Nathan: Thanks for writing. You're correct. The ancient gnostics were the furthest thing from progressives you could get. In fact, they're kinda polar opposites. Ancient gnostics lopped off the immanent (earthly) part of reality in pursuit of their system. Modern gnostics (which includes certain strands of progressive thought) lopped off the transcendent (heavenly) part of reality in pursuit of their system. Opposites, yet the same, much like opposite sides of the same coin.