I will start with a broad definition of Gnosticism. GNOSTICISM is a mixed and diverse group of thinkers, ideas, and treatises that became a force in the second century CE and continued to exert an important influence on ancient religion into the fourth century. ... At the heart of the gnostic concern was the revelation of the hidden Gnosis (Greek meaning "knowledge"), the possession of which would free one from the fragmentary and illusory (or evil) material world (bodily existence) and teach one about the origins of the spiritual world to which the gnostic belonged by nature. ... As noted ...

• Word Count: 1846
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In his essay on Catholicism and Ireland, Timothy White states, "Ireland has been frequently cited as one of the most religious societies in Europe, and the Catholic nature of Irish society is intrinsic to that of Irish national identity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." ... Thomsett elaborates on the early stages of the term heresy: "By the definition employed within the Roman Church, a heretic must be a Christian who challenges either the dogma of the Church or its policies, the formal denial or doubt of any defined doctrine of the Catholic faith" "[2011, pg. 1]. Clearly...

• Word Count: 2014
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate