Gnosticism--Comparison of Religious groups of first centuries after Christ to Christianity, texts, modern significance.

Comparison of religious groups of first century after Christ (Gnosticism

Among the first century Gnostic teachers was Simon Magnus . He was known in history as Simon the Magician and was considered as the earliest Gnostic prophet . Stephen A . Hoeller mentioned that Simon Magnus was born in Gitta , Samaria that characterized him as a sort of heretic by birth According to Hoeller , Samaritans were known followers of heterodox form of Judaism that rejected the Jerusalem temple and practiced and their worship in sacred mountain of Samaria . In Biblical account , Simon Magnus was mentioned

in Acts chapter 8 :9 - 12 , which identified him as a sorcerer having respected and considered as a great one by the Samaritans . Hoeller noted that prior to his conversion to Christianity he was among the students of John the Baptist

His Gnostic Teachings

According to an internet article , historians traced the teachings of Gnosticism to Simon Magnus , which was believed to have written the Gnostic work The Great Revelation ' in which Simon is the anointed one and not Jesus . This teaching according to the article was carried out by one of his disciples whose name is Menander and even goes on to preach that those who would follow Simon would not die , and that it was Simon Magnus that was crucified , not Jesus . Menander further elaborated Simon Magnus writings by stating that the divine Spirit called Aeon had clung to the physical body of Jesus . Citing the sermon of John Gill (Sermons and Tracts Vol . 3 .

. 513 , the same article noted that Simon Magnus Claimed that the Godhead has only one person and he is that person asserting to be the father in Samaria , to Judea the son , and the Holy Spirit to the rest of the nation

Dr . E .L Martin in his published in the web featuring Simon 's encounter with the Apostle Peter , stated that Simon Magnus was Satan counterfeit Messiah ' and was the author of simony or the buying of religious office with money when he attempted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit with money . From this incident , Simon Magnus followers began a Simonians ' movement anchored on Simon Magnus teaching . His teaching is that the angels and powers were created by the idea of the first god This idea then created this world . John Glyndwr Harris stated that Simon taught the highest God was mot the creator and that the world only had an indirect relation to God ' This Gnostic tenet eventually become their doctrine holding that the supreme god came in the form of Simon Magnus to rescue the divine part characterize by Helen , the prostitute who was with Simon during his travels and was believed to be in part an authority to the first God or angels for some reason . Unfortunately of Simon 's work has survived and all these had to come from the many legends about him

Another Gnostic great teacher was Cerinthus , who according to Harris was a contemporary of Apostle John . Harris...