Quick Answer
Gnostic ethics divided along two opposite tendencies, both following logically from the same premise — that the material world is a corrupt creation. Ascetics rejected the body and its pleasures as belonging to the Demiurge's realm. Libertines argued that since material actions are spiritually irrelevant, moral rules imposed by the Demiurge's law have no binding force on the pneumatic soul.
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Quick Facts
- The majority of Gnostic groups practised asceticism — fasting, celibacy, rejection of meat and wine
- Libertine Gnostics (e.g., Carpocratians) reportedly held that all experiences should be undergone to exhaust their power
- Valentinians occupied a middle position: outward conformity to social norms, inner spiritual freedom
- Orthodox critics accused all Gnostics of libertinism regardless of actual practice