Sarah Hinlicky Wilson tells of an encounter with a man desperate to know a secret:
Why do some people chase after heresy, seek out cults, accept bizarre religious dogmas, experiment with wacky rituals? Nine times out of ten it isn't because of a profound and intellectual departure from the traditional doctrine of the church. It's because the heretical thing fills some need, and the orthodox thing touches some weakness or pain.
This poor man got tripped up by the lust for gnosis, the spawning ground for heresies old and new. Gnosis, the secret knowledge hidden from the ordinary folk, sets the bearer apart and above. It's an infatuation with mystery taken to a prideful extreme. I remember well even at the age of five the extreme satisfaction I felt in knowing for certain of three people in hell: Judas, Pilate, and Hitler. Gnosis flatters human vanity and polishes it with the luster of spiritual authority.
Once while teaching a class on Revelation I saw a hand from the back pew way back in the far corner of the auditorium.
"Do you think there's a lost code book to Revelation?"
Somewhat stunned, I managed to answer, "Well if there was God apparently intended that we not have it or He would have protected it for our use."
Ever since then I've wished that my response had been: "Yes, I do, and I have a copy in my office!"
Ah, the lure of inside information.
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