Part One
Christianity is viewed as a religion, which is based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, while Gnosticism is regarded as a prominent heretical movement that consist of a collection of ancient religions that taught people shun all aspects of the material world. Unlike Christianity that viewed Jesus as the supreme being and a son of God, Gnosticism taught that Jesus was an emissary of the remote divine being who enabled redemption of the human spirit (King 4).
The Truth of the Word of God is another area that has brought about differences. Christians believe that God’s Word is unchanging. However, Gnosticism has a different belief in regard to the Truth of the Word of God. They believe the Word of God is false, and to them the truth of the Word of God is based on mythical secret knowledge, what they call gnosis. Another major difference is witnessed in the divinity of Jesus. The Christianity view Jesus as omnipotent and all knowing Creator and Lord, who came to the earth to die in order to redeem and save humankind. Contrary, the Gnosticism believes that Jesus was a Gnostic revealer or Kabbalah.
Another area of difference is in view of salvation. Christians view Jesus as the source of salvation, while Gnosticism holds a different belief in regard to the concept of salvation. According to Gnosticism, salvation comes through gnosis by secret knowledge. In the teachings of Silvanus, a Gnostic document, Silvanus portrays the teachings of Jesus as “teaching salvation through enlightenment” (King 58).
Part Two
Of the thinkers studied in Unit 4, the one I agree with about the relationship between reason and revelation is Origen. In response to the question of origin of evil and possibility of human salvation, Origen lays emphasis on the centrality of human freedom, which he sets in the context of a vision of cosmos, which combines the platonic doctrine, which asserts the existence disembodied souls, and Biblical emphasis of on the importance of history. According to him, all souls are equal before God since God is always just (Trigg 68).
Origen’s method of interpreting the Bible combines reasoning with revelation. In his book, On First Principles he argues that the scriptures in the Bible can only be well interpreted if different levels of meanings are considered. The first level of meaning is the literal meaning. Many scriptures in the Bible are statements of law and historical narratives, which ought to be understood by their literal meaning. Such scriptures, Origen says are intended by God to edify the simple people. The next level of meaning is the spiritual level. Some passages in the Bible cannot be taken “plainly” as true by people who are intelligent and thoughtful, and this is because such passages tend to use figurative language, which ought to be understood deeply rather than “plainly.” Origen says, the purpose of God putting such passages in the Bible was for those who are intelligent and can deeply get an understanding about the spiritual meaning of the passage (Trigg 104).
Origen’s emphasis on the freedom of the human soul based on the Bible and the Platonic doctrine creates an understandable relationship between revelation and reasoning. His method of interpreting the Bible, based on the literal and spiritual meanings is important since taking all the scriptures “plainly,” can be misleading.
Works Cited
King, Karen L.. What is Gnosticism?. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003. Print.
Trigg, Joseph Wilson. Origen. Taylor & Francis e-Library ed. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.
