As often happens here in the Bible belt, I recently met a neighbor who disclosed he was a Born Again Christian.  While I immediately understood his belief system, my attempt to share mine was a disaster.  After some contemplation, this is the result …

I am a Gnostic Christian

The original Gnostics were one of several early Christian sects that existed before Christianity became standardized into one set of writings, with one standard creed.

Gnostic writings flourished among the initial Christians of the second century, until the organizers of the early Church decided they were heresy.  Within a hundred years or so, all of the Gnostics were gone, and their writings were erased from history.

Then in 1945, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in Egypt.  These included many of the original Gnostic texts that had previously been hidden and destroyed.

So What Made the Gnostics Heretics?

The Gnostics believed that the real ministry of Jesus was to clarify the true nature of god (the father/source) — the alpha and the omega — the first and the last — the beginning and the end.

Further, that Jesus taught how this truth can be known through direct personal experience. And once attained, people can have a direct personal relationship with god … with nobody required in between (rabbi, priest, bishop, pope, imam, ayatollah, king, etc.).

“Gnosis – the act of knowing through experience”

By these criteria alone, I am a Gnostic Christian.

Born Again Gnostic

To call myself a Gnostic, however, is not sufficient.  I want to acknowledge the history of the Gnostics, and how they were suppressed and erased for over 1700 years.  How their persecution continues today, and how it has expanded into the thought and narrative control we see in other modern power structures.

For these reasons and more, I am a Born Again Gnostic.

Until next time …