Gnostic temptation/support of Christianity. Selected cases

Abstract

The scholarly controversy has shifted from a focus on the specific susceptibil­ity of early Christianity and certain Christian mystics to the seductive power of Gnostic knowledge. The present inquiry focuses on the question of whether this kind of tempta­tion is also present in contemporary European culture. In order to address this question, it is worthwhile to examine and reflect upon the perspectives of two philosophers, Nikolai Berdyaev and Jerzy Prokopiuk, who share a desire to gnostically interpret Christianity.