Gnostics
Submitted by Heather on July 31 1999 at 20:33:40
In reply to Re: You should cast your bait at orthodox Christians :) Submitted by Gerald from New Zealand on July 31 1999 at 19:05:14
|
Actually, my impression was that the Arians were as dogmatic as the party that (by virtue of its victory) became known as the orthodox; pretty much everyone was in those days. It's a little hard to divide Christians into persecutors and persecuted during a period when persecution was everyone's favorite game; the main defender of the orthodox position was sent into exile after Nicaea. But I admittedly haven't studied this period in detail. When I was searching earlier for information on Gnostic attitudes toward pederasty (but didn't find anything useful), I stumbled across a Web site giving excerpts from Elaine Pagels's writings; they looked interesting, and I'll certainly search out her work. I admit that what I've heard about the Gnostics hasn't sounded very attractive; they were dualists, weren't they, saying that matter is intrinsically evil? But of course this is another subject I know little about; perhaps there were different traditions within Gnosticism. "Dogma" (teachings) is a bit of a vague word; after all, your belief that the main purpose of the Church is process of spiritual development could be taken to be a dogma in itself. Perhaps you were concerned with particular teachings, or with a particular attitude toward the role of teachings within the Church? Heather |