COMMENTS:
gnosticism is apparantly more about bettering ones self through thought meditation and action. Surely this is better than just praying things will be ok and telling all your problems to some priest to make yourself feel better.
There is also the line of thought that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross and so wasn't ressurected (ergo. the whole dying for us thing would be gone).
ANOTHER line of thought... Jesus stowed away with Mary Magdalene when she went to France and they lived happily ever after.
I'm not trying to insult anyone with all this, I just want peoples opinions
Is it any more idiotic than assuming an ancient document hasn't been doctored through the centuries.
A gnostic is a member of any of certain heretical early Christian mystical sects that claimed that matter was evil and denied that Christ had a natural corporeal existence.
Yeah, a cult that started before roman christianity (the thing you follow)
oh yeah, there he is.
If you Just believe in and trust in Jesus Christ as your only way to heaven. then you are a Christian. But if you working your way to heaven by doing "good works" you're actually trust in yourself. salvation is a free gift from God-by just believeing in Jesus Christ.
Anybody else think it's ridiculous to think Jesus died on the cross. He survived man. Dying for our sins? fuck that. I haven't even begun yet. Sorry it's been a while, exams and stuff, 22 years old and I'm still doing exfuckingzams. kill me.
According to Gnostic Christianity, James' and Paul's beliefs about Jesus' teachings contradict one another, but the truth is they complement each other throughout the Bible. Their messages were the same, but some people (as you know) have interpreted them as being different.
It is not shown that James was designated by Jesus to continue his teachings, but James did eventually became an important figure in the early church, and Paul acknowledged him as one of the "pillars" (Gal 2:9).
James then sent Paul on missionary expeditions to spread the word. His travels are discussed in Acts (written by Luke). In Acts it is shown that Paul was almost always accompanied by another apostle Luke, Timothy, and/or Silas during his quest. At one point, James came to Paul's aide to resolve a conflict in Jerusalem. (Acts 15:1-31)
This shows you that they were not at odds about Paul's missions.
Paul then wanted to take the message of Christ to the world's center of influence and power... Rome, which he did. There he was put on trial for causing trouble among the Jews (the Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah),and he explained Jesus' teachings before the royal audience. That is how and why Christianity spread to Rome. It was not taken there by Paul to "control the masses", Paul went there because Rome was the cultural focal point of the world at the time and what better place to spread the word?
James and Paul were two inspired witnesses to the same Gospel.
"salvation is a free gift" says gaymanbrian4christ
if you believe. Does that mean I can be a complete bastard my whole life, just as long as i save 2 mins at the end to convert.
Hmmm... If i do that and end up stuck with thinkers like him...
Hell for me.
Cheesecake, that makes a lot of sense.
My problem is with what happened to the religion in Rome. Was Constantine a true Christian? For one reason or another the RC church likes to hoard vast amounts of wealth and openly attempts to remove historical documents from the public eye. he church has a history of trying to remove oposition in the most dubious ways!
Peace and love and all that but please, don't be a Catholic.
ps. I'm not a proddy. Thats a whole new ball-park.
It is a frequently repeated myth that the Emperor Constantine the Great declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire. He actually allowed it to be tolerated rather than persecuted, and it co-existed with the cult of the sun god, Sol Invictus (the "Invincible Sun"). It was Constantine who first gave official recognition to the authority of Christian bishops in 318; but Constantine himself remained the chief priest of the cult of Sol Invictus, and was not baptised into Christianity until he was on his death bed. To endorse their claim of 'one Empire, one Emperor' in the face of increasing fragmentation, the Roman emperors needed 'one faith' -- a universal or 'catholic' religion. As you know, they adopted Christianity as that religion with the full intention of changing it's teachings to be one with the law...not changing the law to be one with it's teachings. By the late second century, bishops in the church were gaining much power and were left unchallenged with the affairs of the church. As anti-church groups came about, the leadership of the Catholic church was forced to make bold statements. One such statement was from Bishop Cyprian of Carthage, who declared Outside the church there is no salvation which only reinforced the governments power since they were one in the same with the established religion. As time went on, the Catholic church grew in prominence and control over the people. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the church achieved an incomparable power and majesty. Now, this is when the religion was restored to it's original teachings...During the late 1300s an outcry began against the Catholic Church. Two individuals began to question the idea that the Catholic Church was something other than a visible organization on earth headed by the pope. These two individuals were John Wycliffe, and John Hus. Wycliffe made the point that every man had the right to examine the Bible for himself. He stated: The New Testament is of full authority, and open to the understanding of simple men
.Christ did not write His laws on tables, or on skins of animals, but in the hearts of men. In a steady stream of charges Wycliffe showed how far the papacy had departed from the simple faith and practice of Christ and his disciples. This brought about the years of reformation 1517-1648 which restored the Christian faith to it's original teachings which states salvation was by faith in Christ alone. And the Scriptures, not popes or councils, are the standard for Christian faith and behavior.
wow. I'm way out of my depth. Thanks for the illumination. Just out of interest, why are you so widely read on this, business or pleasure?
Pleasure. "There is nothing so captivating as new knowledge." - Peter Latham :)
so whats the deal with the Spanish inquisition, I'm guesing it's a little more complex than Monty Python makes out!
Not really ;)
Don't forget what you learned. Add to it and change your opinion by all means.
I believe it's more complicated than what you laid out in your poll explanation, Bushy.
My understanding of Gnosticism was that it was a melding of early Christian beliefs along with various area mystic traditions from other religions- specifically from North Africa, forming a sort of mystic pseudo-Christianity.
yes, it's fucked up, creepy cult like shit, avoid it like the plague
Gnosticism, Arianisn, Manichaeanism, Celtic Christianity. All making a comeback after centuries of suppression. We've only begun to see the impact of the discovery at Nag Hammadi. Anybody speak Coptic?
"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." - Luke 17:21
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