Gnosticism

Coming from the Greek word for 'knowledge' (gnosis), Gnosticism was a religious movement roughly contemporaneous with, and often viewed as a threat to, early Christianity. Adherents to the movement claimed to possess secret spiritual knowledge (gnosis) leading to an enlightenment accessible only to the initiated. In particular, such knowledge (gnosis) could deliver one from captivity to the material world. As such, Gnosticism generally disdained the goodness of material Creation while denying the real, physical humanity of Jesus Christ.