Podcast Summary – Simply Put: "Gnosticism"

Host: Barry Cooper (Ligonier Ministries)
Release Date: October 7, 2025
Episode Focus: Explaining the theological concept of Gnosticism in an accessible, engaging way, and contrasting it with biblical Christianity.

Episode Overview

Barry Cooper unpacks the term "Gnosticism"—a prominent and historically influential worldview that regarded the spiritual realm as good and the material world, including the human body, as evil. Through practical illustrations and biblical examples, Cooper outlines how Gnosticism contrasts sharply with the Christian understanding of the physical world and the incarnation of Christ.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Our View of the Body (00:00)

• Cooper opens by highlighting two extremes in attitudes toward our bodies:
  • Worship of the Body: Obsessing over physical beauty and fitness, treating the gym like a temple.
  • Despising the Body: Seeing the body as an obstacle to "true" spirituality.
• Quote:
  • Barry Cooper (00:12): "We celebrate physical beauty as if it were a moral virtue and the gym becomes our church. On the other extreme, there are those who think of the body as an obstacle to true spirituality. That view of the body is what we might call Gnostic."

2. What is Gnosticism? (00:32)

• Gnosticism is described as a "cocktail" of various religious and philosophical ideas: Persian, Egyptian, Jewish, Christian, and Greek philosophy.
• The word “Gnosis” is Greek for “knowledge.”
• Foundational Belief:
  • Gnostics believe they possess secret, higher knowledge—an enlightened inner circle.
  • Quote:
    • Barry Cooper (00:56): "To say you were a Gnostic was to say, I know something you don't. I'm in on the secret. I've been enlightened, I've woken up, I'm spiritually on a higher level."

3. Gnosticism’s View of Spirituality and the Body (01:17)

• Gnostics draw a sharp line: Spirit is good, matter is evil—so the body is something to escape.
• Historical Example:
  • Simon Magus in Acts 8 is referenced as the "first Gnostic," presenting himself as spiritually superior.
• Gnostics believed Jesus came to give hidden knowledge (gnosis) that rescues people from the physical world.
• Crucially, they couldn't accept that God truly took on human flesh—believing instead that Jesus just appeared human (“like putting on a mouldy smelling old coat”).

4. Why Gnosticism Fails Biblically (02:19)

• The Incarnation:
  • Christianity asserts Jesus is both fully God and fully human, a reality necessary for true atonement.
• Scriptural Rejection:
  • 2 John 7: Denying Jesus came in the flesh is a hallmark of unbelief.
  • Genesis 1: God called the material world "good."
• Sin vs. Physicality:
  • Cooper emphasizes that evil and dysfunction in creation result from sin, not from material existence.
  • Quote:
    • Barry Cooper (03:15): "Scripture nowhere says that matter is intrinsically evil. On the contrary, as it says in Genesis chapter one, God made everything good."

5. The Positive Christian View of the Body (03:46)

• Christians affirm and celebrate the physical: feasting, bodily joy, and the senses.
• God intends not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater," but to redeem the body.
• Quote:
  • Barry Cooper (04:10): "The senses we have—taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing—and the body itself are not in themselves things that the triune God is embarrassed by or wants us to somehow grow out of. He made these things, and he promises to redeem them."

6. “Functional Gnosticism” Among Christians (04:36)

• Many Christians inadvertently slip into Gnostic thinking, picturing the holy person as disembodied, like "Ben Kenobi after he dies—so holy they're almost invisible."
• Contrast with Jesus:
  • Even after resurrection, Jesus is "defiantly physical," eating broiled fish and inviting touch.
  • Biblical Reference: Luke 24: “Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.”

7. The Christian Hope (05:22)

• The Christian future is resurrection—"actual flesh and bone bodies fully and finally delivered not from physicality, but from sin."
• Summary Quote:
  • Barry Cooper (05:37): "That is the Christian view of the body, and that is the future we have to look forward to—actual flesh and bone bodies fully and finally delivered not from physicality, but from sin."

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "We celebrate physical beauty as if it were a moral virtue and the gym becomes our church." — Barry Cooper (00:12)
• "To say you were a Gnostic was to say, I know something you don't. I'm in on the secret. I've been enlightened, I've woken up, I'm spiritually on a higher level." — Barry Cooper (00:56)
• "Scripture nowhere says that matter is intrinsically evil. On the contrary...God made everything good." — Barry Cooper (03:15)
• "The senses...are not in themselves things that the triune God is embarrassed by or wants us to somehow grow out of. He made these things, and he promises to redeem them." — Barry Cooper (04:10)
• "That view of spirituality is thrown out of the window when we consider Christ...he is defiantly physical. He even has an appetite. And of all things, he eats broiled fish." — Barry Cooper (04:56)
• "That is the Christian view of the body, and that is the future we have to look forward to—actual flesh and bone bodies fully and finally delivered not from physicality, but from sin." — Barry Cooper (05:37)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Introduction: How do you view your body? Two extremes.
• 00:32 – Defining Gnosticism: Historical background, obsession with knowledge.
• 01:17 – The Gnostic view: Body as evil, Jesus as only "appearing" human.
• 02:19 – Why true incarnation matters; Scripture versus Gnosticism.
• 03:46 – Christian affirmation of physicality; the goodness of creation.
• 04:36 – “Functional Gnosticism” today; the reality of Christ’s resurrection body.
• 05:22 – The Christian hope: Resurrection, bodily redemption.

Summary Flow and Tone

Barry Cooper’s tone remains friendly, accessible, and gently humorous throughout. He dismantles misconceptions with clarity and memorable illustrations, ensuring listeners appreciate both the ancient error of Gnosticism and the beauty of biblical, embodied Christianity.

Conclusion

This episode serves both as a theological primer on Gnosticism and a vibrant reminder of Christianity’s delight in creation. Barry Cooper encourages listeners to reject both extremes—worship of the body and disdain for it—in favor of gratitude for God’s good creation and resurrection hope.