The faith of a Gnostic

There seems to be some misunderstandings about Gnostics and their relation to "faith" as a substantial force in religious thinking.Some believe that Gnostics require no faith - they simply "know" what they have to. To an extent, this is true. This has led some to believe that Gnosis is impossible to reach because they just don't "know" what it is they're supposed to know. It's also led to an elitist theory of Gnosticism by those who question its validity, in that we are perceived as believing that only we "know." I will try to shed some light on this, and help clarify a little.Faith, in and of itself, is a very important step in the Gnostic path. In order to first start down your path, you have to feel some problem in the world - more or less a feeling of "this isn't right." For the Religious, we might call this "questioning your faith." It is only questioning your faith in someone else's beliefs, however.It might then seem a little lonely because one feels that there is no one who thinks the same. Some might like this feeling of isolation, and a feeling of rebellion of the Whole can take place. This is not always bad, or even mostly bad, as it is just another way to walk down the path.For the Gnostic, to start down a path to Gnosis is to have faith that he/she will become aware of Gnosis. You have to believe it's there in order to proceed. If you are of the belief that the idea of realizing Gnosis is all illusion, you will more than likely drown yourself out of the sensations neccesary to realize Gnosis.When Gnosis is finally surfaced - when it is brought to the conscious level - it is only then that it becomes a matter of "knowing." Faith is no longer a big issue, but it is still there. You have to have faith in your knowledge to believe it's real. You have to know that what you are feeling is real, and you have to believe it's real. This, of course, is not a big problem. It's like believing you got cut when you see your finger bleeding. To put it lightly, Gnosticism is a faithful religious practice. However, it's not based off faith, it's based off the experience of Gnosis. The goal is not to stop at faith, but to keep going until it's no longer a matter of faith. Once that point is reached, a maze of other reflective goals appear, so that it never satisfies a person to stop searching for deeper and better understanding of said knowledge.Faith is not salvific. Faith is merely a step towards that salvation. Gnosis is the goal.