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The Gnostic Gospels: The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus including the Lost Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, John and Mary Magdalene
- GenresChristianitySpirituality
Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2021
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October 12, 2022
Great book. It was a compilation of quotes from Jesus. The quotes were matched with bible quotes when appropriate. The best parts of the book were when how the Gospels were put together. How one influenced the others. The background of the apostles and writers of the gospels were also described. This was important because it explained the writing style and in many ways the goal of the gospel.
The Gospel Of Mary was summarized but how she was portrayed or not portrayed by and in the other gospels was very telling. This is especially true in regard to Peter. Mary's role was diminished even though through the other gospels, she is seen as a main character in the life of Jesus.
Gold
1 - The Pharisees were famous for concentrating on religious ritual at the expense of religious substance. The Law of Moses was their end, rather than the Messiah among them.
2- The disciples want to see the place called Heaven, but Heaven is the person of Jesus Christ. The light of Heaven is contained within a person, rather than a place we travel to. We recall that Jesus tells us he is the literal resurrection, (Jn 11:25). So too is Jesus our literal Heaven.
3- In the Gospel of John, the theme of light is especially important. “The Word is the Light which shines upon all people who come into this world.” This means all people, not just Christians or gnostics. Yeshua declares himself as the Light incarnate: “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me walks not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
4- Do not let yourself be guided by those who do not have the experience of which they speak. Intuitively, we know to beware of those who eagerly offer “good advice.” As the Indian sage Nisargadatta said, “Those who know what is good for others are dangerous people.”
5- “The Pharisees and the scribes have received the keys of knowledge and hidden them. They did not go within, and those who wanted to go there were prevented by them. As for you, be as alert as the serpent and as simple as the dove”.
6- knowing? Vast knowledge without inner transformation is an illusion.
7 - Fasting is considered a useful spiritual tool.
8-Adam was a man of light until he tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the tree of dualistic and subjective knowledge (“What makes me happy I call good, what makes me unhappy I call evil”). It could also be described as the tree of egocentric knowledge. To eat of its mortal fruit is to elevate the small self, the ego, to the status of critic and judge of what is good and bad.
9- Relative reality shows us that we are dust and return to dust. “All that is composed, shall be decomposed,” as Jesus says in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. But there is another reality, one that shows: “We are light, and return to light.” Within us is a sun that never sets, a peace and wakefulness toward which our infinite desire yearns unceasingly. Relative reality shows us that we are either male or female; but full reality shows us that we are both. Gnostics claim that an integration of our masculine and feminine polarities is possible, reaching toward a realized human being that does not love from lack, but rather from fullness. Then our love becomes not merely a thirst, but instead an overflowing fountain
10-Spirit forms matter, spirit forms spirit, spirit forms events. Consider that anything that can be described in terms of logic, will, virtue, act, emotion, mathematics or physical law has these same immaterial spirits or qualities as its foundation. It is commonly known that energy and matter are the same substance in different configurations. Spirit, matter and events, likewise have an equivalence. Gospel accounts of this equivalence are the episodes in which Jesus makes bread, arms, legs (Mt 15:31), from nothing but his will; even events may be formed; the many biblical prophecies by Jesus and others link moral action to distant future events. Immaterial acts are real, and have real effect in our world, beginning with ourselves. “Spiritual efficacy” is the principle of the real effect of spirit.
11 - The Gospel of Mary certainly raises issues about whether the disciples are ready to take up the apostolic mission by depicting the majority of them as timid and uncomprehending, if not antagonistic. Their unwillingness to spread the gospel suggests that some of the disciples have misunderstood the Savior's teachings. They are still enslaved to their bodies, and they appear to be under the control of the world's Powers. They have not discovered the child of real Humanity within themselves, nor have they conformed to the ideal Human Image.
12-The attacks of Peter and Andrew on Mary show that they are still ruled by passions and false beliefs; they have yet to achieve inner peace, and are causing strife among the disciples out of jealously and ignorance.
13-Because "you love what deceives you," the Savior tells his disciples; they fall sick and die (GMary 3:7-8). Peter's flaw is his inability to see beyond fleshly distinctions to the spiritual traits required for leadership. He appears to "enjoy" the status that his masculine sex-gender bestows on him, which causes pride and jealously. The moment in which Levi corrects Peter's misunderstanding demonstrates one of the most common ways in which individuals are misled by the body. Authority should be based on spiritual success, not on whether one is a man or a woman, let alone on socially prescribed gender roles and sexual reproduction. Those who have advanced further than others are responsible for caring for and instructing them.
14-The wording and concepts in the Gospel of Mary are strikingly similar to those in Paul's letters. There are strong parallels between Romans 7 and Mary's Gospel 3-4. 3:3–8, 10–13: Mary 3:3–8, 10–13: The Savior said, "There is no such thing as sin; rather you yourselves are what generates sin when you behave in line with the nature of adultery, which is called 'sin.' As a result, God came among you, pursuing (the good) that is inherent in all nature. It will anchor it to its root." Then he went on. "This is why you get sick and die," he explained, "because you love what deceives you."
15-The Gospel of Mary directly challenges the validity of such claims, instead offering a vision of Christian community in which authority is based not solely, or even primarily, on a succession of previous witnesses, but on understanding and appropriating the gospel.
16-The weeds, however, were sown by the apostles themselves, according to the Gospel of Mary. Men like Peter and Andrew misunderstood the Savior's teaching and caused strife in the community. According to the master tale, Jesus fixed the entire doctrine of Christianity and passed it down through the Church's doctrines. The Gospel of Mary, on the other hand, implies that the gospel's tale is incomplete. Christian theory and practice are not set dogmas that can only be accepted or rejected; rather, Christians must enter the tale and collaborate to form the meaning of the gospel in their own time. Because human passions and love of the world lead to mistake, recognizing the truth necessitates work, and it demands that communities of religion take responsibility for how they appropriate tradition in a world too frequently governed by powers of injustice and domination
The Gospel Of Mary was summarized but how she was portrayed or not portrayed by and in the other gospels was very telling. This is especially true in regard to Peter. Mary's role was diminished even though through the other gospels, she is seen as a main character in the life of Jesus.
Gold
1 - The Pharisees were famous for concentrating on religious ritual at the expense of religious substance. The Law of Moses was their end, rather than the Messiah among them.
2- The disciples want to see the place called Heaven, but Heaven is the person of Jesus Christ. The light of Heaven is contained within a person, rather than a place we travel to. We recall that Jesus tells us he is the literal resurrection, (Jn 11:25). So too is Jesus our literal Heaven.
3- In the Gospel of John, the theme of light is especially important. “The Word is the Light which shines upon all people who come into this world.” This means all people, not just Christians or gnostics. Yeshua declares himself as the Light incarnate: “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me walks not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
4- Do not let yourself be guided by those who do not have the experience of which they speak. Intuitively, we know to beware of those who eagerly offer “good advice.” As the Indian sage Nisargadatta said, “Those who know what is good for others are dangerous people.”
5- “The Pharisees and the scribes have received the keys of knowledge and hidden them. They did not go within, and those who wanted to go there were prevented by them. As for you, be as alert as the serpent and as simple as the dove”.
6- knowing? Vast knowledge without inner transformation is an illusion.
7 - Fasting is considered a useful spiritual tool.
8-Adam was a man of light until he tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the tree of dualistic and subjective knowledge (“What makes me happy I call good, what makes me unhappy I call evil”). It could also be described as the tree of egocentric knowledge. To eat of its mortal fruit is to elevate the small self, the ego, to the status of critic and judge of what is good and bad.
9- Relative reality shows us that we are dust and return to dust. “All that is composed, shall be decomposed,” as Jesus says in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. But there is another reality, one that shows: “We are light, and return to light.” Within us is a sun that never sets, a peace and wakefulness toward which our infinite desire yearns unceasingly. Relative reality shows us that we are either male or female; but full reality shows us that we are both. Gnostics claim that an integration of our masculine and feminine polarities is possible, reaching toward a realized human being that does not love from lack, but rather from fullness. Then our love becomes not merely a thirst, but instead an overflowing fountain
10-Spirit forms matter, spirit forms spirit, spirit forms events. Consider that anything that can be described in terms of logic, will, virtue, act, emotion, mathematics or physical law has these same immaterial spirits or qualities as its foundation. It is commonly known that energy and matter are the same substance in different configurations. Spirit, matter and events, likewise have an equivalence. Gospel accounts of this equivalence are the episodes in which Jesus makes bread, arms, legs (Mt 15:31), from nothing but his will; even events may be formed; the many biblical prophecies by Jesus and others link moral action to distant future events. Immaterial acts are real, and have real effect in our world, beginning with ourselves. “Spiritual efficacy” is the principle of the real effect of spirit.
11 - The Gospel of Mary certainly raises issues about whether the disciples are ready to take up the apostolic mission by depicting the majority of them as timid and uncomprehending, if not antagonistic. Their unwillingness to spread the gospel suggests that some of the disciples have misunderstood the Savior's teachings. They are still enslaved to their bodies, and they appear to be under the control of the world's Powers. They have not discovered the child of real Humanity within themselves, nor have they conformed to the ideal Human Image.
12-The attacks of Peter and Andrew on Mary show that they are still ruled by passions and false beliefs; they have yet to achieve inner peace, and are causing strife among the disciples out of jealously and ignorance.
13-Because "you love what deceives you," the Savior tells his disciples; they fall sick and die (GMary 3:7-8). Peter's flaw is his inability to see beyond fleshly distinctions to the spiritual traits required for leadership. He appears to "enjoy" the status that his masculine sex-gender bestows on him, which causes pride and jealously. The moment in which Levi corrects Peter's misunderstanding demonstrates one of the most common ways in which individuals are misled by the body. Authority should be based on spiritual success, not on whether one is a man or a woman, let alone on socially prescribed gender roles and sexual reproduction. Those who have advanced further than others are responsible for caring for and instructing them.
14-The wording and concepts in the Gospel of Mary are strikingly similar to those in Paul's letters. There are strong parallels between Romans 7 and Mary's Gospel 3-4. 3:3–8, 10–13: Mary 3:3–8, 10–13: The Savior said, "There is no such thing as sin; rather you yourselves are what generates sin when you behave in line with the nature of adultery, which is called 'sin.' As a result, God came among you, pursuing (the good) that is inherent in all nature. It will anchor it to its root." Then he went on. "This is why you get sick and die," he explained, "because you love what deceives you."
15-The Gospel of Mary directly challenges the validity of such claims, instead offering a vision of Christian community in which authority is based not solely, or even primarily, on a succession of previous witnesses, but on understanding and appropriating the gospel.
16-The weeds, however, were sown by the apostles themselves, according to the Gospel of Mary. Men like Peter and Andrew misunderstood the Savior's teaching and caused strife in the community. According to the master tale, Jesus fixed the entire doctrine of Christianity and passed it down through the Church's doctrines. The Gospel of Mary, on the other hand, implies that the gospel's tale is incomplete. Christian theory and practice are not set dogmas that can only be accepted or rejected; rather, Christians must enter the tale and collaborate to form the meaning of the gospel in their own time. Because human passions and love of the world lead to mistake, recognizing the truth necessitates work, and it demands that communities of religion take responsibility for how they appropriate tradition in a world too frequently governed by powers of injustice and domination
September 2, 2024
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