that is how the knowledge remains secret

I haven't seen any credible evidence that the Gnostics were trying to "keep knowledge secret" from everyone else. On the contrary, it seems they wanted to share their beliefs of what was true. From what I've seen, they were saying that the truth is being kept secret from you. They were saying that others were keeping the truth secret.

Were there levels of disclosure in their organization? Maybe, but that was how these things worked in all organizations or guilds, which was the foundation of society. In the case of the Gnostics it wasn't necessarily designed to hide information, but to ensure that the information was presented when it would be understood (by their estimation). It's like any knowledge course. You don't start teaching physics by teaching General Relativity for example, you have to start by learning Calculus, and working your way up from there. General Relativity isn't a "secret knowledge," you just won't get it until you've worked through a ton of other stuff.

Is there evidence that some other groups purposefully withheld information for nefarious purposes, such as swearing oaths of fealty (Freemasons e.g.)? Absolutely, but I've seen no evidence that the Gnostics were such a group.

A group wants power, they paint a picture of utopia. Then they tell you all you know is incorrect. Then they tell you to replace your idea of reality with whatever they tell you. Then your reality is their words.

Are you describing the Christian Church or the Gnostics?

To resist it some must understand it, and not become enthralled with power.

To "resist," all you need to do is recognize that the Truth is whatever the Truth is. Stop needing the truth to be one thing or another, stop needing to "know the truth," and you will stop believing that someone else is telling it to you in their sales pitch. It is the need to "know the truth" that is the vulnerability, not the sales pitch itself.

In Gnostic philosophy, abstraction, negation, and concretion are three steps in the process of gaining knowledge or understanding something.

This is, imo, too simplistic of a view. Things like this, or the "eight fold path," etc. are just methods of reasoning. They aren't dogma. Suggesting a method of reasoning is some sort of indoctrination misses what is really going on, and forces an alignment of your own thinking on a topic.

that is how the knowledge remains secret

I haven't seen any credible evidence that the Gnostics were trying to "keep knowledge secret" from everyone else. On the contrary, it seems they wanted to share their beliefs of what was true. From what I've seen, they were saying that the truth is being kept secret from you. They were saying that others were keeping the truth secret.

Were there levels of disclosure in their organization? Maybe, but that was how these things worked in all organizations or guilds, which was the foundation of society. In the case of the Gnostics it wasn't necessarily designed to hide information, but to ensure that the information was presented when it would be understood (by their estimation). It's like any knowledge course. You don't start teaching physics by teaching General Relativity for example, you have to start by learning Calculus, and working your way up from there.

Is there evidence that some other groups purposefully withheld information for nefarious purposes, such as swearing oaths of fealty (Freemasons e.g.)? Absolutely, but I've seen no evidence that the Gnostics were such a group.

A group wants power, they paint a picture of utopia. Then they tell you all you know is incorrect. Then they tell you to replace your idea of reality with whatever they tell you. Then your reality is their words.

Are you describing the Christian Church or the Gnostics?

To resist it some must understand it, and not become enthralled with power.

To "resist," all you need to do is recognize that the Truth is whatever the Truth is. Stop needing the truth to be one thing or another, stop needing to "know the truth," and you will stop believing that someone else is telling it to you in their sales pitch. It is the need to "know the truth" that is the vulnerability, not the sales pitch itself.

In Gnostic philosophy, abstraction, negation, and concretion are three steps in the process of gaining knowledge or understanding something.

This is, imo, too simplistic of a view. Things like this, or the "eight fold path," etc. are just methods of reasoning. They aren't dogma. Suggesting a method of reasoning is some sort of indoctrination misses what is really going on, and forces an alignment of your own thinking on a topic.

that is how the knowledge remains secret

I haven't seen any credible evidence that the Gnostics were trying to "keep knowledge secret" from everyone else. On the contrary, it seems they wanted to share their beliefs of what was true. From what I've seen, they were saying that the truth is being kept secret from you. They were saying that others were keeping the truth secret.

Were there levels of disclosure in their organization? Maybe, but that was how these things worked in all organizations or guilds, which was the foundation of society. In the case of the Gnostics it wasn't necessarily designed to hide information, but to ensure that the information was presented when it would be understood (by their estimation). It's like any knowledge course. You don't start by teaching General Relativity for example, you have to start by learning Calculus, and working your way up from there.

Is there evidence that some other groups purposefully withheld information for nefarious purposes, such as swearing oaths of fealty (Freemasons e.g.)? Absolutely, but I've seen no evidence that the Gnostics were such a group.

A group wants power, they paint a picture of utopia. Then they tell you all you know is incorrect. Then they tell you to replace your idea of reality with whatever they tell you. Then your reality is their words.

Are you describing the Christian Church or the Gnostics?

To resist it some must understand it, and not become enthralled with power.

To "resist," all you need to do is recognize that the Truth is whatever the Truth is. Stop needing the truth to be one thing or another, stop needing to "know the truth," and you will stop believing that someone else is telling it to you in their sales pitch. It is the need to "know the truth" that is the vulnerability, not the sales pitch itself.

In Gnostic philosophy, abstraction, negation, and concretion are three steps in the process of gaining knowledge or understanding something.

This is, imo, too simplistic of a view. Things like this, or the "eight fold path," etc. are just methods of reasoning. They aren't dogma. Suggesting a method of reasoning is some sort of indoctrination misses what is really going on, and forces an alignment of your own thinking on a topic.

that is how the knowledge remains secret

I haven't seen any credible evidence that the Gnostics were trying to "keep knowledge secret" from everyone else. On the contrary, it seems they wanted to share their beliefs of what was true. From what I've seen, they were saying that the truth is being kept secret from you. They were saying that others were keeping the truth secret.

Were there levels of disclosure in their organization? Maybe, but that was how these things worked in all organizations or guilds, which was the foundation of society. In the case of the Gnostics it wasn't necessarily designed to hide information, but to ensure that the information was presented when it would be understood (by their estimation). Is there evidence that some other groups purposefully withheld information based on swearing oaths of fealty (Freemasons e.g.)? Absolutely, but I've seen no evidence that the Gnostics were such a group.

A group wants power, they paint a picture of utopia. Then they tell you all you know is incorrect. Then they tell you to replace your idea of reality with whatever they tell you. Then your reality is their words.

Are you describing the Christian Church or the Gnostics?

To resist it some must understand it, and not become enthralled with power.

To "resist," all you need to do is recognize that the Truth is whatever the Truth is. Stop needing the truth to be one thing or another, stop needing to "know the truth," and you will stop believing that someone else is telling it to you in their sales pitch. It is the need to "know the truth" that is the vulnerability, not the sales pitch itself.

In Gnostic philosophy, abstraction, negation, and concretion are three steps in the process of gaining knowledge or understanding something.

This is, imo, too simplistic of a view. Things like this, or the "eight fold path," etc. are just methods of reasoning. They aren't dogma. Suggesting a method of reasoning is some sort of indoctrination misses what is really going on, and forces an alignment of your own thinking on a topic.