Letsargue
New member
With adequate research, you'll find that a good share of the early christians were 'gnostics' - even Clement of Alexandria calls those who have true knowledge of the Lord's teaching by such name, although his reference was not to groups considered 'heretical' under such name. A true christian is one who follows Jesus and his teachings (both esoteric and exoteric) for he took his closest disciples asides in private and taught them the 'mysteries of the kingdom'. One can study or play with the various gnostic mythologies and interesting heirarchies of eons, powers and luminaries that fill the pleroma, yet still...the essential principles of one recognizing his divine inheritance and the 'battle' of duality between 'flesh' and 'spirit' play out...as even Paul speaks much about, whose teaching of the mysteries some of the gnostics adopted, revering him as a great teacher of gnosis. (Valentinus is purported to have learned from Theudas, a disciple of Paul).
I find it peculiar that so called orthodox christians maintain their attitudes against gnosticism, but this goes back in the 'historic mind' and its 'mechanics', which in order to maintain the historical so called 'physical' resurrection of Jesus fought hard against Docetism, and the liberal spirituality and authority of the gnostics who would not necessarily yield themselves to the growing power of a church-state (i.e. Romish churchianity). - granted, there are gnostic churches who do have an apostolic succession, priesthood, sacraments, essential tenets/principles, creeds, etc. yet they have intellectual freedom and liberties in their religious vocation, for it is that 'living knowledge' of the divine that is ultimately the final authority.
pj
The early Christians you're talking about were the early Catholics calling themselves Christians, who were not, and still not Christians; just Catholics; of the body of the Catholic / Catholic church / body, not the Body of Christ / Church.
Paul 010711