Frogprince: "so that you are able to arrive at "objective" spiritual truth. How can this be safely distinguished from someone who hears the voice of "God" in his head, possibly telling him to do things that any of the "robot parrots" around him would find appalling? Who "objectively" determines what is the "objective" truth?"

In regards experiencing spiritual Truth, Gnostics call that sudden overwhelming awareness "Gnosis" - a Greek term describing *divine* Knowledge, distinguished from it's mundane brother term Episteme reffering to *intellectual* knowledge.

As for the supposed "gnosis" telling someone to do 'appalling' things, some speak of "unverified personal gnosis" - in contrast to personal 'verifiable' Gnosis which has strong features common to the gnosis of others. In other words you'd have to be around people of like mind, to contrast and compare your visions or individual mystical experiences. Mind you, that it itself opens a whole great can of worms...