I've read a few things on it like Wikipedia and national geographic, but I don't understand. What is the belief system? Is there a connection between Gnostics and Christians? Are there any Gnostics today, or did it die in the first couple of centuries?
208433
Gnosticism:\na heretical movement prominent in the Christian Church in the 2nd century, in part at least of pre-Christian origin and with ideas drawn from Greek philosophy and other pagan sources. Gnostics emphasised the power of gnosis, the supposed revealed knowledge of God, to redeem the spiritual element in humankind; they contrasted the supreme remote divine being with the demiurge or creator god, who controlled the world and was antagonistic to all that was purely spiritual. Christ came as an emissary from the supreme god, bringing gnosis.\n\nIn the United States there are several Gnostic churches with diverse lineages, one of which is the Ecclesia Gnostica, based primarily in Los Angeles, which is affiliated with the Gnostic Society, an organization dedicated to the study of Gnosticism.\n\nDan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code draws on Gnostic scriptures and modern re-interpretations of those works.\n\nSuch films as Dark City, Pleasantville, The Matrix, Thirteenth Floor, The Truman Show, Twelve Monkeys, Groundhog Day and Vanilla Sky can be compared to Gnostic cosmological myth in the presentation of a world that is illusory, that is created with the intention to deceive or restrict its inhabitants, and that is not configured to humanity's benefit save through the illuminating realization of its falsehood.\n\nThe MTV animated science fiction television series, Æon Flux, contains many Gnostic ideas.
110054
I am sorry you have received some really harsh answers to this question.  I believe your answer can be found in the definition of agnosticism.  \n\nThe doctrine that certainty about first principles or absolute truth is unattainable and that only perceptual phenomena are objects of exact knowledge. \n\nThe belief that there can be no proof either that God exists or that God does not exist.\n\nAsk yourself one more question, especially in regards to the root of all churches, the Catholic Church.  What is it they claim their Holy Trinity to be?  He or They are the answer to all questions.  The beginning to understanding and the end to suffering.  This to me is a wonderful belief to hold.  It gives some a sense of comfort.  However, this belief for many is difficult to understand given scientific reasoning, current global situations, and the reputation of the Christian faith.\n\nAgnostics are easy to equate in this manner.  Say you had been blind your entire life, and all your life everyone told you the sky was blue.  You would form this idea of an unidentified "blue."  Then one-day science comes along with a cure for your ailment.  The first thing you want to see is the sky.  When you look at it, it looks nothing like your idea of "blue."  Had you been wrong your entire life?  No.  Your concept of the idea of "blue" has no shifted from an idea to a reality.  Same thing with agnostics.  They have an idea of a higher power.  Yet since they have not physical proof of this power, it remains an idea.  Nothing more than that.\n\nI hope this helps.
80489
I totally know what you mean. I used to think about that all the time, but I would just exhaust myself. I think the only sure thing we know is that we know nothing. I am a bit of an agnostic, but certainly don't think that everything just happened by chance. Was there ever nothing? If so how did we ever get something? If scientist say there is an end to the universe, what is it like a wall? Plexi Glass that you just bounce of of? Or is it like Pacman where you just pop out on the other side? There is so much that is just unexplainable in t his world. I am just glad to be a part of it. I have pretty much given up on trying to figure it all out. While I am in no hurry to die, I am somewhat excited at the possibilty of everything being answered once I go. Good luck in your search for answers. We need the Teacher's Edition of the bible, one with all the answers in the margins( I wonder how much that would go for on eBay?)
2503
Not only was it written thousands of years ago and changed many times, the first writings of the gospel were put down many years after Christ's death...which explains why they don't agree. More importantly, the religion of Christianity was created by Paul, who never met Jesus. He created it out of the popular practice of the time: sacrifice. Jesus is seen as the ultimate sacrifice offered to God, which frees everyone from sin. Basically a BIG version of sacrificing a goat to god for a good harvest. Jesus had nothing to do with the creating of the religion. As always, it's just a bunch of guys trying to get people to do what they want. Religion is simply the mystical version of politics.
582094
Theism is defined as "a belief in a god or gods". There is nothing there about knowledge. Similarly Atheism is simply a "lack of belief in gods".  In neither case is any knowledge required.  Now I often ask myself why would someone hold a belief without credible evidence or reason to support it, but beliefs do not need to be rational, and often they are the result of heavy indoctrination at a very young age. \n\nI think most people misunderstand the original meaning of agnosticism.  Agnosticism has nothing at all to do with belief. And an agnostic is not a fence sitter. Rather an agnostic is a person who claims that fundamental knowledge about reality is impossible or unobtainable. An agnostic can be, an indeed must be either a theist or an atheist. Everyone must be either a theist or an atheist. Either you have a belief in gods or you do not.\n\nPersonally I am an atheist as I lack a god belief. I do not call myself an agnostic, because I have no idea if fundamental knowledge is impossible or not, so I make no such claims.
157008
This is why I am agnostic.  There were just too many unanswered questions for me.  And there was a lot of hypocracy, especially in my congregation.  What's the point of *saying* you believe something when you actually don't?
281766
Bible doesn't specify what the carpenter built, was it furniture or boats? Why mention it? Same thing, Jesus was human and it was normal to be married, so why write about something that is obvious? Even the gnostics, who wrote that he loved her, didn't mention any details at all. If the writer's intention was to only make Mary look like Jesus' wife, then she (gnostic writers were mainly females) would have added details. They didn't because it is irrlevent, it's the "love" that is important and that's all. However note that the gnostics married spiritually, the marriage ceremony was sexual intercourse. Note also the wedding mentioned in the Christian bible... it was "on the third day" (significance?), the groom always provided the wine (Jesus turned water into wine there [this is symbolical, not a miracle]). Then, who is "the disciple whom Jesus loved"? Why does the writer not simply say who it is? If bible is "word of God" then the reader has a right to know. Why the mystery? The reason is because the gnostics were all about "hidden knowledge", that is how they wrote. Gospel of John is the most "gnostic" of the synoptics. No time left, but yes there is more than enough evidence to support that the Magdalene was Jesus' consort.
196670
Because it was widely believed to be the work of gnostics, which were a mystical denomination of early Christianity. Their writings can be compared to our Christian fiction, like the Left Behind Series - which may or may not be true, but are certainly NOT scripture. The reason they were written was that in those days, there were few who had access to the Bible as a whole, and few could read. They read what they could, and when they had questions, they wrote these "gospels" and other works to answer those questions as best they could with limited resources. They also believed that one god created the earth and that another was actually God, which we know by reading the Bible is an unfounded conclusion. I suggest that you read a book on the subject of all the writings that were not included. The National Geographic Channel special on the gospel of Judas may also be helpful.
599773
It's all a load of nonsense. The whole 666 thing came from the Bible, which was put together by a bunch of Romans who wanted to control people. Why is it people still believe in the Bible despite the fact it is just a selective history? They take it as gospel, at face value. There were hundreds of books but only a few were chosen to go in the Bible, the ones that reflected the view of the Romans and gave across the views that they wanted to give across. Know a story when you read one!
276004
there are no facts to back it up.  like others, it is a myth, based on faith.  the christian cult is only one example of that.\n\nif people try to bring facts to prove it, that means their faith is weak, and they need something of the earth to strenghthen their belief.\n\nthat is a sign of low self-esteem and very low confidence in a lame-a$$ cult.\n\nAgain, Christian mythology isn't an accurate or appropriate belief, really. It is disappointing to see so many who have bought into the unsubstantiated claims of the Christian mythology, without knowing its true roots (from the original cult belief of Mithra, one of the actual first documented cults based on a savior, a virgin birth, a death and a resurrection, predating the christ myth by 900 years!) Asserting the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is fairy tale nonsense, started by Constantine and the Council of Nicea in 320 AD. Still, there isn't the tiniest shred of evidence that anyone has ever risen from the dead and in the case of Jesus there isn't the tiniest shred of evidence that anyone WHO WAS THERE AT THE TIME claimed he did.\n\nThe first claim of a resurrection of Jesus wasn't made until more than 20 years later by Paul of Tarsus (Saul), who claimed to have gotten his information from a "vision" after falling off his horse (hardly a reliable source).\n\nThe Gospel accounts were written generations later by men who were not even born during the period they wrote about. They didn't even know what year Jesus died, and we still don't. Yet, Christian cult members cling to their myth like a baby-blanket, claiming to know what Jesus said and thought and would want us to do now. By a remarkable coincidence, it's exactly what they want us to do (but rarely, if ever, do themselves). Who woulda thunk it?\n\nThe reality is that since we have no writings from Jesus or anyone who ever saw him, we have no idea what he said, did or believed. Anyone claiming otherwise is either badly misinformed or deliberately dishonest.\n\nAdditionaly, there is no proof at all that Jesus ever existed.  It's only mythology.  Again, those that have a need to claim there is proof have very low self-esteem and very little confidence in their cult, a very lame-a$$ cult, i might add.\n\nEven more comical are those people, so brainwashed, who read the bible and believe that "prophesies have been fulfilled."  These folks are so mentally unbalanced and in such great need that the bible be real for them, they're completely lost and out of touch with reality.
228295
It's not agnostic. Agnostic means you believe there is no proof of the existence or absence of God. It is simply a way of saying you choose not to choose. In other words, an agnostic draws NO conclusions on a spiritual level. An agnostic truly has an open mind.\n\nThe belief in an undefined higher power is simply your personal sense of spirituality. Your own brand of religion if you will. Anyway, thinking for yourself and living by your own moral code is definitely the healthier and far more intelligent alternative to pre-packaged organized religion (like Christianity).
143711
I'm a christian, and I don't because its not in the Bible. It seems that I've read this particular belief came about when trying to convince idol worshippers to convert to christianity. Since they had trinities we had to have it too. I have no idea how to find a church with everyone so mixed up and believing men instead of God.
322880
Oh boy did you just drop a bomb :)  I'm expecting this answer thread to be long and heated.\n\nIn short, the Gnostic Gospels are what you are referring to (also used as the basis for Dan Brown's books including the DiVinci Code.)\n\nThe Gnostic Gospels are a set of books written from around 20 to 40 AD.  After Jesus Christ, the Christian movement was gaining a whole lot of followers really really quickly.  At the time, of course, Rome was the power of the world.  While Rome was a pretty diverse place and had a whole lot of religions going on, this particular one threatened the authority of Caesar since Christians would not recognize him as a living god.\n\nLong and short of it is that the quickly growing CHristian thing was a threat.  And a whole lot of subversion was undertaken to minimize or marginalize the threat.  A bunch of people started teaching inaccurate and blatantly false "Christian" teachings in order to confuse the new religion and help it disappear.  These Heretics (false teachers) succeeded in large part for the better part of 300 hundred years.  So now what you ended up with was a bunch of Apositles out there trying to teach the true teaching of Jesus having to compete with the Heretics (later known as the Gnostics.)\n\nIt was in 325 AD that the Church of Rome called together all the leaders of the Christian Churches to Nicea.  There, in Nicea, is where all the teachers agreed on the fundemental teachings of Christianity so that they all could be sure that they're teaching the same thing and so that they all could be sure that no one is teaching Herecy.  It was also there that the Church "cannonized" the Bible.  Basically they took a long hard look and researched all of the scriptures that were floating around and based on their research of where the scripture came from, who wrote it, the motive behind writting it, and whether or not it could be coraborated by other sources, they decided to put all the "good" scriptures into one book called the Bible.\n\nThe "left out" scriptures were left out for good reason.  They were herecy.
468646
Two of the biggest problems not mentioned so far are these... Gnostics preached a different Gospel, and Gnostics were very exclusive in that they did not share their beliefs unless they felt you were worthy. In Revelation 2 Jesus says this  "But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." From writings we have found outside of the bible, the Nicolaitans seem to have been a forefather to gnostic teachings. So, to simplify, the felt truth should only be given to people who diserved it, and they did not preach the same message that Jesus did.
234172
If you'r a Christian and a true believer, then what is it thats confusing you. Don't you read the Bible? Where does it say anywhere in the Bible that anyone except Jesus ever came back from the dead to live a new life? No, I do not believe in past lives.
181419
I recommend that you look into the folklore literature which will demonstrate how similar the bible and its themes are to other mythologies. Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung are excellent authors to start with. Christians basically believe what every other faith believes. Their way is the only TRUE path to God. In my opinion (as a Christian) that's incredibly narrow-minded. If you've read the Chronicles of Narnia (and if you haven't you should) the last chapter of book 7 "The last Battle" has a scene where Aslan (Christ) allows a young man who was a follower of Tash (another god/demon) into the real Narnia (Heaven) because his actions were congruent with the Aslan's teachings even though the young man didn't realize it. Basically I believe that those who are following Christ's spirit or philosophy even if they're not doing so in name have as much if not more truth than most christians.
74207
Good luck...\n\nCan a Christian believe in evolution?  I do.  I know that this world hasn't always been as we know it now.  I know that I as a homo sapien, evolved from something else.  God can create and destroy as he so chooses.\n\nWhy then are dinosaurs not in the Bible?\nWhy does the Bible not reference such catastrophic events that wiped them out?\n\nIn my opinion, because it isn't something we necessarily need concern ourselves with.  The fact that GIANT lizards once walked this earth is pretty darned fascinating.  Can we learn anything from them?  Unless we want to turn ourselves into giant lizards I think not.\n\nWhat we need to concern ourselves with is the history as it is written in the Bible.  The Bible is not only a religious tool, but also one that can be studied for it's historical content and story.  \n\nDo I believe the stories? YES!  Do I believe that everything happened exactly as it is written? YES!  \n\nI believe the world was created in seven days.  But what is our definition of days compared to Godly days.  \n\nThat we will not know until we can ask our creator.  (But frankly, by the time I die and go to heaven, Days will hardly matter to me anymore.)