Evangelical Baptist Church

People of EBC, Love your neighbor. And as William Blake said, “If you would do good, you must do it in Minute Particulars.”

Gnosticism is “the thought and practice esp. of various cults of late pre-Christian and early Christian centuries distinguished by the conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through gnosis.” (Merriam Webster)

To expand: Gnosticism “is the ancient but persistently contemporary perversion of the gospel that is contemptuous of place and matter. It holds forth that salvation consists in having the right ideas, and the fancier the better. It is impatient with restrictions of place and time and embarrassed by the garbage and disorder of everyday living. It constructs a gospel that majors in fine feelings embellished by sayings of Jesus. Gnosticism is also impatient with slow-witted people and plodding companions and so always ends up being highly selective, appealing to an elite group of people who are ‘spiritually deep,’ attuned to each other, and quoting a cabal of experts.” (Peterson, Under the Predictable Plant, 130)

Last week in Sunday School we noticed that Gnosticism is a rudiment of many world religions, which invariably decide that God is impressed (or less personally, spirituality is attained) when the human forsakes the material and the commonplace and reaches for abstractions.

Many New Testament books are countering Gnosticism to some degree, but I believe James is taken up with this battle between true religion and what we call Gnosticism:

Gnosticism disdains grounded righteousness. Its undertone: ‘Morality is for the unenlightened, the fuddy-duddies. When we’re thinking thoughts as profound as this, what we do is irrelevant. We’re so exhausted from our intellectual mountain climbing that we cannot bring any exertion into acquiring virtue.’

James: True religion is to keep yourself unspotted from the world.

Gnosticism deals in platitudes. Gnosticism spouts general principles, ad nauseam. You know, warm and cozies: “Trust you’re doing well.” “I’ll be praying.” “Go in peace, be warmed and filled.” “Isn’t God good,” with a leer.

James: Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Gnosticism makes claims to wisdom, but the abstract kind. It makes the uninitiated nervous that he doesn’t know. It has a particular quiet to it – the stifling quiet of smugness and headiness. It is accustomed to batting down innocence and virtue and solidness with cynicism and jabs.

James: Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Gnosticism classifies people by abstractions: Rich, poor. Serviceable, not. Intriguing, boring. Intellectually stimulating, non-reader.

James: My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

People of EBC, Love your neighbor.