Johnson on "the New Gnosticism"

Emory's Luke Timothy Johnson has an article (no link yet) in the current (anniversary edition) of Commonweal.  The article is called "A New Gnosticism," and suggests a "genuine analogy between the situation of the church today and the challenge Gnosticism presented to the church in the mid-second century."  Johnson develops the argument that "four characteristics of contemporary Christian thinking" -- "superior knowledge given by historical consciousness, individualism, preference for the universal over the particular, and for spirituality over religion" -- amount to "a new form of dualism" that "corresponds roughly to the ancient Gnostic dislike of the body."

Obviously, there's a lot more to the article than this summary suggests.  The observation that grabbed my attention, though -- and that seems most relevant to MOJ's subject matter -- is that the "reduced significance of the institutional church in the lives of most Christians" makes the above-mentioned "four characteristics" all the more worrisome.  Certainly, one of the persistent themes in contemporary law-and-religion discussions concerns the role of groups, associations, churches, and institutions in religious-liberty law and discourse.  Johnson's article could add a lot to these discussions.  Find it if you can!

Rick