 He uses Rodney Stark and William Bainbridge's sociological theory on traditional religion, sects and cults.According to Logan, the Gnostics were a cult, at odds with the society at large.According to Michael Allen Williams, the concept of Gnosticism as a distinct religious tradition is questionable, since "gnosoi" was a pervasive characteristics of many religious traditions in antiquity, and not restricted to the so-called Gnostic systems.