>>6605285 (pb)

No.

The Gnostics pissed off the Apostles wayyyy back.

Who were the early Gnostics? Hellenistic Jews.

Where did the majority of the Hellenized Jews live? Alexandria.

“Many scholars are inclined to believe that gnosticism is built upon Hellenistic-Jewish foundations and can be traced to centers like Alexandria, which had a large Jewish population. Polemics in the writings of the Jewish philosopher Philo, who himself was an opponent of local heresies, make it clear that he knew Jewish groups that had already formulated certain basic elements of gnosticism, though a consistent system did not yet exist in pre-Christian times.”

http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/patrology/schoolofalex/I-Intro/chapter4.html

Here’s the kicker. Who hauled Stephen before the Sanhedrin, resulting in his death? Hellenized Jews in Alexandria.

The Arrest of Stephen - Acts 6:8-10

8) Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9) But resistance arose from what was known as the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen, 10) but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.…

This was a theological dispute between several groups of Hellenized Jews and Stephen, which ultimately ended with Stephens death.

Who were the original Gnostics? Hellenized Jews. “Despite the scholarly disagreements there is a general consensus that the Synagogue of the Freedmen mentioned in Acts 6:9 was a Greek-speaking synagogue of the first century Hellenized Diaspora Jews.”

https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/jewish-studies/jerusalem-synagogue-freedmen-prof-peter-shirokov-eteacherbiblical/

**”At present, many scholars are inclined to believe that gnosticism is built upon Hellenistic-Jewish foundations and can be traced to centers like Alexandria, which had a large Jewish population. Polemics in the writings of the Jewish philosopher Philo, who himself was an opponent of local heresies, make it clear that he knew Jewish groups that had already formulated certain basic elements of gnosticism, though a consistent system did not yet exist in pre-Christian times.”

http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/patrology/schoolofalex/I-Intro/chapter4.html