Who was the First Gnostic?

What if the earliest known Christian theologian was also the first Gnostic? And, to complicate things further - what if basically everything we’ve “known” about him has been wrong for over 1800 years? Basilides was a Christian theologian said to have learned the Gospel from Matthias - successor to Judas or alleged author of that Gospel, or both or neither - who flourished in the early to mid 2nd century in Alexandria Egypt. And, like all Christians accepted the salvific nature of the Christ Event - the baptism, teachings, and ascension of Jesus - but, we are given wildly different articulations of his actual teachings, most of which actually conflict with the few, 19 surviving fragments of his writings. What can we learn about this earliest Christian theologian? Did he preach of a Non-existent God, emanating various Son-Ships, powers and angels - one of which one was Yahweh - unfolding as 365 heavens ruled over by the mysterious Abrasax or Abraxas? Was the crucifixion of Christ an elaborate trick, with Jesus never nailed to the cross? Did he deny martyrdom as a mistaken subservience to the world of the flesh? Do even the ancient heresy hunters agree on the fundamentals of his theology? What do the surviving fragments of his own writings actually reveal? Let’s explore the theology of one of the earliest known Christian theologians and Gnostics - Basilides. Consider Supporting Esoterica! Patreon -   / esotericachannel   Merch -    / @theesotericachannel   New to Studying Esotericism? Check out my Reading Guide here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c... Rare Occult Books - https://www.esotericaoccultbooks.com/ Recommended Readings: Litwa - Basilides: The Oldest Gnostic - https://link.amazon/B0e7DMDcY Brill - A Companion to Second-Century Christian 'Heretics'