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can be taken to illustrate the Gnostics' search for spiritual worlds by circumventing the constraints of materiality.]] Gnosticism is a historical term for various Mystical Initiatory Religion s, Sect s and knowledge schools that were most active in the first few centuries C.E. around the Mediterranean and extending into central Asia . These systems typically recommend the pursuit of Mysticism or "special knowledge" ('' Gnosis '') as the central goal of life. They also commonly depict creation as a Mythological struggle between competing forces of light and dark, and posit a marked division between the material realm, typically depicted as under the governance of malevolent forces (such as the Demiurge ), and the higher spiritual realm from which it is divided, governed by God (the Monad ) and the Aeon s. As a result of these common traits, allegations of Dualism , Anticosmism and body-hatred are often raised against Gnosticism as a whole; this, however, fails to acknowledge the variety, subtlety and complexity of the traditions involved. The terms 'Gnosticism' and 'Gnostic' are most properly applied to modern revivals of these groups. Recently their meanings have grown to include any religious movement incorporating a doctrine of special initiatory knowledge, which may lead to confusion. It is also a common topic in Sinology , as it was the first Christianity introduced to China since 7th Century. NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF GNOSTICISM A typological model: the main features of gnosticism Though difficulties have arisen in offering a definitive, categorical definition of Gnosticism (see Below ), various strategies have been employed in overcoming the problem, with varying degrees of success. It is therefore appropriate to offer a typological model of those ancient philosophical movements typically called Gnostic; the model offered is adapted from Christoph Markschies ' version, as described in 'Gnosis: An Introduction'. Gnostic systems are typically marked by: #The notion of a remote, supreme and unknowable Monadic divinity - this figure is known under a variety of names, including ' Pleroma ' and ' Bythos ' (Greek 'deep'); #The introduction by emanation of further divine beings, which are nevertheless identifiable as aspects of the God from which they proceeded; the progressive emanations are often conceived metaphorically as a gradual and progressive distancing from the ultimate source, which brings about an instability in the fabric of the divine nature; #The subsequent identification of The Fall Of Man as an occurrence within divinity itself, rather than as occurring partially through human agency; this stage in the divine emanation is usually enacted through the recurrent Gnostic figure of Sophia (Greek 'Wisdom'), whose presence in a wide variety of Gnostic texts is indicative of her central importance; #The introduction of a distinct creator god, who is named as in the Platonist tradition ''demiurgos''. Evidence exists that the conception of the Demiurge has derivation from figures in Plato's '' Timaeus '' and '' Republic ''. In the former, the demiurge is the benevolent creator of the universe from pre-existent matter, to whose limitations he is enthralled in creating the cosmos; in the latter, the description of the leontomorphic 'desire' in Socrates ' model of the Psyche bears a strong resemblance to descriptions of the demiurge as being in the shape of the lion. Elsewhere this figure is called ' Ialdabaoth ', 'Samael' ( Aramaic ''sæmʕa-ʔel'', 'blind god') or 'Saklas' ( Syriac ''sækla'', 'the foolish one'), who is sometimes ignorant of the superior God, and sometimes opposed to it; thus in the latter case he is correspondingly malevolent. The demiurge typically creates a group of coactors named ' Archons ', who preside over the material realm and, in some cases, present obstacles to the soul seeking ascent from it; #The estimation of the world, owing to the above, as flawed or a production of 'error' but nevertheless as good as its constituent material might allow. This world is typically an inferior Simulacrum of a higher-level reality or consciousness. The inferiority may be compared to the technical inferiority of a Painting , Sculpture , or other Handicraft to the thing(s) those crafts are supposed to be a representation of. In certain other cases it is also perceived as evil and constrictive, a deliberate prison for its inhabitants; #The explanation of this state through the use of a complex mythological-cosmological drama in which a divine element 'falls' into the material realm and lodges itself within certain human beings; from here, it may be returned to the divine realm through a process of awakening. It may be noted that the salvation of the individual thus mirrors a concurrent restoration of the divine nature; a central Gnostic innovation was to elevate individual redemption to the level of a cosmically significant event; #Knowledge of a specific kind as a central factor in this process of restoration, achieved through the mediation of a redeemer figure ( Christ , or, in other cases, Seth or Sophia ). It may be noted that the model limits itself to describing characteristics of the Syrian-Egyptian school of Gnosticism. This is for the reason that the greatest expressions of the Persian Gnostic School - Manicheanism and Mandaeanism - are typically conceived of as religious traditions in their own right (extensive articles exist for both on Wikipedia); indeed, the typical usage of 'Gnosticism' is to refer to the Syrian-Egyptian schools alone, while 'Manichean' describes the movements of the Persia school. It should be noted also that the conception of Gnosticism offered above has recently been challenged by Michael Allen William's groundbreaking work 'Rethinking Gnosticism', which re-examines the common conception of categorical 'Gnosticism' in an effort to demonstrate the somewhat nebulous nature of the term (see Below ). Despite this, the understanding presented above remains in common usage, and retains at least ''some'' usefulness in aiding meaningful discussion of the phenomena that compose Gnosticism, even if the extent of that usefulness is in doubt. Dualism and monism Typically, Gnostic systems are loosely described as being 'dualistic' in nature. Within this definition, they run the gamut from the 'extreme' or 'radical dualist' systems of Manicheanism to the 'weak' or 'mediated dualism' of classic gnostic movements; Valentinian developments arguably approach a form of Monism , expressed in terms previously used in a dualistic manner.
Moral and ritual practice Evidence in the source texts indicates Gnostic moral behaviour as being overwhelmingly , or to explain Gnostic asceticism as being based on incorrect interpretations of scripture, or simply duplicitous in nature. Epiphanius provides an example when he writes of the 'Archontics' 'Some of them ruin their bodies by dissipation, but others feign ostensible fasts and deceive simple people while they pride themselves with a sort of Abstinence , under the disguise of monks' ('' Panarion '', 40.1.4). Thus it might be noted that moral asceticism provides a point of cohesion and co-development between orthodox Christianity and Gnostic Christianity which the Church Fathers sought to downplay. In other areas of morality Gnostics were less rigorously ascetic, and took a more moderate approach to correct behaviour. Ptolemy's ''Epistle to Flora'' lays out a project of general asceticism in which the basis of action is the moral inclination of the individual: This extract marks a definite shift away from the position of orthodoxy, that the correct behaviour for Christians is best administered and prescribed by the central authority of the church, as transmitted through the apostles. Instead, the internalised inclination of the individual assumes paramount importance; there is the recognition that ritualistic behaviour, though well-intentioned, possesses no significance or effectiveness unless its external prescription is matched by a personal, internal motivation. Charges of Gnostic libertinism arguably find their source in the works of Irenaeus . According to this writer, Simon Magus (whom he has identified as the prototypical source of Gnosticism) founded the school of moral freedom (' Amoralism '). Irenaeus reports that Simon's argument, that those who put their trust in him and his consort Helen, need trouble themselves no further with the biblical prophets or their moral exhortations and are free 'to do what they wish', as men are saved by his (Simon's) grace, and not by their 'righteous works' (adapted from ''Adversus Haereses'', I.23.3). It should be noted that Simon is not known for any libertinistic practice, save for his curious attachment to Helen, typically reputed to be a prostitute. There is, however, clear evidence in the , a ritualistic Sacrament in which sexual union is seen as analogous to the activities of the paired Syzygies that constitute the Valentinian Pleroma ; though it is known that Valentinus had a more relaxed approach to sexuality than much of the orthodox church (he allowed women to hold positions of ordination in his community), it is not known whether the Bridal Chamber was a ritual involving actual intercourse, or whether human sexuality is here simply being used in a metaphorical sense. Of the Carpocratians Irenaeus makes much the same report: they 'are so abandoned in their recklessness that they claim to have in their power and be able to practise anything whatsoever that is ungodly (irreligious) and impious ... they say that conduct is only good or evil in the eyes of man' (''Adversus Haereses'', I.25.4). Once again a differentiation might be detected between a man's actions and the grace he has received through his adherence to a system of ''gnosis''; whether this is due to a common sharing of such an attitude amongst Gnostic circles, or whether this is simply a blanket-charge used by Irenaeus is open to conjecture. On the whole, it would seem that Gnostic behaviour tended towards the ascetic. This said, the heresiological accusation of duplicity in such practises should not be taken at face value; nor should similar accusations of amoral libertinism. The Nag Hammadi library itself is full of passages which appear to encourage abstinence over indulgence. Fundamentally, however, gnostic movements appear to take the 'ancient schema of the two ways, which leaves the decision to do what is right to human endeavour and promises a reward for those who make the effort, and punishment for those who are negligent' (Kurt Rudolph, ''Gnosis: The Nature and Structure of Gnosticism'', 262). Major Gnostic schools and their texts As noted Above , schools of Gnosticism are defined as being a member of one of two broad categories. These are the 'Eastern' or 'Persian' school, and a 'Syrian-Egyptic' school. The former possesses more demonstrably dualist tendencies; their myths display a more definitive division between light and darkness; creation is typically witnessed as being the result of an interaction between the realms of light and darkness; finally, though the two competing forces are seen somewhat as equivalent in capacity, the ultimate object of the process of creation is to assure the victory of the forces of light (see Dualism And Monism ). The Syrian-Egyptian school, by contrast, derives its nature from its Platonist influences. Typically, it depicts creation in a series of emanations from a primal monadic source, finally resulting in the creation of the material universe; as a result, there is a tendency in these schools to view material 'evil', rather than as a force equal to immaterial 'goodness', as something markedly ''inferior'' to it. Indeed, these schools of gnosticism may be said to use the terms 'evil' and 'good' as being ''relative'' descriptive terms, with the former indicating the extremes of distance from the principle and source of goodness, without necessitating its ''inherent'' negativity.
IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS Aeons In many Gnostic systems, the various Emanations of the God , who is also known by such names as the One, the Monad , Aion teleos (The Perfect Aeon), Bythos (Depth or profundity, Greek Βυθος), Proarkhe (Before the Beginning, Greek προαρχη), E Arkhe (The Beginning, Greek ἡ ἀρχή), are called Aeons . This first being is also an æon and has an inner being within itself, known as Ennoia (Thought), Charis (Grace), or Sige (Greek Σιγη, Silence). The split perfect being conceives the second aeon, Caen (Power), within itself. Along with the male Caen comes the female æon Akhana (Truth, Love). The aeons often came in male/female pairs called ''syzygies'', and were frequently numerous (20-30). Two of the most commonly listed æons were Jesus and Sophia . The aeons constitute the '' Pleroma '', the "region of light". The lowest regions of the pleroma are closest to the darkness; that is, the physical world. When an æon named ''Sophia'' emanated without her partner aeon, the result was the '' Demiurge '', or half-creator (Occasionally referred to as Ialdaboth in Gnostic texts), a creature that should never have come into existence. This creature does not belong to the Pleroma , and the One emanates two savior æons, '' Christ '' and ''the Holy Spirit '' to save man from the Demiurge. Christ then took the form of the man, ''Jesus'', in order to be able to teach man how to achieve Gnosis ; that is, return to the pleroma. These systems, however, are only a sample of the various interpretations that exist. The roles of familiar beings suchs as Jesus, Christ, Sophia, and the Demiurge usually share the same general themes between systems but may have somewhat different functions or identities ascribed to them. Archon In late antiquity some variants of Gnosticism used the term Archon to refer to several servants of the '' Demiurge '', the " Creator God " that stood between the human race and a transcendent God that could only be reached through gnosis. In this context they have the role of the angels and demons of the Old Testament . The Egyptian Gnostic or Ialdabaoth (who created the six others), Iao , Sabaoth , Adonaios , Elaios , Astaphanos and Horaios ( Origen , Contra Celsum , VI.31). Ialdabaoth had a head of a lion, just like Mithraic Kronos ( Chronos ), Persian Zervan ( Zurvan ) and Vedic Narasimha , a form of Vishnu . Their wrathful nature was mistaken as Evil . The snake wrapped around them is Ananta ( Sesha ) Naga (mythology) . The word Abraxas was engraved on certain Antique stones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used as Amulets or charms by Gnostic sects. It was believed that Abraxas was the name of a God who incorporated both Good and Evil (God and Demiurge ) in one entity, and therefore representing the Monotheistic God , singular, but (unlike, for example, the Christian God) not Omni-benevolent . Abraxas has been claimed to be both an Egypt ian god and a Demon , sometimes even being associated with the dual nature of Satan / Lucifer . This is possibly the origin of the word Abracadabra , although other explanations exist. Demiurge 's ''L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures'' may be a depiction of the Demiurge.]] The term Demiurge refers to an entity (usually seen as evil) responsible for the creation of the Physical Universe and the physical aspect of Humanity . The term occurs in a number of other religious and philosophical systems, most notably Platonism . While always suggestive of a Creator God , the moral judgements regarding the demiurge vary wildly, from a benign Grand Architect to an evil subvertor of God's will. Like . In the Apocryphon Of John (several versions of which are found in the Nag Hammadi Library ), the Demiurge has the name " Yaltabaoth ", and proclaims himself as God: "Now the Archon who is weak has three names. The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas , and the third is Samael . And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come." Gnostic myth recounts that Sophia (Greek, literally meaning "wisdom"), the Demiurge's mother and a partial aspect of the divine Pleroma or "Fullness", desired to create something apart from the divine totality, and without the receipt of divine assent. In this abortive act of separate creation, she gave birth to the monstrous Demiurge and, being ashamed of her deed, she wrapped him in a cloud and created a throne for him within it. The Demiurge, isolated, did not behold his mother, nor anyone else, and thus concluded that only he himself existed, being ignorant of the superior levels of reality that were his birth-place. The Gnostic myths describing these events are full of intricate nuances portraying the declination of aspects of the divine into human form; this process occurs through the agency of the Demiurge who, having stolen a portion of power from his mother, sets about a work of creation in unconscious imitation of the superior Pleromatic realm. Thus Sophia's power becomes enclosed within the material forms of humanity, themselves entrapped within the material universe: the goal of Gnostic movements was typically the awakening of this spark, which permitted a return by the subject to the superior, non-material realities which were its primal source. (See Sethian Gnosticism .) "Samael" may equate to the Judaic Angel Of Death , and corresponds to the Christian Demon of That Name , as well as Satan . Literally, it can mean "Blind God" or "God of the Blind" in Aramaic ( Syriac ''sæmʕa-ʔel''). Another alternative title for Yaldabaoth, "Saklas", is Aramaic for "fool" (Syriac ''sækla'' "the foolish one"). Some Gnostic philosophers (notably Marcion Of Sinope ) identify the Demiurge with Yahweh , the God of the Old Testament , in opposition and contrast to the God of the New Testament . Still others equated the being with Satan . Catharism apparently inherited their idea of Satan as the creator of the evil world directly or indirectly from Gnosticism. Gnosis The word 'Gnosticism' is a modern construction, though based on an antiquated linguistic expression: it comes from the Greek word meaning 'knowledge', '' Gnosis '' (γνῶσις). However, ''gnosis'' itself refers to a very specialised form of knowledge, deriving both from the exact meaning of the original Greek term and its usage in Platonist Philosophy . Unlike modern English , ancient Greek was capable of discerning between several different forms of knowing. These different forms may be described in English as being Propositional Knowledge , indicative of knowledge acquired ''indirectly'' through the reports of others or otherwise by inference (such as "I know ''of'' George Bush" or "I know Berlin ''is in'' Germany"), and knowledge acquired by ''direct participation'' or ''acquaintance'' (such as "I know George Bush personally" or "I know Berlin, having visited"). Gnosis (γνῶσις) refers to knowledge of the second kind. Therefore, in a religious context, to be 'Gnostic' should be understood as being reliant not on Knowledge in a general sense, but as being specially receptive to Mystical or ''esoteric experiences of direct participation'' with the divine. Indeed, in most Gnostic systems the sufficient cause of Salvation is this 'knowledge of' ('acquaintance with') the divine. This is commonly identified with a process of inward 'knowing' or self-exploration, comparable to that encouraged by Plotinus ('' Ca .'' 205 – 270 AD). However, as may be seen, the term 'gnostic' also had precedent usage in several ancient Philosophical traditions, which must also be weighed in considering the very subtle implications of its appellation to a set of ancient religious groups. Monad In many Gnostic systems (and heresiologies), God is known as the Monad , The One , The Absolute , ''Aion teleos'' (The Perfect Æon ), ''Bythos'' (Depth or Profundity, Βυθος), ''Proarkhe'' (Before the Beginning, προαρχη), and ''E Arkhe'' (The Beginning, η αρχη). God is the high source of the Pleroma , the region of light. The various emanations of God are called æon s. Within certain variations of Gnosticism , especially those inspired by Monoimus , the ''Monad'' was the highest God which created lesser Gods , or elements (similar to æons). According to Hippolytus , this view was inspired by the Pythagoreans , who called the first thing that came into existence the ''Monad'', which begat the Dyad , which begat the Number s, which begat the Point , begetting Line s, etc. This Monad is the Spiritual source of everything which Emanates the Pleroma , and could be contrasted to the dark Demiurge (Yaldabaoth) that controls Matter . The , a potent symbol for being, as it were, 'all-containing'. This mode of thinking about God is found throughout gnosticism, Vendantic hinduism, Platonic and Aristotle theology as well. It may be seen to derive from Judaic sources as well. In essence, Sethianism posits a God that may not be described in any rational sense; much like Plato and Philo had also stated but it is only possible to say what God isn't, and the experience of it remains something, again, in defiance of rational description. Orthodox descriptions of God sometimes also employ this sort of language. Pleroma generally, and in Colossians 2.9. Gnosticism holds that the world is controlled by evil Archon s, one of whom is the demiurge, the deity of the Old Testament who holds the human spirit captive. The heavenly pleroma is the center of divine life, a region of light "above" (the term is not to be understood spatially) our world, occupied by spiritual beings such as Aeon s (eternal beings) and sometimes Archon s. Jesus is interpreted as an intermediary aeon who was sent from the pleroma, with whose aid humanity can recover the lost knowledge of the divine origins of humanity. The term is thus a central element of Gnostic Cosmology . Pleroma is also used in the general Greek language and is used by the Greek Orthodox church in this general form since the word appears under the book of Colossians. Proponents of the view that Paul Was Actually A Gnostic , such as Elaine Pagels of Princeton University , view the reference in Colossians as something that was to be interpreted in the gnostic sense. Sophia In Gnostic tradition, the term Sophia (Σoφíα, Greek for "wisdom") refers to the final and lowest emanation of God. In most if not all versions of the gnostic myth, Sophia births the demiurge, who in turn brings about the creation of materiality. The positive or negative depiction of materiality thus resides a great deal on mythic depictions of Sophia's actions. She is occasionally referred to by the Hebrew equivalent of Achamoth (this is a feature of Ptolemy 's version of the Valentinian gnostic myth). Almost all gnostic systems of the Syrian or Egyptian type taught that the universe began with an original, unknowable God , referred to as the Parent or Bythos , as the Monad by Monoimus , or the first Aeon by still other traditions. From this initial unitary beginning, the One spontaneously Emanated further Aeon s, pairs of progressively 'lesser' beings in sequence. The lowest of these pairs were Sophia and Christ . The Aeons together made up the Pleroma, or fullness, of God, and thus should not be seen as distinct from the divine, but symbolic abstractions of the divine nature. HISTORY See " History Of Gnosticism " for the full treatment. The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school Bentley Layton has sketched out a relationship between the various gnostic movements in his introduction to ''The Gnostic Scriptures'' (SCM Press, London, 1987 ). In this model, 'Classical Gnosticism' and 'The School of Thomas' antedated and influenced the development of Valentinus , who was to found his own school of Gnosticism in both Alexandria and Rome , whom Layton called 'the great {Link without Title} reformer' and 'the focal point' of Gnostic development. While in Alexandria, where he was born, Valentinus probably would have had contact with the Gnostic teacher Basilides , and may have been influenced by him. Valentinianism flourished throughout the early centuries of the common era: while Valentinus himself lived from ''. Valentinianism might be described as the most elaborate and philosophically 'dense' form of the Syrian-Egyptian schools of Gnosticism, though it should be acknowledged that this in no way debarred other schools from attracting followers: Basilides' own school was popular also, and survived in Egypt until the 4th century. Simone Petrement, in ''A Separate God'', in arguing for a Christian origin of Gnosticism, places Valentinus after Basilides, but before the Sethians. It is her assertion that Valentinus represented a moderation of the anti-Judaism of the earlier Hellenized teachers; the demiurge, widely regarded to be a mythological depiction of the Old Testament God of the Hebrews, is depicted as more ignorant than evil. (See below.) . Manuscript from Khocho, Tarim Basin .]] The development of the Persian school An alternate heritage is offered by , 1977 ), to explain the lineage of Persian Gnostic schools. The decline of Manicheism that occurred in Persia in the 5th century AD/CE was too late to prevent the spread of the movement into the east and the west. In the west, the teachings of the school moved into Syria , Northern Arabia , Egypt and North Africa (where Augustine was a member of school from 373 - 382 ); from Syria it progressed still farther, into Palestine , Asia Minor and Armenia . There is evidence for Manicheans in Rome and Dalmatia in the 4th century, and also in Gaul and Spain . The influence of Manicheanism was attacked by imperial elects and polemical writings, but the religion remained prevalent until the 6th century, and still exerted influence in the emergence of the Paulicians , Bogomil s and Cathari in the middle ages, until it was ultimately stamped out as a heresy by the Catholic Church. In the east, Rudolph relates, Manicheanism was able to bloom, given that the religious monopoly position previously held by Christianity and Zoroastrianism had been broken by nascent Islam . In the early years of the Arab conquest, Manicheanism again found followers in Persia (mostly amongst educated circles), but flourished most in Central Asia , to which it had spread through Iran. Here, in 762 , Manicheanism became the state religion of the Uigar Empire . Influence in East Asia Gnostism was the first Christianity introduced to China , under the name 'Relgion of Luciferousity' (景教). In 635 , a Gnostic missionary arrived in Changan , the capital of Chinese's ppTang Dynasty]] and the Emperor assigned Fang Xuan-Ling (房玄齡), a famous Prime Minister in the Chinese History, to held the grand ceremony to welcome him, although in the following centuries, Chinese Emperors and scholars' view on Gnostism changed from time to time. Gnostism in China boomed in the late 8th Century but it was never a mainstream relgion widely practiced. In 845 , Movement To Demolish Buddhism provoked in China, Gnostism was affected and missionaries was expelled. At that time, around 3000 practioners, including Manicheanism and Zoroastrian, were affected. In 13th Century Mongolian conquest in Central and East Asia brought Gnostism back to China, but it declined again while Roman Catholic Missionaries in 16th to 17th Century replaced its role. Rudolph reported that despite this suppression Manichean traditions are reputed to have survived until the 17th century (based on the reports of Portuguese sailors). 'GNOSTICISM' AS A POTENTIALLY FLAWED CATEGORY In 1966 in Messina , Italy , a conference was held concerning systems of ''gnosis''. Among its several aims were the need to incept a program to translate the recently-acquired Nag Hammadi library (see Above ) and the need to arrive at an agreement concerning an accurate definition of 'Gnosticism'. This was in answer to the tendency, prevalent since the eighteenth century, to use the term 'gnostic' less as its origins implied, but rather as an interpretive category for ''contemporary'' philosophical and religious movements. For example, in 1835 , New Testament scholar Ferdinand Baur constructed a developmental model of Gnosticism that culminates in the religious philosophy of Hegel ; one might compare Literary Critic Harold Bloom 's recent attempts to identify Gnostic elements in contemporary American religion, or Eric Voegelin 's analysis of Totalitarian impulses through the interpretive lens of Gnosticism. The 'cautious proposal' reached by the conference concerning Gnosticism is described by Markschies: In essence, it had been decided that 'Gnosticism' would become a historically-specific term, restricted to mean the Gnostic movements prevalent in the 3rd century, while 'gnosis' would be an universal term, denoting a system of knowledge retained 'for a privileged élite'. However, this effort towards providing clarity in fact created more conceptual confusion, as the historical term 'Gnosticism' was an entirely modern construction, while the new universal term 'gnosis' ''was'' a historical term: 'something was being called "gnosticism" that the ancient theologians had called "gnosis" ... {Link without Title} concept of gnosis had been created by Messina that was almost unusable in a historical sense' (Markschies, ''Gnosis: An Introduction'', 14-15). In antiquity, all agreed that knowledge was centrally important to life, but few were agreed as to what exactly ''constituted'' knowledge; the unitary conception that the Messina proposal presupposed did not exist. These flaws have meant that the problems concerning an exact definition of Gnosticism persist. It remains current convention to use 'Gnosticism' in a historical sense, and 'gnosis' universally. Leaving aside the issues with the latter noted above, the usage of 'Gnosticism' to designate a category of religions in the 3rd century has recently been questioned as well. Of note is the work of Michael Allen Williams in ''Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for the Dismantling of a Dubious Category'', in which the author examines the terms by which gnosticism as a category is defined, and then closely compares these suppositions with the contents of actual Gnostic texts (the newly-recovered Nag Hammadi library was of central importance to his thesis). Williams argues that the conceptual foundations on which the category of Gnosticism rests are the remains of the agenda of the heresiologists. Too much emphasis has been laid on perceptions of dualism, body-and-matter hatred, and anticosmism, without these suppositions being properly ''tested''. In essence, the interpretive definition of Gnosticism that was created by the antagonistic efforts of the heresiologists has been taken up by modern scholarship and reflected in a ''categorical'' definition, even though the means now exist to verify its accuracy. Attempting to do so, Williams contests, reveals the dubious nature of categorical 'Gnosticism', and he concludes that the term needs replacing in order to more accurately reflect those movements it comprises. Williams' observations have provoked debate; however, to date his suggested replacement term 'the Biblical demiurgical tradition' has not become widely used. This sort of denotational rigidity is acceptable within academic circles but cannot be reasonably expected to dictate common usage of the term within the vernacular, any more than attempts to restrict the use of Buffalo to exclude Bison in United States English have been successful. GNOSTICISM IN MODERN TIMES See Also: Gnosticism in modern times Many culturally significant movements and figures have been influenced by Gnosticism, including, for example, Carl Jung , William Blake and Eric Voegelin . This influence has apparently grown since the emergence and translation of the Nag Hammadi Library . Readers are also recommended to peruse ''The Nag Hammadi Library in English'', edited by James M. Robinson , later editions of which contain an essay on 'The Modern Relevance of Gnosticism', by Richard Smith. SEE ALSO
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