Gnostics
"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:20)
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols." (1 John 5:21)
Nowhere in the Bible is the truth about Jesus' own personal beliefs mentioned, nor their source. Not only is the fact that Jesus was an Essene so conveniently omitted, the New Testament was also cleverly altered to hide the fact that Jesus was a Hellenized Jew. This means that Jesus merged the Greek culture which was so prevalent in that area with his esoteric Judaic upbringing. This is why Jesus was considered a liberal, or a "marginal Jew," as some people are calling him.
First of all, Jesus was not a Pharisee, the ancestor of the present-day rabbinical Jew. He was from another sect entirely, which consolidated the original, ancient ways of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and other Mediterranean and Eastern "pagan" and "heathen" cultures. And yet it was this sect that God chose as the kingly line of Judaism. Everyone else who claimed the throne were usurpers after King David.
Given these precedents, let's examine what a popular study Bible has to say about the threat of knowledge, otherwise known as gnosticism. Then you, gentle readers, can decide for yourselves who the false idols are. I think you already know my answer.
"The Danger of Gnosticism"
One reason why John was so concerned that his readers exercise discernment (1 John 4:1; 2 John 1-2, 4; 3 John 3-4) was that a system of false teachings known as "gnosticism" was then becoming popular.
The name "gnosticism" comes from the Greek word for "knowledge." For that reason, several writers of the New Testament condemned early manifestations of the philosophy as false. Paul, for example, emphasized a wisdom and knowledge that comes from God as opposed to idle speculations and fables (Colossians 2:-23; 1 Timothy 1:4; 2 Timothy 2:16-19; Titus 1:10-16), Likewise, John, both in his Gospel and the epistles, countered heretical teaching which, in a broad sense, could be considered gnostic.
Roots in Greek Dualism:
The Gnostic teachers accepted the Greek idea of a radical dualism between God (spirit) and the world (matter). According to their worldview, the created order was evil, inferior, and opposed to good. They believed that the earth is surrounded by a number of cosmic spheres which separate humans from God. These spheres are ruled by "archons" (spiritual powers) who guard their spheres by barring the souls of those who are seeking to ascend from the realm of darkness and captivity which is below to the realm of light which is above. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE CHURCH'S CONCEPT OF HEAVEN, HELL, AND PURGATORY TO ME!)
The Gnostics also taught that humans are composed of body, soul, and spirit (AUTHOR'S NOTE: THE CHURCH SAYS THE SAME THING, SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?) Since the body and soul are part of people's earthly existence, they were held to be evil. Enclosed in the soul, they said, is the spirit, the divine substance of man. According to Gnostic teaching, this spirit is asleep and ignorant, and needs to be liberated by knowledge. Thus the aim of salvation in Gnosticiam is to release the inner man from his earthly dungeon so that he can return to the realm of light where the soul is reunited with God.
These beliefs led to two extremes of ethical behavior. Some Gnostics became ascetics, trying to separate themselves from matter in order to avoid contamination by evil. Paul may have been opposing such a view in 1 Timothy 4:1-5. Other gnostics felt that since they had received divine knowledge and were truly informed as their divine nature, it didn't matter how they lived, they thought their "knowledge" gave them the freedom to particpate in all sorts of indulgences. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: My personal beliefs are somewhere in the middle. Those know know me realize that God has given me a rather long leash based on the work He needs me to be doing, but there are times when I wish I could withdraw from the physical world as it is wearying work. However, as my mentor keeps reminding me, I was called into the world, and that "no sword against you shall prosper," as the Bible says, as long as God continues to be the priority in my life.)
Impact on the Church:
Gnostic teachings, when blended with Christian beliefs, created serious heresies. They also had a disruptive effect on fellowship within the Church. Those who were "enlightened" thought of themselves as being superior to those who did not have such knowledge, and divisions arose. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: And it has been my personal experience that there are those with the Christian community who commit this same crime of spiritual pride, instead of recognizing that God's will for each person is different.) Again, the New Testament writers severely condemned this attitude of moral superiority (AUTHOR'S NOTE: And replaced it with what, may I ask?). Christians are "one body", the apostles argued (AND I WISH THEY ACTED THAT WAY, BUT THAT'S FOR ANOTHER SECTION), and should love one another (1 Cor. 12; 1 Cor. 13; 1 John 4). Whatver spiritual gifts God has given are for the entire Christian community (AUTHOR'S NOTE: No, they are for ALL of God's children, regardless of race or religion, we are ALL of the Body of Christ, not just the Christians), not just individual use (THE GIFTS THAT GOD BESTOWS ARE NEVER FOR INDIVIDUAL USE, THIS IS SPIRITUAL PRIDE TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE BECAUSE EVERYTHING WE DO HAS A RIPPLE EFFECT). Moreover, they should promote humility, rather than "pride." (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Anyone starting to get a whiff of hypocrisy here?)
Hmmm, what do you think the Church is so afraid of? Obviously there's a threat here, or it would not have come out so strongly against the seekers of "salvation through knowledge", in favor of salvation through faith in a Christ that never existed. My, my, my...I have much to say about these accusations, but let'd read on for now from the same study Bible.
"The Dangers of Syncretism" (Reference the Letter to the Colossians)
First-century Colosse was an ideological swamp into which three main cultural streams drained. The first was Hellenism, the vestiges of Greek civilization that dominated the world before the Romans (AUTHOR'S NOTE: THE WORLD OF THAT DAY WAS ONLY THE MEDITERRANEAN; ALSO, PLEASE BE REMINDED THAT THE REAL JESUS WAS A HELLENIST, SO ALREADY YOU CAN SEE THE CENSORSHIP TAKING PLACE HERE.) Hellenism brought a "dualistic" view of the world, the idea that things are either material or spiritual (AND? SO?). A second stream was a form of Judaism that tended to be rigid and puritanical; leading to outright withdrawal from and condemnation of the world.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: The writers are speaking about the Essenes here, which is the sect that Jesus and John the Baptist belonged to. This is how they wound up on the coast of the Dead Sea in the first place. Gentle readers, can you see for yourselves that the Church is denying everything Jesus really was, everything he believed in, everything he taught?)
The third influence was the local pagan culture. This included superstitutious occultism and primitive, mystical rites.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: And the same thing can be said for taking communion and the fear factor that pervades the Church. If the Church was really following what Jesus taught, there would be no crosses, no religious icons, no sacred relics of any kind, because the Jews are forbidden to keep graven images to this day, any kind of Jew, because they are false idols. Jesus would never have approved.)
More from the study Bible:
"These three streams blended together into a pseudo-philosophical swamp that mired the Colossian church in debates, divisions and depravity (LIKE SODOM AND GOMORRAH?). The problem was one of "syncretism." Syncretism involves the confusion of various ideas, beliefs, and practices.
"The syncretist has a mind like a blender. The person throws in notions from any number of systems of thought--even notions that contradict each other. Then they are ground into a single philosophical stew to generate a system that satisfies one's intellectual demands and preferences. Result: a custom-made worldview that invariably leads away from biblical truth. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: FIrst of all, it is well documented that the Bible has been censored since its inception, so whatever "truth" is to be believed must be found like a needle in a haystack; secondly, this attitude does not respect God's individual will for each one of His children and contradicts its previous teachings on the Body of Christ; and thirdly, how else are we to "test and discern the spirits," as the New Testament so clearly teaches, if we wear blinders to the rest of humanity? Sorry, this doesn't wash with me, this is another political ploy to control the masses.)
"Syncretism flourishes in times of rapid change and cultural upheaval (OR EVOLUTION AND GROWTH, GOD FORBID). First-century Colosse experienced a lot of that. The region was dominated by a foreign superpower. The city was quickly being eclipsed by its neighbor, Laodicea. Frequent earthquakes made life precarious. In fact, one tremor in 61 AD devastated the town, forcing a relocation three miles to the south (JUST LIKE SODOM AND GOMORRAH, THEN).
"How the gospel reached Colosse is unknown, though Christians from Ephesus may have played a part. But once a church was established, it had to contend with the syncretism of its surrounding culture. Paul (who to our knowledge never visited Colosse) attempted to help by sending the Letter to the Colossians, which he intended the believers to share with their brothers and sisters in Laodicea.
"Paul's theme is straightforward: Christ is preeminent. He is Lord. He rules over the world as its Creator and Sustainer. Other religions may offer attractive claims and appealing rituals, but the gospel supercedes them all.
"Such a claim has profound implications. It makes Christianity exclusive--not true along with all the other religions, but the TRUE religion. That may not be a popular position in today's world (WITH GOOD REASON!). Anyone who holds it can expect conflict and criticism (RIGHTLY SO). But were Paul here to speak to the issue, we can imagine that he would quickly turn to the Colossians and affirm his words from the first century (YES, PROVIDING PAUL ACTUALLY SAID THEM): "Christ is the image of the invisible God...All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is above all things, and in Him all things consist...This I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words."
"This remarkable thing is that belief in Christ affects one's lifestyle in a positive way that syncretistic religion cannot. As Colossians clearly shows, Christ makes a profound difference in one's relationships, family life, work, and community involvements. Though He rules the world and governs the universe, He enters into the day-to-day lives of His followers. He comes to us where we are in order to bring us to where He is."
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