Talk:Gnosticism

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Was Gnosticism mostly responsible the antisemitism that got blamed on Christians?

Earlier today, I did some very basic research into the "serpent seed theory," a false doctrine which in more recent times by Nazis, the KKK, and other racist/antisemitic groups. Apparently the early propagators of the fringe theory were by Gnostics, whose lies were denounced by early church leaders including Irenaeus. That makes me wonder: did the Gnostics' influence include overt antisemitism that influenced later forms of Jew-hatred? In contrast, I believe the early church's anti-Judaism from the likes of Justin Martyr recognized that Christianity was an outgrowth of Judaism, although Martyr's anti-Jewish polemic unfortunately promoted collectivist distortions, it seems. Ultimately, Martyr's arguments were in defending Judeo-Christian values put forth by Scripture, not trying to remove Jewish traditions from Christian teachings. Contrast that to the time of Constantine, when the church tried to appease pagans into converting by distancing themselves from Jews (who were becoming unpopular), especially repudiating Jewish traditions during that century, an example being the Council of Laodicea:

“	Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour, and, as being Christians, shall if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ.	”
—Council of Laodicea, Canon 29, 364 A.D.

Notice how blatantly antisemitic that is in trying to "purge" the Jewish roots of Christianity? The fact that Constantine's era and legacy was marked with pagan appeasement and antisemitism makes me wonder if there's some Gnostic origins in the apostate takeover over the church. —LT ^{(Exodus 23:2)} Sunday, 22:57, December 24, 2022 (EST)