View source for Gnosis

{{short description|Common Greek noun for knowledge}}
{{other uses}}
{{see also-text|[[Noesis (phenomenology)]]}}
{{Gnosticism}}
{{Esotericism}}

'''Gnosis''' is the common [[Greek language|Greek]] noun for [[knowledge]] ([[wikt:γνῶσις|γνῶσις]], ''gnōsis'', f.).<ref name="EECO 2018">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Ramelli |author-first=Ilaria L. E. |year=2018 |title=Gnosis/Knowledge |editor1-last=Hunter |editor1-first=David G. |editor2-last=van Geest |editor2-first=Paul J. J. |editor3-last=Lietaert Peerbolte |editor3-first=Bert Jan |encyclopedia=Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/2589-7993_EECO_SIM_00001440 |issn=2589-7993}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Stanley E. |author-link=Stanley E. Porter |year=2016 |chapter=What Do We Mean by Speaking of Paul and Gnosis/Knowledge? A Semantic and Frequency Investigation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cc0JDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |editor1-last=Porter |editor1-first=Stanley E. |editor2-last=Yoon |editor2-first=David |title=Paul and Gnosis |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Pauline Studies |volume=9 |pages=7–22 |doi=10.1163/9789004316690_003 |isbn=978-90-04-31668-3 |lccn=2016009435 |s2cid=147727033}}</ref> The term was used among various [[Hellenistic religion]]s and [[Hellenistic philosophy|philosophies]] in the [[Greco-Roman world]].{{refn|<ref name="EECO 2018"/><ref name="May 2008">{{cite book |author-last=May |author-first=Gerhard |year=2008 |chapter=Part V: The Shaping of Christian Theology – Monotheism and creation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&pg=PA434 |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=Margaret M. |editor1-link=Margaret M. Mitchell |editor2-last=Young |editor2-first=Frances M. |editor2-link=Frances Young |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=434–451, 452–456 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521812399.026 |isbn=9781139054836}}</ref><ref name="Rudolph2001p2">{{cite book|author=Kurt Rudolph|title=Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XxxkESCWz4C|year=2001|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-567-08640-2|page=2}}</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Williams |first=Michael |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Gnosticism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/gnosticism |date=20 July 1998 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414024234/https://www.britannica.com/topic/gnosticism |archive-date=14 April 2021 |url-status=dead |access-date=12 April 2021 }}</ref>}} It is best known for its implication within [[Gnosticism]],<ref name="EECO 2018"/> where it signifies a [[Spirituality|spiritual]] [[knowledge]] or insight into [[Humans|humanity]]'s real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.{{refn|<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Rudolph2001p2"/><ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005">{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |author-link=Bart D. Ehrman |year=2005 |orig-year=2003 |title=Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew |chapter=Christians "In The Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA113 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=113–134 |doi=10.1017/s0009640700110273 |isbn=978-0-19-518249-1 |lccn=2003053097 |s2cid=152458823}}</ref><ref name="Brakke 2010">{{cite book |last=Brakke |first=David |author-link=David Brakke |year=2010 |title=The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EQ1XwHg0o0C&pg=PA18 |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |pages=18–51 |isbn=9780674066038 |jstor=j.ctvjnrvhh.6 |s2cid=169308502}}</ref>}}

== Etymology ==
''Gnosis'' is a feminine Greek noun which means "knowledge" or "awareness."<ref name=scotttufts>[[Liddell Scott]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=gnwsis&la=greek#lexicon entry]
γνῶσις, εως, ἡ,
A. seeking to know, inquiry, investigation, esp. judicial, "τὰς τῶν δικαστηρίων γ." D.18.224; "τὴν κατὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ γdeetr." Id.21.92, cf. 7.9, Lycurg.141; "γ. περὶ τῆς δίκης" PHib.1.92.13 (iii B. C.).
2. result of investigation, decision, PPetr.3p.118 (iii B. C.).
II. knowing, knowledge, Heraclit.56; opp. ἀγνωσίη, Hp. Vict.1.23 (dub.); opp. ἄγνοια, Pl.R.478c; "ἡ αἴσθησις γ. τις" Arist.GA731a33: pl., "Θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος" LXX 1 Ki.2.3.
b. higher, esoteric knowledge, 1 Ep.Cor.8.7,10, Ep.Eph.3.19, etc.; "χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν νοῦν, λόγον, γνῶσιν" PMag.Par.2.290.
2. acquaintance with a person, "πρός τινα" Test. ap.Aeschin.1.50; "τῶν Σεβαστῶν" IPE1.47.6 (Olbia).
3. recognizing, Th.7.44.
4. means of knowing, "αἱ αἰσθήσεις] κυριώταται τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα γ." Arist.Metaph.981b11.
III. being known, "γνῶσιν ἔχει τι", = "γνωστόν ἐστι", Pl.Tht.206b.
2. fame, credit, Hdn.7.5.5, Luc.Herod.3.
IV. means of knowing: hence, statement in writing, PLond.5.1708, etc. (vi A. D.).
V. = γνῶμα, [[Hsch.]] s. h. v.</ref> It is often used for personal knowledge as opposed to intellectual knowledge (εἴδειν ''eídein''), as with the [[French language|French]] ''connaître'' compared with ''savoir'', the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''conhecer'' compared with ''saber'', the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''conocer'' compared with ''saber'', the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''conoscere'' compared with ''sapere'', the [[German language|German]] ''kennen'' rather than ''wissen'', or the Modern Greek γνωρίζω compared with ξέρω.<ref>
{{cite book|first=Elaine|last=Pagels|title=The Origin of Satan|year=1995|page=167|publisher=Allen Lane, The Penguin Press}}
</ref>

A related term is the adjective ''gnostikos'', "cognitive",<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=gnwstikos&la=greek#lexicon LSJ entry] '''γνωστ-ικός, ή, όν,'''
A. of or for knowing, cognitive: ἡ -κή (sc. ἐπιστήμη), theoretical science (opp. πρακτική), Pl.Plt.258b.c., etc.; τὸ γ. ib.261b; "ἕξεις γ." Arist.AP0.100a11 (Comp.); "γ. εἰκόνες" Hierocl.in CA25p.475M.: c. gen., able to discern, Ocell. 2.7. Adv. "-κῶς" Procl.Inst.39, Dam.Pr.79, Phlp.in Ph.241.22.</ref> a reasonably common adjective in Classical Greek.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/wordfreq?lang=greek&lookup=gnwstiko%2Fs In Perseus databank] 10x [[Plato]], Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman 2x [[Plutarch]], Compendium libri de animae procreatione + De animae procreatione in Timaeo, 2x [[Pseudo-Plutarch]], De musica</ref> The terms do not appear to indicate any mystic, [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] or hidden meaning in the works of [[Plato]], but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.<ref>Cooper and Hutchinson. "Introduction to Politikos." Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works, Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. {{ISBN|0-87220-349-2}}.</ref>

{{blockquote|''Stranger:'' In this way, then, divide all science into two arts, calling the one practical (''praktikos''), and the other purely intellectual (''gnostikos'').<br/>''Younger Socrates:'' Let us assume that all science is one and that these are its two forms.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0172:text=Stat.:section=258e Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.]</ref>|Plato's ''[[Statesman (dialogue)|Statesman]]'', 258e}}

In the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic era]] the term became associated with the mystery cults.

In the [[Acts of Thomas]], translated by [[G. R. S. Mead|G.R.S. Mead]], the "motions of gnosis" are also referred to as "kingly motions".<ref>George Robert Stow Mead, and Stephen Ronan. ''The Complete Echoes from the Gnosis''. London, Chthonios Books, 1987, p. 113.</ref>

[[Irenaeus]] used the phrase "knowledge falsely so-called" (''{{transliteration|grc|pseudonymos gnosis}}'', from 1 Timothy 6:20)<ref name="feminine nominative adjective">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=yeudw%2Fnumos&la=greek&prior=yeudw/motos feminine nominative adjective]</ref> for the title of his book ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So Called|On the Detection and Overthrow of False Knowledge]]'', that contains the adjective ''gnostikos'', which is the source for the 17th-century English term "[[Gnosticism]]".<ref>"Gnostic | Origin and meaning of the name Gnostic by Online Etymology Dictionary". ''www.etymonline.com''. Retrieved 2021-07-24</ref>

== Subtle distinctions ==

===''Epignosis''===

The difference and meaning of ''epignosis'' ({{langx|el|ἐπίγνωσις}}) contrasted with gnosis is disputed. One proposed distinction is between the abstract and absolute knowledge (''gnosis'') and a practical or more literal knowledge (''epignosis''). Other interpretations have suggested that [[2 Peter]] is referring to an "epignosis of Jesus Christ", what [[J. B. Lightfoot]] described as a "larger and more thorough knowledge". [[Conversion to Christianity]] is seen as evidence of the deeper knowledge protecting against [[Heresy in Christianity|false doctrine]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Michael |title=2 Peter & Jude |year=1987 |publisher=Eerdman's |page=70 |isbn=9780802800787 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4in0E7TPqPIC&pg=PA70}}</ref>

===''Episteme''===

Episteme, like Gnosis, is a Greek word for "knowledge," but they represent distinct kinds of understanding—though not necessarily exclusively. Episteme refers to knowledge gained through experience and reason. It encompasses the body of ideas we typically recognize as knowledge, and is the source of our word [[epistemology]]. Gnosis, however, is often associated with experiential, intuitive, or spiritual understanding rather than empirical or logical deduction. While episteme deals with objective truths and verifiable facts, gnosis is more concerned with personal insight, inner transformation, and an engagement more ineffable than explicable.<ref name="r308">{{cite book | last=Lachman | first=Gary | title=The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus | publisher=Floris Books | publication-place=New York | date=2011 | isbn=978-0-86315-849-0 | page=}}</ref>

== Gnosticism ==
{{Main|Gnosticism}}
[[File:Lion-faced deity.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A lion-faced, [[Snakes in mythology|serpentine]] [[deity]] found on a Gnostic gem in [[Bernard de Montfaucon]]'s ''L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures'' may be a depiction of the Demiurge.]]

[[Gnosticism]] originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical [[Judaism]] and developed further within [[early Christianity]].{{sfn|Magris|2005|pp=3515–3516}} In the [[History of early Christianity|early years of Christianity]], various [[sectarian]] groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] by secret knowledge (''gnosis''), over [[faith]] (''pistis'') or [[Grace in Christianity|grace]] (gratia) in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians.<ref name="May 2008" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="Brakke 2010" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Layton |first=Bentley |author-link=Bentley Layton |year=1999 |chapter=Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GC4vwTXJSaMC&pg=PA106 |editor-last=Ferguson |editor-first=Everett |editor-link=Everett Ferguson |title=Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc |series=Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays |pages=106–123 |isbn=0-8153-3071-5}}</ref> Gnosticism presents a distinction between the [[Monad (Gnosticism)|highest, unknowable God]], and the [[Demiurge#Gnosticism|Demiurge]], "creator" of the material universe.<ref name="May 2008" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="Brakke 2010" /><ref name="Kvam 1999">{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA108 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=108–155 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.8}}</ref> The Gnostics considered the most [[Essential property|essential]] part of the process of [[salvation]] to be this esoteric knowledge, in contrast to God's grace as an outlook in their [[Perspective (cognitive)|worldview]] along with faith in the [[Great Church|ecclesiastical authority]].<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Brakke 2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/>

In Gnosticism, the [[Serpents in the Bible#Eden|biblical serpent]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (''gnosis'') to [[Adam and Eve]] and thereby freeing them from the [[Dystheism|malevolent]] [[Demiurge#Gnosticism|Demiurge]]'s control.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a [[dualistic cosmology]] that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the [[Salvation|liberating savior]] and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or [[creator god]], identified with the [[Yahweh|Hebrew God]] of the [[Old Testament]].<ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/> Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, [[false god]] and creator of the material universe, and the [[Monad (Gnosticism)|Unknown God]] of the [[Gospel]], the father of [[Jesus Christ]] and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God.<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/><ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Valentinus and the Valentinians|author=Bousset, Wilhelm|author-link=Wilhelm Bousset|volume=27|pages=852-857|short=x}}</ref> In the [[Archontics|Archontic]], [[Sethianism|Sethian]], and [[Ophites|Ophite]] systems, [[Yaldabaoth]] (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he [[Creationism|created]].<ref name="Litwa 2016">{{cite book |author-last=Litwa |author-first=M. David |year=2016 |orig-date=2015 |chapter=Part I: The Self-deifying Rebel – “I Am God and There is No Other!”: The Boast of Yaldabaoth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwcBDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=47–65 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467166.003.0004 |isbn=9780199967728 |lccn=2015051032 |oclc=966607824}}</ref><ref name="Fischer-Mueller 1990">{{cite journal |last=Fischer-Mueller |first=E. Aydeet |date=January 1990 |title=Yaldabaoth: The Gnostic Female Principle in Its Fallenness |journal=[[Novum Testamentum]] |volume=32 |issue=1 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |pages=79–95 |doi=10.1163/156853690X00205 |eissn=1568-5365 |issn=0048-1009 |jstor=1560677}}</ref><ref name="Arendzen4">{{Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Demiurge |volume=4 |first=John Peter |last=Arendzen}}</ref>

However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref name="Logan 2002">{{cite book |author-last=Logan |author-first=Alastair H. B. |year=2002 |orig-date=2000 |chapter=Part IX: Internal Challenges – Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA923 |editor-last=Esler |editor-first=Philip F. |title=The Early Christian World |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Worlds |pages=923–925 |isbn=9781032199344}}</ref> For instance, [[Valentinianism|Valentinians]] believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref name="Logan 2002"/> All Gnostics were regarded as [[Heresy in Christianity|heretics]] by the [[Proto-orthodox Christianity|proto-orthodox]] [[Early Church Fathers]].<ref name="May 2008"/><ref name="Ehrman 2005"/><ref name="Brakke 2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999"/>

=== Mandaeism ===
{{Main|Manda (Mandaeism)}}

In [[Mandaeism]], the concept of ''[[Manda (Mandaeism)|manda]]'' ("knowledge", "wisdom", "intellect") is roughly equivalent to the Gnostic concept of gnosis.<ref name="Buckley 2002">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-19-515385-5|oclc=65198443}}</ref> [[Mandaeism]] ('having knowledge')<ref name="auto"/> is the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity.<ref name=McGrath>{{Citation|last=McGrath|first=James|title=The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans|website=YouTube-A lunchtime talk about the Mandaeans by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University|date=23 January 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv6I02MNlc |access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=chWcZcYcyeQC}}|title=Iconography of Religions: An Introduction|editor-last=Moore|editor-first=Albert C.|date=1977|publisher=Chris Robertson|isbn=9780800604882|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Rudolph|chapter=Mandaeism|volume=21|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/iconographyofrel0000moor}}</ref>{{rp|15}} [[Mandaeans]] formally refer to themselves as ''Nasurai'' ([[Nazarene (sect)#Nasoraean Mandaeans|Nasoraeans]]) meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.<ref name=RudolphEI>{{cite web|last=Rudolph|first=Kurt|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mandaeans-2-religion |title=MANDAEANS ii. THE MANDAEAN RELIGION |access-date=3 January 2022|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica|date=7 April 2008}}</ref><ref name=HG>{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel Stefana|title=The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa|publisher=Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana|year=1953}}</ref> The Mandaeans emphasize salvation of the soul through secret knowledge (gnosis) of its divine origin.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mandaeanism|title=Mandaeanism &#124; religion|website=Britannica|access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=Drower1960>{{cite book | last = Drower | first = Ethel Stephana | author-link = E. S. Drower | date = 1960 | title = The secret Adam, a study of Nasoraean gnosis | location = London UK | publisher = Clarendon Press | page = xvi | no-pp = true | url = http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf | access-date = 19 February 2014 | archive-date = 6 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140306132110/http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Adam-A-Study-of-Nasoraen-Gnosis.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> Mandaeism "provides knowledge of whence we have come and whither we are going."<ref>Deutsch, Nathaniel. (2003) Mandaean Literature. In ''The Gnostic Bible'' (pp. 527–561). New Seeds Books</ref>{{rp|531}}

==Christian usage==
===New Testament===
The [[New Testament]] uses the term γνῶσις (Strong's G1108, Transliteration gnōsis) 28 times.<ref>[https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1108/kjv/tr/0-1/ Lexicon: Strong's G1108 - gnōsis] Blue Letter Bible</ref> Most of this usage is found in [[Paul the Apostle|Paul's]] [[Epistle|Epistles]], which later Gnostics used to develop their distinct concept of gnosis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meier |first1=John P. |last2=Ehrman |first2=Bart D. |date=1997 |title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/3266566 |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=116 |issue=4 |pages=738 |doi=10.2307/3266566 |jstor=3266566 |issn=0021-9231|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Patristic literature ===
The [[Church Fathers]], such as [[Clement of Alexandria]], used the word ''gnosis'' (knowledge), alongside the word [[Synderesis|syneidesis]] (conscience) to mean a spiritual knowledge by which believers could use reason to intuitively discern truth or righteousness. This positive usage was to contrast it with how gnostic sectarians used the word. [[Cardiognosis]] ("knowledge of the heart") from Eastern Christianity related to the tradition of the [[starets]] and in [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] theology is the view that only God knows the condition of one's relationship with God.<ref>[[Donald K. McKim]], ''Westminster dictionary of theological terms'', 1996, p. 39</ref><ref>Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=jQooODXx-2wC&dq=cardiognosis+Orthodoxy&pg=PA130 concise dictionary of theology] p. 130 Publisher: T. & T. Clark Publishers {{ISBN|978-0-567-08354-8}}</ref>
[[Boston College]] Catholic philosopher [[Dermot Moran]] notes that
{{blockquote|...even in early Christianity, matters were complex, such that an anti-gnostic writer like [[Clement of Alexandria]] can regularly invoke the notion of ''gnostike theoria'' in a positive sense.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moran |first1=Dermot |url=https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/gnostic-return-in-modernity-and-gnostic-apocalypse/|title=Gnostic Return in Modernity and Gnostic Apocalypse|date=May 2002 |publisher=Notre Dame}}</ref>}}

=== Eastern Orthodox thought ===
''Gnosis'' in [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox Christian]] (primarily [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]) thought is the spiritual knowledge of a [[saint]] (one who has obtained [[Theosis (Eastern Orthodox theology)|theosis]])<ref>"Spiritual knowledge is the state of spiritual [[theoria]], when one sees invisibly and hears inaudibly and comprehends incomprehensibly the glory of God. Precisely then comprehension ceases and, what is more, he understands that he does not understand. Within the vision of the uncreated Light man also sees angels and Saints and, in general, he experiences communion with the angels and the Saints. He is then certain that resurrection exists. This is the spiritual knowledge which all the holy Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, ascetics and all the Saints of the Church had. The teachings of the Saints are an offspring of this spiritual knowledge. And, naturally, as we said earlier, spiritual knowledge is a fruit of the vision of God. "THE ILLNESS AND CURE OF THE SOUL" Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos [https://archive.today/20020209061705/http://www.pelagia.org/htm/b05.en.the_illness_and_cure_of_the_soul.04.htm#kno1]</ref> or [[divine illumination|divinely-illuminated]] human being. Within the cultures of the term's provenance ([[Byzantine]] and [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic]]) ''Gnosis'' was a knowledge or [[insight]] into the infinite, divine and uncreated in all and above all,<ref>[[Saint Symeon the New Theologian|St. Symeon the New Theologian]] in Practical & Theological Discourses, 1.1 The [[Philokalia]] Volume Four: When men search for God with their bodily eyes they find Him nowhere, for He is invisible. But for those who ponder in the Spirit He is present everywhere. He is in all, yet beyond all</ref> rather than knowledge strictly into the finite, natural or material world.<ref>Faith And Science In Orthodox Gnosiology And Methodology by [[George Metallinos]]
"The scientist and professor of the knowledge of the Uncreated, in the Orthodox Tradition, is the Geron/[[Starets]] (the Elder or Spiritual Father), the guide or "teacher of the desert." The recording of both types of knowledge presupposes empirical knowledge of the phenomenon.
The same holds true in the field of science, where only the specialist understands the research of other scientists of the same field. The adoption of conclusions or findings of a scientific branch by non-specialists (i.e. those who are unable to experimentally examine the research of the specialists) is based on the trust of the specialists credibility. Otherwise, there would be no scientific progress.
The same holds true for the science of faith. The empirical knowledge of the Saints, Prophets, Apostles, Fathers and Mothers of all ages is adopted and founded upon the same trust. The patristic tradition and the Church's Councils function on this provable experience. There is no Ecumenical Council without the presence of the glorified/deified (theoumenoi), those who see the divine (this is the problem of the councils of today!) Orthodox doctrine results from this relationship."
[http://www.psyche.gr/Metallinos.htm University of Athens - Department of Theology]</ref> Gnosis is [[Transcendence (philosophy)|transcendental]] as well as [[Apperception|mature understanding]]. It indicates direct spiritual, experiential knowledge<ref>The [[Philokalia]] Volume Four Palmer, G.E.H; [[Philip Sherrard|Sherrard, Philip]]; [[Kallistos Ware|Ware, Kallistos (Timothy)]]. {{ISBN|0-571-19382-X}}, glossary, p. 434, Spiritual Knowledge (γνῶσις): the knowledge of the intellect (q.v.). As such, it is knowledge inspired by God, as [[insight]] (''[[Nous|noesis]]''; see also [[Noema]]) or [[revelation]]al, [[intuition (knowledge)|intuitive]] knowledge (see [[gnosiology]]) and so linked with [[theoria|contemplation]] and immediate spiritual perception.</ref> and [[intuition (knowledge)|intuitive]] knowledge, [[mysticism|mystic]] rather than that from rational or reasoned thinking. Gnosis itself is gained through understanding at which one can arrive via inner experience or [[contemplation]] such as an internal [[Epiphany (feeling)|epiphany]] of intuition and external epiphany such as the [[theophany]].

In the ''[[Philokalia]],'' it is emphasized that such knowledge is not secret knowledge but rather a maturing, [[Transcendence (philosophy)|transcendent]] form of knowledge derived from [[contemplation]] (''[[theoria]]'' resulting from practice of ''[[hesychasm]])'', since knowledge cannot truly be derived from knowledge, but rather, knowledge can only be derived from ''theoria'' (to witness, see (vision) or experience).<ref>Glossary of terms from the [[Philokalia]] p. 434 the knowledge of the intellect as distinct from that of the reason(q.v.). Knowledge inspired by God, and so linked with contemplation (q.v.) and immediate spiritual perception.</ref> Knowledge, thus plays an important role in relation to ''[[Divinization (Christian)|theosis]]'' (deification/personal relationship with God) and ''[[theoria]]'' (revelation of the divine, vision of God).<ref>The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. ({{ISBN|0-913836-31-1}}) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 2002. ({{ISBN|0-227-67919-9}}) p. 218</ref> Gnosis, as the proper use of the spiritual or [[Nous|noetic]] faculty plays an important role in [[Eastern Orthodox Christian theology|Orthodox Christian theology]]. Its importance in the economy of salvation is discussed periodically in the ''[[Philokalia]]'' where as direct, personal knowledge of God (''noesis'') it is distinguished from ordinary epistemological knowledge (episteme—i.e., speculative philosophy).

== Islam ==
{{main|Irfan}}

=== Sufism ===
{{further|Ma'rifa|Fana (Sufism)}}
Knowledge (or ''gnosis'') in [[Sufism]] refers to knowledge of [[Rūḥ|Self]] and [[Allah|God]]. The gnostic is called ''al-arif bi'lah'' or "one who knows by God". The goal of the Sufi practitioner is to remove inner obstacles to the knowledge of God. Sufism, understood as the quest for Truth, is to seek for the separate existence of the Self to be consumed by Truth, as stated by the Sufi poet [[Mansur al-Hallaj]], who was executed for saying "I am the Truth" (ana'l haqq).<ref>{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossain |title=The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition |date=2007 |publisher=Harper Collins |page=30}}</ref>

== Jewish usage ==

=== Hellenistic Jewish literature ===
The Greek word ''gnosis'' (knowledge) is used as a standard translation of the Hebrew word "knowledge" ({{lang|he|דעת}} {{transliteration|he|[[da'ath]]}}) in the [[Septuagint]], thus:
{{blockquote|The Lord gives wisdom [{{transliteration|he|[[Chokmah|ħokhma]]}}] (''[[Sophia (wisdom)|sophia]]''), from his face come knowledge [{{transliteration|he|da'ath}}] (''gnosis'') and understanding [{{transliteration|he|[[tevuna]]}}] (''[[synesis]]'')"|Proverbs 2.6}}
[[Philo]] also refers to the "knowledge" (''gnosis'') and "wisdom" (''sophia'') of [[God]].<ref>New Testament studies: Society for New Testament Studies – 1981 "see also the more extensive analysis of gnosis in Philo by Hans Jonas, Gnosis und spatantiker Geist 11/1"</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Religion}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Divine illumination]]
* [[Enlightenment in Buddhism]]
* [[Gnossiennes]]
* [[Gnosticism in modern times]]
* [[Gnosiology]]
* [[Gnosis (chaos magic)]]
* [[Jnana]]
* [[Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]]
* [[Noema]]
* [[Noetic consciousness]]
* [[Noetics]]
* [[Prajñā (Buddhism)]]
* [[Prajna (Hinduism)]]
* [[Satori]]
* [[Valentinus (Gnostic)|Valentinus]]
}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Magris |first=Aldo |year=2005 |title=Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations) |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |encyclopedia=Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion |edition=2nd |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Inc.]] |pages=3515–3516 |isbn=978-0028657332 |oclc=56057973}}
{{refend}}

{{Gnosticism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gnostic terms and concepts]]
[[Category:Knowledge]]
[[Category:Spiritual faculties]]
[[Category:Theology]]
[[Category:Concepts in ancient Greek epistemology]]