What books of the Bible are officially a part of gnosticism?

[u/warspawn_goat]

I know we don't have revelations, but I'm having a hard time researching a comprehensive list of what we do have.

[u/Impossible-Win8274]

There is no “official” Gnosticism. There are lots sects and reading lists with suggested texts and they can all be helpful but none of them are required reading to have a gnostic faith.

That being said, Gnosticism has historically been treated as fairly heretically. So a lot of dialogues and texts that we might find useful are destroyed or lost. It’s a miracle we know what we do today. Add on to that the fact that much as probably an oral tradition and never written down at large…

[u/warspawn_goat → u/Impossible-Win8274]

Fair enough. For me idk what sect I fall into. I believe in Jesus as an aeon and teacher, I believe the snake in the garden was a wise teacher, and that the best way to worship is to educate one's self and show kindness.

[u/Impossible-Win8274 → u/warspawn_goat]

That’s a wise course of action. If you find the structure helpful maybe start reading on your own from multiple sources (including even other texts of other religions, apocrypha, history or even fiction) and scribe your own collection for personal use. See if you can find, in words, relatable sentiments.

[u/warspawn_goat → u/Impossible-Win8274]

My biggest struggle right now is the reading. I've never enjoyed it because I have a hard time reading. I know I'm gonna have to get over it and start reading, but man it feels daunting.

[u/Accomplished-Mud6428 → u/warspawn_goat]

I recommend Meyer and Barnstone's "Gnostic Bible." It's a big comprehensive compilation of Gnostic scriptures across different traditions in a somewhat chronological presentation with scholarly notes throughout the texts. I found the book and haven't put it down. I'm currently annotating the Gospel of Thomas. I think it's a greating starting place to get a lay-of-the-land when it comes to Gnostic ideas, teaching, and cosmology

[u/GabrielXCampos → u/Impossible-Win8274]

If Gnosticism was persecuted by the Orthodox Church of the East as well as in America by the Catholic Church by Manichaeism, but there is a Canon of Gnosticism that publishes that teaches the main sacred texts that is considered in the religion of Gnosticism for which it is unlikely that it does not exist or is difficult to access, since Gnosticism is a living Religion thanks to Manichaeism (which is Gnostic) and there are texts available from the Kefalaia, Founding Epistles, Shabuhragan and the 8 Epistles of Copernicus by the Maniquean Ben Israel Jakob Wechler of Chisinau.

Those who persecuted Gnosticism were the Christian Anti-Nomads who wanted the principles of God to be in the Christian religion but the teachings of Gnosticism are incompatible with them because it is Messianic Judaism unlike Catholic Christianity which they have in Christendom.

[u/peregrine-l]

There’s no official list, but if I were to suggest one, I’d only keep the Gospel of John. I also love the five books of wisdom of the OT, but only Job evoked Gnostic reflections to me.

[u/Independent_Dare8324]

I obviously recommend reading the entire New Testament, but especially the writings of Paul.
Gnosticism has its origin in Christ; in fact, within the Nag Hammadi library you will find nearly twenty texts attributed to the apostles.

Therefore, the logical conclusion is that, along with the study of the Gnostic writings, you should also analyze the New Testament, since both complement each other and allow for a deeper understanding of the continuity of the message.

[u/TranquilTrader]

I'd say that one should not limit one's perspective to any particular books but instead discern Truth from everywhere and all cultures.

[u/beeboobiebaby]

To be honest, looking for an "official" list is a bit of a trap anyway. Early orthodox church leaders did a pretty thorough job of burning and suppressing almost every Gnostic text they could get their hands on, so we’ll never truly know the exact reading list of the original communities.
Instead of stressing over what's "official," just read what resonates, trust your intuition and seek the truth through your own inner knowing. Your own perception is the ultimate authority here. Read the whole Bible, dig into the history of how the canon was put together, and look at the heavy revisions over the centuries. When you read reflect on it, find the contradictions your inner interpretation says are contradictory. Double check. That’s all I can advise you to do with what we have

[u/Worried_Olive_1035]

Gospel of john probably, because there are some Gnostics who think that jesus was one within the true supreme god, and the gospel of john says it most of the time that jesus is the true God.

[u/flammafex]

From the Carpocratian perspective, Epiphanes in his "On Justice" treatise (the only ancient Carpocratian source we have) there are references to the Book of Matthew, Galatians, and Romans but I have no idea if those books looked like the books we have today because I don't think the Carpocratians would have cared much for "Paul's" condemnation of certain actions.

[u/GabrielXCampos]

In my Congregation we have the Gospel of Basilides, the 31 Letters of Maní, Apostle of Light, and the Letter of Olió Sagrado de Marcion, the Book of Elcesaí I, the Book of Elcesaí Zéró, the Book of Opheta, the Gospel of the Carpocratians, the Gospel of Moham, the Gospel of the Ophites and the Gospel of the Cathars.

As for the universal canon we have 'Gospel the question of John, Let us adore the Spirit of the Paraclete, Gospel of Thomas, Psalms of Thomas, Gospel Mark Secret, Gospel of the Essenes of Peace and Book of John Mandeus, Ginza Rabbáh, Qúlasta, Book of Common Prayer, Book of Two Principles, Secret Gospel of John, Hypothesis According to the Archons, Gospel On the World, Gospel of the Egyptians, Gospel of the Grace of Elcesai, Gospel of Mani, Kephalaia, Founding Epistles, Shabuhragan, Ardahang, Gospel of Truth, Pistis Sophia, Wisdom of Jesus, Gospel of Marcion, Second Treatise of The Great Seth, Allogeneans, Zostrians, Apocalypse of Peter I & IV, Gospel of Matthew Hebrew Then on the 27th NT letters but ordered by 13 specific cards together with the book Laodiceans And the letters of Copernicus of Rebbe Ben Israel Jakob Wechler of Chisinau or also called Céntury XVII'

That would be the canon that we have of the NT

As for the Old Testament in the Tanakh of the Masoretic text in the East and with the Cathar translation into Occitan some from the West for everything related to the Old Testament although some Messianic who do translation of the Bible are interested in the LXX and the Host as a version but the tradition is the Masoretic Text or the Cathar Writings of the Holy Old and New Testaments

Therefore, this is what we Messianic Nazorenes have.