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I love Mysticism in all it's forms... In fact, I'd go as far as to call it my religion. The form of Mysticism I focus on is called Hermeticism, and the tradition of Hermeticism I follow is the Golden Dawn. In fact, if you want to know more about Hermeticism, I wrote a (rather lengthy) thread about it here: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=7681901

Hermeticism is basically a combination of Mysticisms from Greece, Egypt, Judaism, Christianity, parts of Europe, and a slew of influences from elsewhere. I've come to hold all forms of Mysticism in high regard.

The terms Gnosticism and Christian Mysticism can be used almost interchangeably, as Gnostics were the original Christian Mystics, and modern Christian Mystics borrow heavily from the Gnostics.

Basically put, the Gnostics were an early mystery cult that believed God was evil and Jesus was sent from heaven to deliver secret knowledge to mankind which would break them from the cycle of rebirth. This secret knowledge, which is gained through personal revelation, is called Gnosis. The Gnostics had their own churches and their own set of gospels and holy scriptures. These scriptures are often contradictory to the Bible, but are viewed as a mystic or allegorical interpretation of the actual events.

In the early medieval period, the Gnostics were hunted and wiped out by the newly formed Catholic church. Fortunately, a good portion of their scriptures were preserved. The best example is the Nag Hammadi library, which consisted of 52 Gnostic texts buried under the desert in Egypt. With these texts, modern theologists have been able to reconstruct an accurate view of the religion the way it was two-thousand years ago. There is now a growing number of practitioners of this formerly dead religion.

Generally, Christian Mystics don't believe God is evil, but still might believe Jesus delivered secret knowledge. Many Christian Mystics lean toward New Age tenancies, with a particular focus on communication with angels, and in some cases the use of tarot cards or (in cases of Catholic Mysticism) a belief in the holy powers of the saints. Many Christian Mystics will read certain Gnostic texts and consider them as holy as Biblical scripture. (The Gospel of Thomas is the most popular one. The Gospel of Mary Magdalen is also widely read.)

There's also a few rarer groups such as the Christian Wiccans and Christian Goths who hold mystic view relating to Christianity.

There's more, but the cramp in my wrist just informed me that I write too much. sweatdrop

I'm actually in a Mysticism course at my university right now. We only covered the Christian Mystics, Hindu mystics, Buddhist, and modern mystics. It's pretty much my religion, as well. I'd be happy to help out if you have any questions or anything; I have nine books on gnosticism, and a smattering of other mystics here and there as well.

I'd be VERY careful saying gnostics and Christian mystics are idenitcal. They might have been very early on, but in modern times, there is no way. This is because there are dozens of movements that call themselves 'gnostic', and it's better to not use the terms interchangeably; it can cause chaos unless you're talking to someone who also knows what you are talking about. Trust me. Learned this from my classes. xd

Ooh, nice, another person who has some gnostic beliefs. heart

Yeah, I agree in your distinctions; you put it much better than I could have. Except, I'll admit right now...I'm not overly fond of a lot of the 'neo-Gnostic' movements out there. sweatdrop

Elaine Pagels = Awesome.

Yeah, I'm talking about that weird blend. I can't say on Hoeller, but I'll have to check him out. I'm talking like the Ramtha movement, and Sylvia Browne's movement, and this one movement that I can't remember the name of, but is totally centered around sex entirely, WHICH, is ironic because the first gnostics were celibate.

It's like they just attach the name 'gnostic' to them to make them seem more mystical, and, in a way, they ARE gnostic in that they claim to have secret knowledge. But some of them are hardly recognizable to me.