Matter Matters: The Gnostic Controversy and the Orthodox Response

[Mp3]

The central affirmation of the church is that God has come in the flesh in Jesus. God has truly entered into our human situation - experienced human limitations, weaknesses, temptations, emotions, suffering, and bore the weight of human sin. By fully entering into our human situation God has redeemed and transformed it. Our goal is now to live fully human lives, fully alive to God. Gnosticism denied the full humanity of Jesus. It therefore offered a different understanding of God, creation, Jesus, humanity, and salvation. In this session, I examine the Gnostic controversy and the reasons why the early church rejected Gnosticism as a viable expression of the Christian faith, and instead, offered a robust, embodied, fully human expression of faith - a material spirituality. Why is this important? Because Gnosticism never really went away. I argue that an implicit Gnosticism underlies much Christian expression.