DeConick A.D

15
INTRODUCTION
well as with the craft of astrology and magic. The result of this religious
interchange was the emergence of a large number of unique Gnostic grassroots
religious movements with wildly networked mythologies, doctrinal
systems, and ceremonies, which I cover in chapters 6 and 7. As we will
see in chapter 8, Gnostic spirituality eventually influenced the Christian
teachings of Valentinus and others in his influential school.
In chapters 6, 7, and 8, we also will see that the goal of Gnostic religions
and movements is to alleviate human suffering and isolation by addressing
our ultimate concerns, deepest yearnings, and profoundest experiences
through myth and ritual. Gnostic movements are not about civic
or familial duty. They are not a contest in appeasement or a placation of
a God to be feared. They are not premised on attempts to secure God’s
favorable judgment and recognition in order to procure a better life here
or hereafter. They are about the renewal of the human as God and the
wielding of this personal power to forge a better life in the here and now
and forever after.
In chapter 9, we will see that the relationship between Gnostics and
conventional religions was tenuous at best. Because of this, Gnostics
ended up developing reform and separatist movements at the margins
of the conventional religions, where they critiqued conventional thought
and worship. More often than not, Gnostics found themselves beyond
the borders of their ancestral religions, worshipping at the frontier, outside
the boundaries of conventionally organized religions. Because of this,
many Gnostic leaders chose to start their own religions altogether rather
than trying to reform an existing tradition.
Gnostics heavily critiqued claims to authority that traced religious legitimacy
to the traditional gods or their human representatives or scriptures.
For the Gnostic, authority lay within the heart of each person, and
revelation was its succor. Although Gnostics built their systems with wideranging
reference to conventional religions and philosophies, there is always
an element of revelation involved in the emergence and maintenance
of their movements. It is the revelation that gives the movement its authority
and legitimacy, not the harking to conventional wisdom, however
reasonable the wisdom might be.
We will see how all of this fostered hostile relationships with those people
who honored traditional wisdom, like the Christians who called themselves
“apostolic” and “catholic.” The Apostolic Catholic label designates