Quick Answer
Gnosticism is an ancient religious and philosophical tradition, flourishing in the 1st–3rd centuries AD, that taught the material world was created by a flawed lesser god — not the true, transcendent God. Salvation comes through direct personal knowledge (gnosis) of one's divine origin.
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Quick Facts
- The term "Gnostic" comes from Greek gnōstikos — "having knowledge"
- Core belief: the material world is a prison created by the Demiurge, not the true God
- Main traditions: Sethian, Valentinian, Thomasine, Basilidian
- Primary sources: the Nag Hammadi Library, discovered in Egypt in 1945