Recent months have seen Gnosticism come under attack more than at any time in the modern era. From most every conceivable and contradictory accusation, an attack on the very idea or category of Gnosticism, and the placing of elements from Gnosticism onto some other form and christening it “Gnostic.” However, focusing purely on criticism of the critics and of the cherry-pickers would probably lead to being hopelessly entangled in their systems. We need an alternative, a Gnostic approach to Gnosticism.

A Gnostic approach to Gnosticism would first and foremost acknowledge how much we don't really know. Being a Gnostic means having some Gnosis, and having some Gnosis means you know that you don't actually know some ninety-nine point something percent of the time. What you do have Gnosis of cannot be fully articulated, the best we can do are symbols and stories that may lead back to the experience that was the seed of the Gnosis. There is also the very human tendency to extrapolate far beyond actual Gnosis.

Gnosticism as an ancient historical phenomena isn't available to us. And taking the standard comparative religion beliefs/practices approach to Gnosticism leads to something that doesn't make sense: a field of projection. We need to be like William Blake and not remain trapped in someone else's system, we will have to create new models and new ways of expressing and developing the Gnostic tradition.

Not only is there so much that we don't really know, the most important things we never will. We need to take to heart the unknown and the unknowable. Mysteries can be experienced, but they are outside the grasp of the mind, it can only reflect on facets or elements of them. A definition of Gnosis is less useful than a description. In definitions we run the risk of thinking that we have captured it, that it is the definition. So many real and important things aren't subject to definitions. If we can't adequately define Love, why should we think we can do so with Gnosis? We need to be willing to live with the important questions, to explore the questions and the possible answers, to engage in the process.

We must recognize that the usual models and methods aren't doing us much good. If it is all in the past, where is the Gnosis? If it is Gnosis, then it isn't “special revelation,” and you should be able to find the signs of it in others however distant in time and place. This is a grounded living Gnosticism, not stuck in the past, but guided by what remains, and testing our realizations against those of others ancient and modern—a growing tradition.

The Gnosis Institute has been formed to make a serious concerted effort to develop a Gnostic approach not only to Gnosticism, but to related areas as well. Taking a Gnostic approach to Gnosticism is the only way to keep it alive. What is more important than taking our own Gnosis and liberation, taking our own spiritual path individually and in community, with the seriousness that they deserve? Than putting our resources towards building a future that will serve our needs as souls, spirits, divine sparks in the world?