GNOSTICISM:
a religious and PHILOSOPHICAL movement which was popular in the
Greaco-Roman world that found expression in many different SECTS and settings. Gnostic
groups were characterized by their claim to possess secret knowledge—Gnosis—about the
NATURE of the UNIVERSE and human existence. Despite clear criticisms of Gnostic ideas in
the NEW TESTAMENT, many writers have attempted to prove a link between the EARLY
CHRISTIAN CHURCH and Gnosticism. This view has been increasingly discredited as our
knowledge of both Gnosticism and the Early Church has increased through archaeological and
other discoveries. Today, many NEW AGE type groups claim links to ancient Gnosticism
although such claims are pure fabrication.