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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosti
A Gnostic point of view:
http://www.gnosis.org/gnintro.htm
I was bored and reading up on religions, and that one didn't really make me roll my eyes in disgust. It has elements of Christianity, but there are aspects of it that really wax over the typical ego of that particular faith (no offense to any believing Christians at all whatsoever, I'm merely deriving that term from the troupes of people who have pushed the Bible in my face over the years.)
I really like the fact that this religion views "God" as an imperfect being, and that we, humans, are a result of the aforementioned imperfection. It makes sense, because if you look at religions that are older than Christianity (Polytheistic Roman and Greek beliefs, for example) the deities are never flawless. Just look at all the debaucheries committed in Mount Olympus.
It seems to me that this religion was formed somewhere around when the Romans were off conquering people, and forcing their conquests to mingle religions together. I think that they had Catholics as captives at one point and murdered them in the Colisseum...maybe Gnosticism is the product of the Roman leniency of religion?
A Gnostic point of view:
http://www.gnosis.org/gnintro.htm
I was bored and reading up on religions, and that one didn't really make me roll my eyes in disgust. It has elements of Christianity, but there are aspects of it that really wax over the typical ego of that particular faith (no offense to any believing Christians at all whatsoever, I'm merely deriving that term from the troupes of people who have pushed the Bible in my face over the years.)
I really like the fact that this religion views "God" as an imperfect being, and that we, humans, are a result of the aforementioned imperfection. It makes sense, because if you look at religions that are older than Christianity (Polytheistic Roman and Greek beliefs, for example) the deities are never flawless. Just look at all the debaucheries committed in Mount Olympus.
It seems to me that this religion was formed somewhere around when the Romans were off conquering people, and forcing their conquests to mingle religions together. I think that they had Catholics as captives at one point and murdered them in the Colisseum...maybe Gnosticism is the product of the Roman leniency of religion?
dorky
I joke that I'm Gnostic.
Sophia ftw!
The Roman attitude to religion is not really a grounds for comparison: the role of religion at Rome was so political and state-centric that anyone from the modern Judaeo-Christian culture would say that it was irreligious and undermined by the extent to which it was 'used' in day-to-day politics: but that is to completely misrepresent the role of Roman religion. I do, however, like the fact that the Romans were fairly willing to accommodate the faiths of others into their own belief system, one of the best examples being the temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath here in the UK. Their attitudes towards the Christians are pretty unknown to me (too late for my knowledge) ut I do remember reading the letters of Pliny to Trajan regarding how to treat the Christians who wouldn't rescind their beliefs despite being given chances and facing capital punishment. The letters themselves are hilarious in their sycophancy, insightful into Roman tolerance and patience, and yet still speak of imperialism.
Anyway, end rant. I needed some form of intellectual stimulation, and this satisfied me! Thank god I'll be back in the 'Ford tomorrow and away from the local inanity of Kent :D