Antitactae
Encyclopedia
Antitactæ, or antitactici, in antiquity, were a sect
of gnostics
who believe that God
was good and just
, 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. 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 ancient Greek
for "I oppose; I am contrary".
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
of gnostics
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
who believe that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
was good and just
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
, but that one of his creatures had created evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
, and had engaged humans to follow it, in order to set us in opposition to God. 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 ancient Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
for "I oppose; I am contrary".