Antitactæ, orantitactici, in antiquity, were aGnosticsect who believed thatGod was good andjust, but that one of his creatures had created evil, and had engaged humans to follow it, in order to set us in opposition to God.[1] They believed that it was the duty of humanity to oppose this author of evil, in order to avenge God of his enemy. Their name is from the ancientGreek for "I oppose; I am contrary".
They are described aslicentious andantinomian gnostics, rather than as a specific sect, byPhilip Schaff'sHistory of the Christian Church.[2] Also by Schaff, they were linked withProdicians, followers ofProdicus.[2]
Clement of Alexandria argued that they sought to commitadultery to abolishGod's commandment against adultery.[1]
TheDiccionario Enciclopédico de Biblia y Teología describes them as the antinomian branch of the gnostics, viewing the rule of God as not obligatory for them, and intentional violators of it.[3] It puts theCarpocratians andBasilideans, among others, in this group.[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Antitactae".Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. | ThisGnosticism-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |