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James and 1, 2, and 3 John

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of James
    18 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    James and Scripture
    19 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    1 John
    21 Activities
  4. Lesson Four
    2 and 3 John
    21 Activities
  5. Lesson Five
    Proto-Gnosticism
    13 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

Participants 14

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James and 1, 2, and 3 John Proto-Gnosticism Behind | Workbook: Gnosticism
Lesson 5, Activity 6

Behind | Workbook: Gnosticism

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[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

Gnosticism is a general term describing religious beliefs and groups that share a number of common features. Gnosticism is grounded in the belief that the physical and spiritual realms are at odds with each other and that human salvation is found in rejection and transcendence of the physical world. The word Gnosticism is Greek for “having knowledge,” and the concept of “knowing” has a central place in Gnostic religion and spirituality. The key to salvation from the material world was believed to be the acquisition of secret knowledge curated and shared by communities who had established reliable means of transcendence.

  1. Read the passages below from John’s Gospel and identify what about them might resonate with a Gnostic audience, or might be confused with Gnostic ideas. 

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:3 NIV

 

Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
John 17:7 NIV

 

Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me
John 17:25 NIV

  1. The language of “knowledge” or “knowing” appears more in this Gospel than in any other New Testament book. The frequency of this language would have caught the attention of early Gnostics. With that in mind, how would a Gnostic view of secret or divine knowledge differ from the knowledge referenced in the passages above?