abuse of terms: gnostic, piety, experience

Modern day Christians who reference the word, or term, 'gnosticism' or 'gnostic' should be required to provide a detailed definition of what they think that term means as they are using it.

I find that there is a basic non-understanding of materialism vs. idealism (or secular definitions of those two things) vis-a-vis Biblical truth. Most Christians who reference 'gnosticism' in some way invariable have some kind of biological determinism sense of materialism in mind vs. some kind of Platonic forms sense of idealism in mind.

The Bible teaches hierarchy of materiality. You have to lose the secular definitions. A thought is as material as a stone, just a more refined level of material.

But you see this introduces scale, or hierarchy, into the equation which is really what the mainstream Christian thinker is rebelling against. 9 out of 10 times when I read a Christian or theologian (or both combined) using the term 'gnostic' or 'gnosticism' they are really attacking any notion of hierarchy or scale in God's creation (rather than attacking anything having to do with early century gnostic heresy which is a rather stump dumb mix of nonsense). It is a devilish part of human nature to want to deny hierarchy because ultimately faith is a recognition of hierarchy (of chain-of-command, actually, with God as Commander-In-Chief). This recognition is the death of Vanity, worldly pride, and self-will.

I find that the word 'piety' and 'experience' (and add, ahh!, 'subjectivism' to that) are similarly abused by mainstream Christians in an attempt to fight off things they just really don't want to have anything to do with: in their case, respectively, assaulting self and heaven; and recognizing - accepting - that regeneration is effected, when it is, by the Word and the Spirit.