Christianity
The "GOSPEL OF THOMAS" > fact or fiction
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silverglass

Many scholars are amassing the recently discovered ancient extra canonical writings and calling for the western churches to reconsider these documents as genuine biblical sources for furthering the development of Christianity’s understanding of faith and practice. Elaine Pagels's book "Beyond Belief" explores the reasons why western christianity has left these out of the canon and reasons that this was done with a particular agenda in mind. This agenda was masterminded by the church Father Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons. Pagel is a renowned religious scholar who continues her groundbreaking examination of the earliest christian texts, arguing for an ongoing assessment of faith and a questioning for religious orthodoxy. One of the main questions that has risen for scholars to contemplate is ‘ Why was the existing canon formulated to exclude these writings? If these writings existed during the same period of time then who is to say they are were not written for posterity.
Some other documents discovered at Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt in 1945 are the " Apocalypse of Peter”, “ The Acts of John” and The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene
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replied to:  silverglass
electricthot
Replied to:  Many scholars are amassing the recently discovered ancient extra...
If one is sincerely searching for truth, you will find something true in everything in God's creation. I personally have been inspired by the Gospel of Thomas, and believe God hid it till these end times. I believe the truth about 2012 consciousness can be better understood through prayerful reflections on the teachings of Jesus as recorded by Thomas.
One of my favorite teachings is where Jesus told the disciples they needed to understand their beginning before they worried about their destiny.
Another is "When you understand yourselves you will be understood. And you will realize that you are Sons of the living Father. If you do not know yourselves, then you exist in poverty and you are that poverty."
And; "Blessed are those who have been persecuted within themselves. They have really come to know the Father."
"Blessed are those who are hungry in order to fill the bellies of the needy."
But the teaching that says it all is in the other Gospels, also, though it is largely ignored because it is hard to understand. And that is where Jesus tells us the Kingdom of the Father (Heaven) is within us. Go figure.
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replied to:  electricthot
silverglass
Replied to:  If one is sincerely searching for truth, you...
Are you then or do you consider yourself a Gnostic?
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replied to:  silverglass
electricthot
Replied to:  Are you then or do you consider yourself a Gnostic?...
By know means, tho I am aware of an inner knowing "no-brainer" solidity to knowledge in me that is mine to explore, but not to change. It arises in awareness from implicit planes.
But there is another knowing, the awareness that what we call our life's narrative, or story,is creating explicitly. And the only absolute truth that occurs here is the personal truth of our lives and actions. Our Love will survive the grave; the purpose of death (in part) is to free us from our sins.
But respect for Life begins at home. We are just now evolving to see this. And just as we come to know our Life, Mother Nature is going to drag us thru an extinction event, The Great Tribulation, to cull for the best of us. If God is Love, then Love is God, and all who believe in Love believe in the same God. And respect for all Life births new Life.
I don't think my faith in Christ (God's promised annointed one) is sufficient to save my Life/Soul (from itself). I am saved because Christ believes in me. He would never have allowed me to come into being, let alone experience suffering.
Consciously, Jesus was God's seed. He was God's exact representation condensed to human form. He is proud of the vast individualized diversity emerging in us.
But I believe everything was created through Christ, for Christ. He came to reclaim the entire creation. From us. None of us has it right! We'll all be surprised/shamed at his appearing.
And I can't help but wonder, if Jesus is returning to earth, why are some in a hurry to escape, some have even crafted clever lies about it being "rapturous to scurry out of here just as Jesus returns. Besides, when Jesus was talking about one "being taken....", Matt 24:37-41 says: 37. "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38. "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39. "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40. "Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41. "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
If you'll notice, the winners in this deal are left behind. Go figure!
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silverglass
Replied to:  By know means, tho I am aware of an inner knowing...
You Stated the following:
1>I don't think my faith in Christ (God's promised annointed one) is sufficient to save my Life/Soul (from itself). I am saved because Christ believes in me.


The author of the book of Hebrews states that we must have faith! >And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Paul states that he is dead to himself and alive to christ! >I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. > Galations 2:20

Jesus said , I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins." John 8:24

2>He would never have allowed me to come into being, let alone experience suffering.
Jesus tells us the following
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

3>Consciously, Jesus was God's seed. He was God's exact representation condensed to human form.
But in the book of Hebrews it emphatically states the Jesus is divine!
But to the Son He says:
“ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. Hebrews 1:8

How do you answer these statements with what you are saying in your last responses?
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replied to:  silverglass
electricthot
Replied to:  You Stated the following: 1>I don't think my faith in Christ...
It is because of my depravity that i think I'm right. I am neither all right nor all wrong. I have only my part to create. without the collective, i am nothing.
god is love. as i create love, i create God. I am creating dimensions of consciousness for God to explore and exploit. Right now I am creating from Grace.
we are all creating ourselves from this grace-state. And our creator is at his best in human generosity. and our diligent quest for truth.
Jesus said one act of love in a Life would guarantee eternal life. Matt 1o:42 "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.''
we will all be surprised when God's Christ is revealed in our hearts (2012?).
The revealing of the Mind of Christ in the heart of man is what 2012 anticipation is all about.
Jesus is coming to earth, where He established His Kingdom long before man stood up, and fell off his branch/root.
I want to be here to say "I told you so!"
But no one of us will be able to turn to his neighbor and say "I told you aso". We wii be aware we are all in the same mold.
may god have Mercy on us all, for we are sinful flesh.
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replied to:  silverglass
electricthot
Replied to:  You Stated the following: 1>I don't think my faith in Christ...
The only point I would care to make here is that to believe in love, is to believe in god. and it doesn't matter what name i give him, or what sex she/he is, or the color of it's skin, etc.; if i propagate love i propagate God. if i let him,(which my very resistance proves my depravity) he will splatter his love all over my world, all over my loved ones, and eventually into other worlds He will create thru me.
www.electricthot.xanga.com
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silverglass
Replied to:  The only point I would care to make here is that...
If you believe your depravity calls into question the viability of any true statements or cancels any absolute understanding of truth then whatever you post is ultimately questionable.
You have put yourself between a rock and a hard place. Whatever one says about God whether he is a she or what color skin or the statement that god is love is tainted by the way a depraved creature views things. What you view through a depraved lens ultimately is a imperfect image! If we are seeking the truth about a perfect transcendent being then it can only be found in an uncorrupted revelation. Otherwise it will be tainted by depraved creatures and therefore is suspect of error.
My point is this, “ if Jesus is revealing an uncorrupted message then he cannot be like us”. Ultimately only an perfect person/God can reveal the truth to us. And if we are careful to study the texts that Jesus himself referred to about himself we will find that it reveals that he is divine.
So with those texts in hand we can look at the prophecies and connect the dots to what the prophets of old stated about him and what those documents of the old and new testaments are saying about God’s plan of salvation that was revealed through Christ.
Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God”.
This word of God are these spirit filled texts left to us by the prophets of old and the apostles who wrote under the inspiration of the holy spirit. No other book contains this revelation. All attempts to write about truth or intellectualize about truth are forgeries which when compared to the message of Christ as found in the New testament cannon are found to be mere inventions of men!
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RandMSutor
Replied to:  Many scholars are amassing the recently discovered ancient extra...

God Wants You To Know Something
(An Interesting Fact)

God wants you to know that just because you believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world that that is not enough to get you to Heaven. Even if you go to church on a regular basis, knowing that Jesus died for your sins is not enough.

Whether you go to church or not, you probably think of yourself as a pretty good person. You probably pat yourself on the back when you think of the times you've helped out some others by giving them a few bucks to help them on their way, or the rides you've given to hitchhikers and even went out of your way to help them get where they were going. I'll bet you thought it was the Christian thing to do and that God smiled down on you, right? You know what? The Bible is full of examples of good deeds being done by well meaning people, and God likes it when we help each other out, He really does! In fact, He's the one who said "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

But does that mean that everyone who does a good deed now and then is going to Heaven? Be honest with yourself. What are you TRUSTING-IN to get you there? Be very serious about this: check your heart and say out loud (to your-self) what it is you are trusting in to get you to Heaven. Take a few moments for this.

It might be the church you attend? Some people believe they're going to Heaven because of the church they attend. But church was meant to be a place to point people TO Christ, not TAKE THE PLACE of Christ. If you are trusting in the church you attend, you are falling short of God's requirements for entering Heaven.

Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me." He did not say He is one of many ways. He said He is "THE" Way. I am not attacking your church, I'm only asking you to openly admit "to yourself" exactly what you are trusting in to get you to Heaven. Why? Because there are over four hundred church denominations in this country alone and each one of them believes something different.

Guess what? If you are still not much interested in what I'm saying because you staunchly believe in your church (your church doctrine, etc.) then I have helped you to expose your true belief. And that is that you are trusting in your church to get you to Heaven rather than Christ.

There is a way to know of absolute certainty, while still in this life, that you have the gift of eternal life. And believe me, it is a gift indeed. It cannot be earned, but can only be received by faith. You might think you have Biblical faith but the Bible tells us that "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." God wants you to know that when you put your faith "in Him" He will give you "evidence" or proof of your redemption now. It's called being born-again! This term has been tossed-about a lot lately, but it's not new. Jesus said in John 3: 3 "Verily, verily, I say unto you (this means "very important") Except a man be born-again he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

God is asking you to put your faith in the unseen, "in Him."
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