Gnosticism

Dead Sea scroll I am using the term Gnosticism to apply to those beliefs which originated before Christianity and whose teachings survive to this day in various Secret Societies such as the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians. It is almost certain that some of the early Christian cults had Gnostic beliefs, but as they did not become the mainstream Christian movement they were suppressed and persecuted. The basic difference to the mainstream religions is:

Gnostics - believe that human souls are divine, and through personal effort contact with the divine (or immortality) can be achieved
Mainstream religions - believe that humans are born imperfect and can strive towards perfection by following the instructions of a leader who is the only being able to communicate with the divine

These are both belief systems and it would be nice if they could peacefully co-exist, and individuals be free to follow either (or other) systems. Over the last 2,000 years such peaceful co-existence has not been demonstrated!

Gnosticism comes from the Greek work gnosis meaning knowledge. It seems that Gnosticism grew out of Pagan beliefs in the ancient world. The library of Alexandria in Egypt was supposed to house a collection of 500,000 scrolls, most of which were burnt about 2,000 years ago. These works included The Emerald Tablets of Thoth, which I am classifying as a Gnostic work. The Essenes (whom Jesus was supposed to be a member of) I would also classify as an early Gnostic cult. Early Gnosticism was also influenced by Zoroastrianism, and the Pythagorians from Greece.

The criticism of the Gnostics is that there were many different cults with different teachings and were secretive and selective with new members. In contrast, the mainstream religions brought a unifying influence (though this was harshly enforced). It could be said that the ideas of the Gnostics incited progressive thought and lead to the alchemists developing scientific practices - the ideas of the Gnostics survived through the Dark Ages through Sufi's, the Cathars, and occult groups. Just how many of the great thinkers (such as Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci) were members of these secret societies is not clear, but in the end science triumphed over religion.

Today the internet has brought most of the Gnostic texts to public view, and it is clear that there is still general disagreement amongst the various groups and some of the great secrets they supposedly were protecting have been lost. However, many of the New Age movements are in alignment with the Gnostic belief that we are all divine beings capable of realising our own potential through self-effort.