Because gnosticism is a disputed term, and the groups conventionally considered gnostic were not part of a single movement, treating their belief systems as uniform is problematic. However, these groups’ mythologies tended to differ thematically from Christianity in their characterization of God and in their focus.

Christianity emphasizes the transcendence of one God and the salvation of all willing human beings from estrangement from God through the bodily death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is both fully human and fully divine. In contrast, many gnostic groups developed mythologies that differentiate between an inferior creator of the world, called a demiurge, and a higher god. These mythologies also tend to emphasize salvation of select humans from bodily existence through their awakening to the knowledge (gnosis) of their original divine identity.