The Orthodox Christians and the Gnostics seemed to be at opposite poles when it came to the discussion of religion, the origin and composition of Jesus and god and the relationship of these figures to the importance of authority in the church. The Orthodox took a more strict position on these points of debate-God was only one god and the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and its analogy to the hierarchy of leaders in the church. They tried to impress upon their members the importance of respecting the authority of the bishops. The Gnostics felt that neither the church, nor the bishops did have such an important role in the matter of attaining salvation. They also argued that a punishing god of the Old Testament and the forgiving god of the New Testament were different entities. Valentinians seemed to be positioned somewhere in the middle. They agreed with the Orthodox Church, at least out loud, on the point that there was only one god. On the other hand, they disagreed with the Orthodox and agreed with the Gnostics on the lack of importance over the debate of who held authority over the worship. The Gospel of Truth was a Valentinian account of their position and where they stand on these ideas and about the matter of salvation through knowledge.