Tag: Gnostics

The Gnostics, the True Christians?

Gnosticism is one of the most fascinating and perplexing phenomena in western  theological history.   At the heart was the Greek word gnosis meaning,  “Knowledge or Direct knowledge of God”.  Existing far before its Christian descendants, Gnosis in Classical Greek meant true knowledge or wisdom depending on which ancient slide_3philosopher one reads. According to Plato, reality as perceived by the five senses is merely the surface of a highly complex and structured system. The act of seeing and recognizing this system Plato calls “ideas.” A key element in his philosophy, which would later transfer to Gnosticism and Gnostic, is the  concept that every human had a previous and thorough understanding of the structures of reality. Unfortunately, this knowledge was somehow lost. The reclaiming of this knowledge through the comprehension of reality underlying structures is Gnosis.

Gnosis in the first century was a quiet movement, adapting to the situations and locations of the societies it encountered. From early Christian literature, there is an impression that Gnosis was a threat to subvert Christianity, even though there seems to be no unified front of Gnosis during this time. The Gnostics were just a variety of independent, small sects that on the whole seem very different from each other. However, these different sects even debated the same metaphysical,  cosmologic, soteriological, and ethical themes as their more mainstream Christian counterparts.  Gnostics were the early movement of Christianity and lost the early E9F625CB-1D92-43E3-A3FC-33CC72001CE7Christian struggle to define orthodoxy.  

So who were the Gnostics?  Irenaeus of Lyon, a bishop in the late 2nd century was an enemy of the Gnostics whom he called heretics.  Irenaeus claimed that a single true Christianity originated with Jesus  and the apostles. In his view other groups, such as the Gnostics, may claim to be Christians, but they were false deviations for the one true Christianity, and all competing Christians were heretics.  Today we know Christianity was diverse from the very beginning.  Even the original apostles did not agree on a single Christian message.

One of the most striking features of the Gnostic myth as Irenaeus tells it is that the God of Genesis is  lower than the ultimate God and is arrogant, ignorant and evil. He is hostile to humans beings because humans beings have a share of the divine spirit that belongs to the  higher God.  The real name of the god who created this world is Ialdabaoth, a spiritual being who runs this universe like a tyrant.

This biblical father god of the Old Testament, also known as Yahweh or Jehovah, was hostile to human beings when he AdamEve-600x397commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, preventing them from knowing the spiritual truth.

When Adam and Eve eat from the tree, they gain gnosis, knowledge of the true God.  Eve was  encouraged to eat the fruit from a female deity  known as Sophea, (Wisdom).   As human beings continue to see true spiritual knowledge,  Yahweh grows jealous of their devotion to the higher God and causes a flood to wipe out humanity.  The higher God,  Universal Intelligence, saves Noah and his family from the Yahweh evil plot.

Finally, human beings begin to lose the knowledge that Adam and Eve gain when they ate from the tree, but Universal Intelligence sends Jesus to restore this lost gnosis and rescue them from Yahweh and his fellow rulers. 5a4da62576d47c9081ee29e510cd504e

The Gnostic Version of the Garden of Eden is much like the Sumerian Tablets and  the Law of One Yahweh is mentioned 19 times and agrees with much of what the Gnostics said about the God of the Old Testament.

Orthodox Christianity created the idea of heresy to condemn the Gnostics quest for higher knowledge because of the different belief system. Early Christians wanted a single harmonious system and considered themselves as a single body of Christ and did not want any division. Overtime, people who followed the Gnostics were considered godless and imperious members of a school of thought and therefore heretics. Some in the Christian religion still believe that today. The destruction of their sacred texts was inevitable, so some hid them in caves and various other places so they could not be found.

In 1945, one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century occurred. Thirteen ancient codices containing over 50 texts of Gnostic works were found in caves in Upper Egypt untouched by scribes. All of these can be found in the Nag Hammadi Library.

The discovery in 1945 provides a new and refreshing school of thought about spiritualitygnostic-christ-1024x791 and Jesus message. The discovery also came at a time when it could be shared with the world and not suppressed as it was for the last twenty centuries. Jesus is a teacher of wisdom and understanding, speaking in metaphors and parables of love and enlightenment. Much different from the sin and repentance as the Church teaches. Since the discovery and publications, the Gospel of Thomas has been the most celebrated of the 50 ancient texts discovered in 1945.

 Jesus said in saying 5 of the Gospel of Thomas,  “Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you . For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest.”  Have we come to a time when all the secrets of the world are manifesting?  Gnosticism was not confined to the Christians but is part of the belief systems of Sufism and the Saints of India and other eastern mystics. Gnosticism is not only alive but reemerging in a world that needs much love and wisdom.

The Bible, Reincarnation, Meditation and the Third Eye

Does the Bible teach us about reincarnation and meditation and the third eye?  Before we explore these important questions, it is important to understand how the bible of today came into existence. In the second and third centuries, Christianity was very diverse and different groups of Christians had different beliefs including the Gnostics; they debated and argued the nature of God and how many gods there were; about Crowd-of-Ancient-Roman-Men-who Jesus was, whether he was human, or divine of the soul, or something else; some believed knowledge of our true selves as the way, the world we live in, the nature and extent of the scriptures, and on and on with every conceivable concept . There were, in fact, so many different groups of early Christians that believed so many differ things, that scholars today prefer to speak not of early Christianity but of Early Christianities, encompassing a wide varieties of different beliefs.

Constantine the Great, also known as Constantine I, became Roman Emperor in 306 CE and ruled until 337 CE. Many of his soldiers converted to Christianity, and in 312 CE he converted to Christianity. According to a biography of Constantine written by Eusebius, images 1Constantine was deeply disturbed on the eve of a significant battle and wonder how he could receive divine assistance for his military cause. Constantine claimed that the night before the battle he had a dream of the cross and was told in his dream that this was the sign that would give him victory. He went into battle and emerged victorious. There are doubts this was genuine because Constantine continued to worship other divinities, the god of the sun.

The Roman empire was vast and was fragmented culturally, politically and religiously. Emperor Constantine saw Christianity as a unify force. In 325 CE, Constantine called for7d535873eb96e4adf03324e3e3a76941--ecumenical-council-orthodox-icons a council of 318 bishops from around the world to resolve the question. In what sense was Jesus God. Arius’s supporters maintained that Jesus was a subordinate divinity the creation of God the father and came into being at some point in time. After much debate of the issues, the council decided against the views of Arius and his followers. All but 20 bishops agreed with the decision and after Constantine twisted their arms, 17 of those 20 signed on the Nicene Creed. That was the first of the seven ecumenical councils of the church, the last being the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The debating and arguing was much like today in the United States Congress and probably  in most governments around the world.

Before the 4th century, there is little or no evidence of all the biblical books appearing together in a single form.  Instead the biblical writings are found individually in scrolls or codexes  or in loose collections. Before the invention of printing in the 15th century, all productions was handwritten by scribes.

images1The theory of reincarnation is said to have been recorded in the Bible. But the proper interpretations were struck from it during an Ecumenical Council meeting of the Catholic Church in Constantinople sometime around 553 A.D.

There is a reference to reincarnation in Matthew 17:12, “But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

Meditation is mentioned in the old testament numerous times.  One should consider meditation and prayer are one in the same.

The third eye is mentioned in Matthew 6:22  when Jesus said, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

Jesus also said in Luke 8:17 “For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be known and illuminated”  and again in Luke 12:2 “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,or hidden that will not be made known”  and also in Matthew 10:26  “So do not be afraid of them.For nothing is concealed that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not be made known”.

Was Jesus message about ourselves hidden in  ancient texts are being found around the world?  Perhaps one such finding was in 1945, when thirteen ancient texts called “codices” were discovered in upper Egypt untouched by scribes. They were translated during the 1970’s and can be found in the The Nag Hammadi Library. Scriptures such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Truth were found, and label as Gnostic Gospels thought to be destroyed during the early Christian struggle to define “orthodoxy.”   Edgar Cayce said the Gnostics were the highest form of Christianity.  Is that why Scholars are now JB-Rumi-Quotestudying such text?

Perhaps we should not consider any one religion or concept,  but all world teachings.  Jesus taught the way of Love,  Buddha taught the way of Meditation, many  spiritual traditions the way of the third eye,  and Chakras our energy centers,   and the Law of One teaches unity, all providing a message and guidance from our Creator to find our way home.

We are all taking or final exam in life. I prefer not to put my fate in whether I pass or fail based on bickering and arguing men through the centuries. This is the time for enlightenment for those who are seeking. The world is at our fingertips for those who want to know the truth, simply use the gift of discernment.

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