malachi.
-I'm currently looking for a progressive christian theological school and would like to persue a Bachlers Degree. Would any one have any recommendations? It would be nice to be able to do this online if possible.
LVX, Jim
Gnosticism from Wikipedia:
Gnosticism is a descriptive term used to identify a common belief among various religious movements and groups that likely originated in prehistory and became most active in the first few centuries AD/CE. The key to understanding the core belief of these movements is provided by the term gnosis, a Greek word expressing a type of understanding/consciousness gained through personal experience. It is through this type of transcendental experience that followers of Gnostic belief systems ("Gnosticism") seek escape from ignorance and thus the mundane.
Throughout history, followers of various incarnations of Gnosticism (particularly Christian persuasions) were persecuted by those who held the opposing belief that salvation came through faith in particular religious concepts or figures rather than personal knowledge of them. There is no evidence that followers of these earlier Gnostic belief systems ever characterized themselves with the word 'Gnostic.'
The term has become widely used by modern scholars and others as a way to identify an emphasis placed on the salvific benefit of individual wisdom. Although many Gnostic movements identified with the teachings of Jesus Christ and were Christian by their own definition, there remains widespread variation in the particular religious orientations of many Gnostic groups. Especially notable for their extended and uninterrupted presence up until the modern era are the followers of the Persian Prophet Mani, the Manicheans; and the Pre-Christian Mandaeans who still survive in Iraq and Iran.
Particularly with the rise and fall of the Albigensian "Cathar" movement, European Gnostic thought became heavily influenced by the idea of a mythological struggle between competing forces of light and dark. This viewpoint would lead to the development of a strongly dualistic system in which there was a marked division between the higher celestial realms, and the material realms, the latter of which were thought to be under the governance of an ignorant entity known as the Demiurge. Influenced by more widespread branches of Christianity, the Demiurge was eventually conflated with many of the properties of Satan. One potential source of this newfound dualism is directly from the other Near-Eastern schools of Gnosticism, possibly via the influence of the Bogomils.
Contents [hide]
1 Nature and structure of Gnosticism
1.1 A typological model: the main features of gnosticism
1.2 Dualism and monism
1.3 Moral and ritual practice
2 Major Gnostic Movements and Their Texts
2.1 Persian Gnosticism
2.2 Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism
2.2.1 Syrian-Egyptic Scripture
2.3 Later Gnosticism and Gnostic-influenced Groups
3 Important terms and concepts
3.1 Aeons
3.2 Archon
3.3 Demiurge
3.4 Gnosis
3.5 Monad
3.6 Pleroma
3.7 Sophia
4 History
4.1 The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school
4.2 The development of the Persian school
4.3 Influence in East Asia
5 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category
6 Gnosticism in modern times
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Books
8.1.1 Primary sources
8.1.2 Secondary sources
8.2 Audio lectures
8.3 Videos
9 External links
9.1 Ancient Gnosticism
9.2 Gnostic blogs
9.3 Discussion groups and email lists
