"The big unique feature of gnosticism is that it makes the god of salvation alien and the god of creation evil and sub-godly. "
Actually there's a few comments I'm going to make on this. First off, the sub-god emanates from the primary god and was created by the primary god and is actually a part of the primary god(same with any other polytheistic religion), they are like attributions of the primary God(all polytheistic religions start with a blank, chaotic water state and are fashioned from there; blank chaotic water state=god/bliss whatever). Secondly, the god who created the human realm was actually the divine human who fell in love with it's own creation, also another interesting note is that god did supposedly create this world it's just the details the lesser god filled in, as the story goes the lesser god fell into this world which means it was already here. Mankind itself WAS created by the divine god, which is really the only important thing. Last, some resources on the subject would say primary god created the lesser god explicitley for the purpose of making a stank human realm(The demiurge is sometimes considered the "Macrocosm" of man).
Like I've mentioned before, God's are actually personifications of attributions of the universe/existance.
Next, human beings are fashioned in the image of God. Keep that in mind as it's very important in gnostic and in christian thought. The bible does say that, right? WE ARE THE IMAGE OF GOD, to me, means we can become LIKE GOD. Because images of God would be like god, and what qualities are more beautiful than the transendent possibilities?
"The gnostic process of salvation is also pretty different from the christian view in my opinion."
There's a difference between what is taught in churches and what the actual message was supposed to be. If I gain my knowledge from the bible and some other asshole gains his from the church, obviously mine is more direct. I'm not going to say that makes it superior, but the implications are clear. If you read through the bible I promise you will get a very gnostic/every other religion type feel to it, especially if you recognize the symbols.
" I don't recall a lot of that kind of symbolism in the salvation process that Christians talk about."
You haven't been paying attention to me when I said that Jesus is supposedly the actual symbol. He is a personification of the "Dying God"/savior-son which is prevelant in many religions. Jesus' story itself is the story of man overcoming death(remember when he raises from the grave). Christianity means to be CHRIST-LIKE.
Considering jesus as the divine man, or Archetypical or whatever words you want to throw into that equation fills the hole. Jesus IS the man who shrugged off his materiality(his life style is exempliary of this, who could be simpler and less material). Jesus is the divine man. That's why the story is so important. He is CHRISTOS. That's how he , "Redeemed" the world. That's why, "No man may get through god except through me, the divine man". That's why we are all, "Son's of God".
JESUS IS THE DIVINE REDEEMED MAN WHO JOINED GOD AND OVERCAME DEATH AND MATERIALITY IN THREE DAYS.
Also put on his level are Enoch, ezekiel and isiah. Remember the story of the burning chariot being taken up to heaven because he was such a good follower of god?
The story also has astrological connections. When did jesus die and raise again? In the spring. When does the sun begin to rise again? In the spring. When was he born? In the winter. Winter solstice to summer solstice. Astrology and gods are always intertwined, and by simply understanding astrology you can understand the gods of any system out there since they are all pretty much based on astrology.
Secondly, three years after his baptism he dies on the cross to be raised again? And what the fuck being baptized at the age of 30? So stereotypical. After having lived 33 years? All those threes! That's exactly the type of symbolism related with dying god's and becoming enlightened. Not to knock this up with stupid bullshit, but kundalini wise there are 33 vertebrae, again symbolizing enlightenment. 33 masonic degrees, mastership begining at 30? Three degrees in most systems of initiation?
Ever hear of mithras? THE SOLAR DIETY KNOWN AS REDEEMER, or THE GOOD SHEPHERD? Jesus is a solar diety. Who was born on the 25th of december?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithrai...o_Christianity
Seriously consider reading that link.
Do you think it's a coincidence that christmas is on the 25th of december when mithras, a god who I'm saying is the same god as Jesus, was also born on that same day and shares a very similar story? Including having 12 apostles? It's OBVIOUS that the early christian church made these connections willingly and on purpose for an easy transition, and also to retain the previous belief system.
Basically what I'm implying is that the early christian church itself believed what I'm saying to you right now. Christian Authorities actually said that some of these God's were REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SAVIOR GOD AND SHOULD BE RESPECTED LIKE HIM and worshippers of him were of the same religion and should be treated like brothers.
How about attis? How about Tammuz and Ishtar. how about that crosses are related to tammuzz and almost every other solar diety? Did you know the egyptian symbol of the ankh means life and the cross means savior(I'm not positive on that one)?
Have you ever read the story of dionysus? Bacchus? Osiris? These stories are all exactly the same practically. Dionysus, the God of wine. Who turned water into wine. Who was born in a stable, of a virgin mother who later self-sacraficed because religous authorities despised him.
Why do you think the romans accepted christianity so easily? Early roman authorities stated that bacchus and/or balder both were personifications of Jesus christ. Who's balder you might ask? Odin's son called "Beautiful"(which is what the divine man is called, especially on the TREE OF LIFE which is represented by the sixth sphere which is the highest sphere man can reach which coincidentally corresponds with the spheres of gnosticism) who had twelve apostles one of whom betrayed him what a coincidink.
What I'm saying is that all of these stories represent the same process. Sorry it's scattered I had abit to drink. The fact that by using this idea I can pretty much u nderstand any religion with similar connotations, to me, says it's right. Even if it's not right-right, the fact that I can understand it properly makes it right. I've seriously bullshitted in conversations with people on multiple occasions using this idealogy and they thought I knew what I was talking about when I've never even heard of their religion or ideas before.
I'm not saying it's going to fit hand and hand and be exactly the same every time but I am saying that it's designed to represent the same idea(s).
The jewish culture itself was a gigantic melting pot of information, having been nomads who then became man-handles for almost every major nation that was around, I mean god damn they demonized every other God that was around at the time, like BAAL. He's a real god who really occured in the bible. It seems OBVIOUS to me that they incorporated other people's religious beliefs into their writings.
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