Christianity vs. Gnosticism/Arianism

St. Paul as the founder of Christianity took a fresh perspective on the composition and reception of Christianity. He was originally named Saul a Jew from the line of Pharisee family tree. His writings known as Pauline Christianity are detailed in St. Luke to Acts, were used to describe communities, traditions and people who were connected to him. Paul's religion had several advantages over other salvation cults that existed in his time. The cults were attached to sculptures which Paul interpreted as believing on salvation-death of Jesus.

His Christian beliefs focused on Messiah and prepared the people for the second coming of Jesus (Perkins, 67). It advises believers on spiritual growth and to remain firm in spirit while following the footsteps of Jesus just like Paul. Today, more than 2,000 years after Paul's death, the church still maintains these teachings focusing on beliefs that Paul held. This is because he wrote that spiritual growth and conduct are surely inconsequential and the end of times is only a few days to go.

On the other hand, Gnosticism which was a group of religions combined different beliefs and practices from Greco-Roman mysteries, Neo-Platonism, Buddhism, Zurvanism, Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity. Its teachings were that esoteric knowledge was a necessity for salvation from this materialistic world. All the materials under heavens were created by intermediary figure which is not God.  Gnosticism grew out of Christianity as a movement within the religion. Many movements that branched out of Christianity were known as heresy and Gnosticism was the major heresy (Perkins, 150).

They believe that people are trapped by lower materialistic gods but will only be freed when they get a glimpse of higher god. They believed that it was God who helped people get back to him by sending us Jesus Christ. Jesus is believed to be the creation of God and more of human being than divine. Jesus was not God but was the most perfect creature that has been making reappearances on earth but in different forms. They finally believe in harsher penances for sins and longer fasts.