“Many Gnostics, on the contrary, insisted that ignorance, not sin, is what involves a person in suffering.”
Pagels explains the Gnostic Gospel texts to show the difference in their doctrines from the orthodox texts in modern religious texts. The Gnostics held fairly opposite beliefs from the orthodox churches in regard to Jesus, salvation, and the Bible in general. Thus, the statement highlights the Gnostics’ interpretation of sin and Jesus’ sacrifice. In that salvation for them was much more innate and mysterious directly tied to personal knowledge on mysticism.
“Rediscovering the controversies that occupied early Christianity sharpens our awareness of the major issue in the whole debate, then and now…”
Being that the Gnostic Gospel texts were purposely destroyed since they were considered heretical by Orthodox beliefs means their presence is non-existent today. The quotation refers to the power play that took place during Early Christianity, in how the Gnostics were sidelined by the Orthodox Church. Pagels asserts that the Gnostics were essentially challenging the church’s beliefs rather than trying to create a new religion. They attempted to highlight that the church had too much supremacy than they should have. Accordingly, modern Christianity is the outcome of this debate that saw the elimination of the Gnostic texts due to their arguments.
“Contrary to orthodox sources, which interpret Christ’s death as a sacrifice redeeming humanity from guilt and sin, this gnostic gospel sees the crucifixion as the occasion for discovering the divine self within.”
The assertion further accentuates the main differences between the two dogmas particularly in regard to Jesus’s death. Gnostics viewed the crucifixion as a metaphor that is intended to be unraveled through higher understanding and enlightenment. However, the Orthodox Church view the death as a direct sacrifice for the sins of the people which is the belief in modern Catholicism. This Gnostic perspective was eliminated from religious texts and history in general therefore does not exist in any modern beliefs.
