WHAT IS GNOSIS
Gnosis
(Greek), root of: "to know"1: knowledge by "direct perception"
a: primary, personal intuitive or inspirational experience.
b: also: empirical, though not necessarily social, verification.
What is Gnosticism:
Aside from anything you may have heard or read about Gnostic "doctrine", Gnosticism is not, catagorically a doctrine. It is, rather, an epistimology. This teaching stands in sharp contrast to the standard epistimology of both orthodox churches and cults, Pistis: Pistis (Greek), root of: epistimology 1: believing by an "act of will", excluding all evidence to the contrary. 2: willing oneself to believe under threat of imminent and painful extinction or social ostracism. The emblem, or insignia, of Pistic teaching is: Believe and be Saved The emblem of Gnostic teaching is: Seek and you shall find. Ask and it shall be given. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Epistimology
(Greek): That department of philosophy that deals with "what is knowledge" and "how do we know that we know". Gnosticism is, in fact, the opposite of a cult. It needs no strong charismatic leader. It imposes no dogma. It demands no obedience to an authority outside oneself. It demands obedience only to the God within each of us. All of these factors, Pistic religions have endeavored to obfiscate, because orthodox Pistic religions are distinguishable from cults, only by their age and size.For all its mystical overtones, Gnosticism is fundamentally, an empirical teaching. Instead of demanding that you believe to the exclusion of all evidence to the contrary (Pistis), it places responsibility for identifying reality squarely on the shoulders of every individual. A belief can be a stepping-stone, a message to oneself that more is possible, or it can be a blinder, preventing one from seeing the possibilities. Sometimes growth requires affirmations, sometimes trust, sometimes a paradigm shift. Belief, therefore, is an option, not a necessity.
An individual may choose to believe to bridge the gap between the world of his experience and the world of Spirit, but many gnostics choose not to believe, finding beliefs to be obstructions to knowing, and instead persue the experience of spiritual realities by whatever means they deem appropriate. Consequently, Gnostics have, historically, been a very diverse group. It is not that Pistic religion has lacked for diversity, but Pistic churches have always been intolerant of differences within their ranks. Gnostic churches, on the other hand, have accepted and even cherished diversity among their members, sharing their experiences from their various perspectives. As such, the approaches taken by individual Gnostics have always gone to extremes. Some took to the wilderness to fast and pray, others to rigorous study, still others used psychoactive drugs. Each approach was respected for having something to offer. Each path was respected as being part of that individual's karma.
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