Do you think that gnosticism started before or after Christianity… and why?
I think that the gnostic movement started well before Christianity although it became most prominent in the 2nd century, CE. Gnostic thought and philosophy were adaptable to any number of philosophies and religions. There were Pagan gnostics, Christian gnostics and even Jewish gnostics. The gnostic movement took a great deal from the middle-Platonic school and neo-Platonic schools. This is probably why Christian gnosticism appears to have more than a passing familiarity, shall we say, with some Pagan elements.
