The Faith Of a Gnostic
There seems to be some misunderstandings about Gnostics and their relation to "faith" as a substantial force in religious thinking.
Some believe that Gnostics require no faith - they simply "know" what they have to. To an extent, this is true. This has led some to believe that Gnosis is impossible to reach because they just don't "know" what it is they're supposed to know. It's also led to an elitist theory of Gnosticism by those who question its validity, in that we are perceived as believing that only we "know." I will try to shed some light on this, and help clarify a little.
Faith, in and of itself, is a very important step in the Gnostic path. In order to first start down your path, you have to feel some problem in the world - more or less a feeling of "this isn't right." For the Religious, we might call this "questioning your faith." It is only questioning your faith in someone else's beliefs, however.
It might then seem a little lonely because one feels that there is no one who thinks the same. Some might like this feeling of isolation, and a feeling of rebellion of the Whole can take place. This is not always bad, or even mostly bad, as it is just another way to walk down the path.
For the Gnostic, to start down a path to Gnosis is to have faith that he/she will become aware of Gnosis. You have to believe it's there in order to proceed. If you are of the belief that the idea of realizing Gnosis is all illusion, you will more than likely drown yourself out of the sensations neccesary to realize Gnosis.
When Gnosis is finally surfaced - when it is brought to the conscious level - it is only then that it becomes a matter of "knowing." Faith is no longer a big issue, but it is still there. You have to have faith in your knowledge to believe it's real. You have to know that what you are feeling is real, and you have to believe it's real. This, of course, is not a big problem. It's like believing you got cut when you see your finger bleeding.
To put it lightly, Gnosticism is a faithful religious practice. However, it's not based off faith, it's based off the experience of Gnosis. The goal is not to stop at faith, but to keep going until it's no longer a matter of faith. Once that point is reached, a maze of other reflective goals appear, so that it never satisfies a person to stop searching for deeper and better understanding of said knowledge.
Faith is not salvific. Faith is merely a step towards that salvation. Gnosis is the goal.
posted by Joe Daher @ Sunday, July 16, 2006
5 comments
5 Comments:
A friend once told me his theory on knowledge.
There are 3 groups of knowledge that encompasses everything there is to know. The first group is the stuff you know you know. The second group is the stuff you know you don't know. The third and final group is the stuff you don't know you don't know.
Obviously the third group will always be the largest of them. Ignorance can be bliss as the old addage goes.
Faith for me is the second group. It is the stuff I know I don't know. It, over the centuries, has developed some very real religious and esoteric connotations but the actual definition is a little different. Webster's says that faith is a "Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing."
Am I confident that this thing called Gnosis exists and can be attained and held onto by one such as myself? Yes. Will it be easy? Nope.
This of course is the logical first step to any journey towards the unknown. Faith in a religious sense, as I feel it is being used here, often implies blind belief because someone else told you so. The journey towards Gnosis is being performed because something inside you is speaking to you. Something is pushing you towards a realization you don't totally understand yet. I have been looking for this my whole life, but have only recently been able to label it with the word Gnosis.
Is Gnosis salvation? Nope because we are all already saved. Gnosis is an experiential knowledge of the divine. It is a way to know the love and joy of God in this life, right now. It is not, however, a means to an end.
Is Gnosis salvation? Nope because we are all already saved.
Depends on what you mean by "saved." If you mean we are saved from sin, then of course you're correct.
But I refer to salvation from ignorance, my friend - ignorance of ourselves and our purpose. Ignorance and apathy exist in the world - quite abundently, I might add - to block us from Gnosis, or at least, make it more of a challenge.
Gnosis is never a means to an end, just the goal of physical manifestation. It never stops your thirst for knowledge, it only makes you want more. ;-)
Yes I would agree that Gnosis saves from ignorance. It only makes sense since Gnosis (inner knowledge) would cure ignorance (lack of knowledge).
Apathy is the mind killer. Couldn't agree more.
It was Vincent Van Gogh in his famed letters to his brother that said:
Man is not here to be happy,
nor simply to be honest.
He is here to realize great things for humanity,
to attain nobility,
and to surmount the vulgarity in which the existence of almost all individuals drags on.
Peace
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Faith is essentially the blind belief in something without the necessity of hard evidence. I therefore, tend to think that it is an optional part of Gnosticism.
This is because I tend to think that nothing is totally known, and humanity, even if the truth was held yet inches away from its face, would still misinterpret much of what it saw.
I have the hope that what I feel is right. I have also learned much from meditating on Gnostic ideas. I have gained awesome insights and experienced Gnosis, which has aided my personal growth greatly. Yet, I would still say that faith had at best only a little to do with it.
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