Modern Gnosticism...a Postscript

I've decided it might be useful to make an addition to my comments about modern gnostics and their presence in today’s world. 

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned Erin Voegelin (1901-1985), one of the 20th century’s great political philosophers. Voegelin wrote extensively about the recurrence of gnostic thought and it’s influence on so many current ideologies. In one of his books -- Science, Politics and Gnosticism -- he lists a number of characteristics which, in his words, "reveal the nature of the gnostic attitude". Here's a brief version:

• The gnostic is "dissatisfied with his situation." This is certainly not unique to the gnostic, but the dissatisfaction experienced by the world's faithless can lure many into the gnostic way of thinking.
  
• The gnostic attributes this dissatisfaction to "the fact that the world is intrinsically poorly organized...[and] the fault is to be found in the wickedness of the world" but not in that of human beings. The gnostic, then, rejects the goodness of creation and, therefore, the goodness of the Creator. Any evil in the world is not the fault of man, but the fault of the world as man received it.
• The gnostic also believes that "salvation from the evil of the world is possible." The problem occurs when the gnostic describes the nature and source of this salvation and how it can be brought about.
  
• "The order of being will have to be changed in an historical process." In other words, the evil world will evolve into a good world through a process of historical evolution. This, of course, denies the Christian belief that salvation isn't something we can achieve, but instead comes through the gift of God's grace.
• Based on the above, the gnostic believes that changing the very order of being is possible through human action, "that this salvational act is possible through man's own effort." Of course, this "salvation" is really focused on the ultimate perfection of humanity and does not really involve the eternal salvation of the individual.
  
• Because the gnostic believes humanity can being about this change, the task becomes one of determining the methods to achieve the perfection of this new order of being. The gnostic, then, constructs "a formula for self and world salvation...[and is ready] to come forward as a prophet who will proclaim his knowledge [gnosis] about the salvation of mankind."
  

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, gnosticism takes on many forms, and yet in all of its modern manifestations the above characteristics are present. Voegelin mentions a number of ideologies that embody these characteristics, including: progressivism, positivism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, communism, fascism, and national socialism. Each of these ideologies offers its own formula for human salvation and its own prophets who will lead the way. 

Of course, to buy into any of these ideologies is to deny the very foundational beliefs of Christianity. 

You can access my previous posts on Gnosticism via these links:

Roots of Modern Gnosticism (9/29)

Modern Gnostics (10/3)