Gnosticism, DaVinci Code and religious mysteries

I've been reading the book Rule by Secrecy by Jim Marrs which explores secret societies and their effect on our economic and political environment. This is way too much information for someone who has never been a poli-sci geek. However, because of the tantalizing references to "secret" data, mysteries, knowledge of the ancients, etc, none of which is revealed, I began investigating some of the information on some of these secret societies (Freemasons, Illuminati, Gnostics) on the WEB. So far, I have been unable to find any hard evidence of what the innermost secrets are (not surprising).

The current best-seller The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown purports to explore these mysteries and I have purchased it just to see what the uproar was about.

In the meanwhile, I did read some interesting info on the WEB about Gnosticism. Gnosticism appears to have roots much older than Christianity, although some Christian websites trace it back to early Christianity as a deviant sect. I suspect that the Gnostics simply adapted to Christianity as best they were able in an effort to be transparent.

The website: Gnosticism – Ancient and Modern writes: “Gnosticism is a philosophical and religious movement which started in pre-Christian times. The name is derived from the Greek word "gnosis" which literally means "knowledge." However, the English words "Insight" and "enlightenment" capture more of the meaning of "gnosis."  It is pronounced with a silent "G" (NO-sis). Gnosticism is not factual, intellectual, rational knowledge, such as is involved in mathematics and physics; that would have been more accurately represented by the Greek world "episteme." Rather, Gnosticism involves the relational or experiential knowledge of God and of the divine or spiritual nature within us.” Further, Gnosticism includes a belief that salvation is achieved through relational and experiential knowledge. In the words of The Gnostic Apostolic Church, humanity needs to be awakened and brought to a realisation of his true nature.

Gnosticism has been compared to Scientology, or rather, Scientology has been referred to by some sites on the WEB as a “Gnostic-type” religion. I am a Scientologist, so I was curious about that. Certainly, the above explanation seems to fit in with my  understanding of the way to enlightenment.

I did do some further looking on the WEB, but I found, as expected, that websites are mostly biased in favor of some particular belief and that many (if not all) of those mentioning Gnosticism or Scientology evidenced little or no knowledge of one or the other or a virulent antipathy to one or the other (or both.)

So I come back to this fact: The Gnostic movement appears to have included a belief in the spiritual nature of man and a belief in the ability to better the human condition through enlightenment. In this, it certainly resembles Scientology.

The website: Gnosticism – Ancient and Modern states that: “the movement and its literature were essentially wiped out before the end of the 5th century CE by Catholic heresy hunters and the Roman Army. Its beliefs are currently experiencing a rebirth throughout the world, triggered in part by the discovery of an ancient Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi, Egypt in the 1940s, and the finding of the Gospel of Judas at El Minya, Egypt, in the 1970s.

I have not found any evidence of a systematic approach, in modern Gnosticism, to enlightenment. This may be unfair, as I have not looked far. I freely admit that.

In any case, I will assert that Scientology appears to differ in the following way: while Scientology contains an assertion about the nature of enlightenment, it also provides a way for anyone to attain it.

Why?

Scientology has built a Bridge that anyone can travel through study of the works of L. Ron Hubbard. That’s the difference. There is a WAY.