Hossein Shahbazi
Abstract
The origin of Gnostic thought and its evolution is one of the controversial topics. In this study, by critically examining the Gnostic sects and analyzing the opinions of experts, these questions will be answered: A: What are the components of Gnostic thought? B: What are the sources of Gnostic thought? ...
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The origin of Gnostic thought and its evolution is one of the controversial topics. In this study, by critically examining the Gnostic sects and analyzing the opinions of experts, these questions will be answered: A: What are the components of Gnostic thought? B: What are the sources of Gnostic thought? C: Were there any sects known as Gnostics before Christ? This research shows that most of our knowledge of Gnosticism is based on controversial Christian works and Qumran documents of the Dead Sea. According to these documents, no group or sect was called Gnostic before BC. Although some of the components of Gnostic thought, such as the originality of knowledge and the exile of the soul, date back to before Christ and Plato, some other components, such as the duality and distinction between the Christian and Jewish gods (God Almighty and God the Creator) Belief in the multiplicity of the eternal Christ, the primacy of knowledge over faith, etc.is the product of the period of the formation of Gnostic rituals and their controversy with the Church Fathers in the first centuries AD.
