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Originally posted by loveinvein
Does anyone know if there is any connection between the Manichaen Gnostics and the illuminati?
More importantly does anyone know about the Manichaen Gnostics?
Originally posted by Masonic Light
Yes. It was actually the Gnostics that forced the Roman Catholic Church to concretize its doctrine by organizing its Canon, so they could combat "heresy". In this sense, ironically, the Gnostics are directly responsibility for the Bible's existence.
Originally posted by Leveller
ML. Are you referring to the Essenes? It was my understanding that they were the group responsible for deciding that the Bible should be finalised and that no more major editing should take place.
Originally posted by Leveller
ML. I'm referring to the Old Testament.
Could you also shed light on your statement that the first Gnostics were Christians? Weren't there Jewish Gnostics as well?
As you state, the Essenes could well have influenced later Christian groups, and isn't it possible that amongst the Essene sects, there were gnostics? Certainly the texts discovered at Qumran seem to have a gnostic flavour to them. And the most likely originators of those texts were the Essenes.
So although the Essenes may not have directly influenced the Catholic Church, maybe indirectly they had far more input than you are giving them credit for?
Evidence also seems to suggest that before Paul and Rome, gnosticism was roughly half of the early Christian belief.
As for the question of Jesus being an Essene. I believe that the corruption of "Jesus of Nazereth" which was almost certainly "Jesus the Nazorean" shows him to be an Essene.
Is it therefore possible that the Essenes were the first Christian gnostics?