Taufish said:
As someone who takes issue with many church policies and practices, I would hope that a philosophy that encourages the individal to personally seek Christ is preferable to abandoning Christianity altogether.
Thoughts?
Sure, I think I may have some. ;) What I say I say in sincerity, I do mean to be mean or rude.
It seems to me that the Gnostic texts appeal most readily to those who "take issue" with many doctrines in Christianity and the practices and politics in many churches. Now, some of this distrust and opposition towards the church is well deserved. The Church as a whole is far from perfect and on an individual level many churches have given people very bad experiences of what Christianity is really about. Having said that, I don't believe that those are reasons to abandon ship and reject Christianity. I do believe that the Church is the main vehicle through which God moves, though not the only one.
The problem with the Gnostic texts is that they give a picture of Christ that is very different from the Christ of the gospels, the Christ of history. These Gnostic texts have borrowed from the gospels but changed the texts to mean something else. That is why they sound Christian, which was the intent of the Gnostic writers. But this Christ is not a savior at all and the gospel, the "good news", preached in these texts is far different from the "good news" of the Bible.
So one must ask if Jesus and his message are so different, can one really claim to following Christ if they believe he is as the Gnostic texts portray him? The early Church Fathers vigorously denounced Gnosticism precisely because it isn't a form of Christianity, it is Christian heresy, to be blunt.
The problem with seeking Christ personally, that is, outside the Church or bereft of any sort of Christian dogma, then once again Christ can easily become something other than the true Christ, the Christ of Scripture, the Christ of history. I am not saying that one cannot come to know Christ on their own, only that it is difficult and there is huge potential to be lead astray.
Doctrine and spirituality must work together. Gnosticism wants to divorce the doctrines of Christ from the personal experience and seeking of Christ.
I have read several books on Christian spirituality, both old and new and just ordered three more a couple of nights ago, and there are things in those books that speak right to the heart and "ring true". While Christianity has almost always had some serious issues in its practices, there have always been those who, while adhering to the doctrine of Christ and God as taught by the Church, sought Him in silence and solitude and gained incredible spiritual insight and wisdom.
Perhaps you knew all that already, but many Christians (at least in the West), don't know of the rich history of Christian spirituality. I would strongly suggest and encourage you to seek those sources and leave the Gnostic texts behind. A good book to read against the Gnostic texts is
Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way, by Philip Jenkins. I can also recommend books on Christian spirituality if you're interested.
Never give up the search,
Free
