Gnosticism
or secret knowledge from God. Although not mentioned by name in the Bible, some portions of the NT reflect a strong denunciation of their teachings, such as: empty human regulations contrasted with the fullness of the life in Christ, providing victory (Col 2:8-23);
Knowledge should lead to God, not away from Him
refuting the myths and endless genealogies which hinder God’s work; forbidding people to marry and abstain from certain foods is countered with everything God created is good and godliness is the goal (1 Tim 4:1-11). They claimed ‘spirit’ was good but physical ‘matter’ was evil, and challenged many of the Christian doctrines including Christ’s life, death and resurrection (1 Jn 4:3; 2 Jn 1:7).
Modern day gnosticism can be described as pursuing goodness through searching within the flawed 'inner self' for answers, man-centred purposes and truth apart from God, which makes man wise in his own eyes (Isa 5:21; Rom 1:21-25). The Bible clearly states, "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil" (Prov 3:7). The Christian approach is to be regenerated by Christ with "The fear of the Lord being the beginning of knowledge" and so we should test everything against the revealed Word of God which is the only source of spiritual truth (Prov 1:7; Jn 17:17; 1 Thes 5:21; 2 Tim 2:15).
Timothy was instructed not to be sidetracked by such people who were “always learning but never acknowledged the truth” (1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 3:7).
Gnostic gospels
Orthodox Christianity or theology accepts the books we now have in the Bible. The gnostic gospels were created after the first century. They embraced a distinctly different view of Jesus Christ, of salvation, and virtually every other major Christian doctrine. There are no writings by the Apostles to give legitimacy to the beliefs, so deceptively names of famous early Christians were attached to these writings, such as the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Philip, the gospel of Mary, etc. Some consider these Gnostic gospels are the supposed ‘lost books of the Bible’ but they should be rejected outright as not belonging in the Bible and not representing the genuine Christian faith.
Note: the gnostic gospels are not to be confused with the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) which are similar in structure and content whereas John is comparatively distinct.
See also: heresy, knowledge, sect.