I have one question and it is very important.
On the website of “CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY”:http://www.carm.org/heresy/gnosticism.htm they make this statement:
bq. The danger of gnosticism is easily apparent. It denies the incarnation of God as the Son. In so doing, it denies the true efficacy of the atonement since, if Jesus is not God, He could not atone for all of mankind and we would still be lost in our sins.
Can you share your thoughts on this?
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I need help…
May 24th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
David,
I’m not sure how ‘in depth’ you want the comments to be so I’ll provide two thoughts, the second of greater detail than the first:
1. I agree with the paragraph wholeheartedly.
2. One of gnosticism’s foundational tenets is the rejection that anything physical can be good. The spirit world is pure and the physical world is evil. Hence, a divine being (who is spirit) would never cross the divide into physicality. Therefore, gnosticism expresses an explicit rejection of the incarnation. Furthermore, if the incarnation is the sole basis of our redemption (the God-man being our substitute), and the incarnation never happened, then redemption as we have classically understood it has been undermined.
Thanks for the opportunity to escape the devestation of New Orleans for a few minutes and dwell on ‘weightier’ matters.
Blessings,
Jason Sampler