Since Pentecost, our scripture readings have focused on our rejecting the allure of “false” teachings in favor of following the” true” teachings of Jesus. One of the most serious of these false teachings, during the early years of the Church, was that of Gnosticism. Gnosticism was composed of aspects of Greek philosophy, Jewish mystical traditions, and Christianity. Gnostic Christianity developed alongside what later became orthodox Christianity but diverged sharply in its interpretation of key doctrines, such as creation, the nature of Christ, and salvation. By the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Gnosticism was increasingly opposed by early Christian leaders like Irenaeus and Basilides, who condemned it as heretical. I will not, in this reflection, delve into Gnosticism other than to say it was the main subject of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and the Second Council of Constantinople (553 AD) that declared Gnosticism heretical.
Today we have the first of two readings from the Second Letter of Peter. We will have the second reading tomorrow. The letter essentially is a rebuttal of the heretical teachings of the Gnostics that sprung up some time after the Ascension. True Christians believe that redemption requires adherents to have a personal knowledge of, and relationship with, God and his Son. God’s loving power has given us everything we need to live a life that is full and meaningful. God has made available all that we need spiritually through our knowledge of him. No special ‘secret’ knowledge, only accessible to initiates, is necessary for the Christian to achieve fulfilment of life. The glory and power of God was manifest in the teaching and signs that Jesus gave, clearly indicating his divine origin. Gnostics, on the other hand, who followed a way of thinking which was a constant challenge to the early Christians, believed that salvation depended only on having a knowledge of “mysteries”, secret revelations, only given to them. They also tended to see evil in all material things, a kind of distorted Platonism.
The rest of the reading lists the steps by which we develop a well-rounded and fruitful Christian life. The foundation of our inner goodness is our total faith and trust in God’s love and our commitment to the Way shown to us by Jesus. That faith is supplemented and fulfilled by virtuous behavior which flows from it. Virtue must be accompanied by knowledge. This means that virtue is not a mere pious veneer but rather comes from an ever deeper understanding and grasp of the way of life that Jesus proposes to us in the Gospel—a Message accessible to all.
This knowledge leads to self-control. Many of those infected by Gnosticism, which put all emphasis on the acquisition of secret knowledge, believed that self-control was completely unnecessary. Knowledge, not behavior, was the source of salvation. The Christian belief is quite different. The deeper our knowledge of God and Jesus, the more our whole lives, including our behavior, are affected. We do good, not because we have to, or force ourselves to, but because we want to. Our behavior flows naturally from our insight into what is true and good.
Self-control, in turn, leads to endurance, to perseverance even in the face of either competing attractions or painful obstacles. Endurance in turn is supported by devotion, which implies a deep warm-hearted commitment and not just a dogged stubbornness. Devotion leads to mutual affection. To be a Christian is not to go alone to God, but in companionship with others who share the same vision. This mutual affection then blossoms into love, that outgoing, unconditional desire for the well-being of our brothers and sisters.
This is a very different picture from the purely head-centered intellectualism of the Gnostic which can only end in cold isolationism, with little regard for the well-being of the world in which we live. In contrast, we Christians are convinced our world is the place in which to find and love our God.
Among other things, the author here is warning us against any form of elitism, which is a constant threat to our understanding of the Christian life. Such an elitism can lead to the formation of groups which lay claim to a higher level of Christian living and look down on ‘outsiders’. The beauty of the gospel is that it can be grasped adequately by even the illiterate. Perhaps that message was brought home some years ago when the founder of Opus Dei and scholar, Fr Josemaría Escrivá, was beatified together with Canossian Sister Josephine Bakhita, who had formerly been a slave and had no formal schooling whatever.
That does not mean we should not do all we can to have a deeper understanding of our faith. If we have the intellectual capacity to do so, we should. A great scandal among us is the ignorance of many educated Catholics about Scripture, theology and spirituality. At the same time, we also have to affirm that the very highest levels of mystical prayer are accessible to those with no education at all. Knowing Jesus is a lot more important than knowing a lot about him.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!