The Gnostic Crucifixion

The Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: George Robert Stow Mead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apocryphal books (New Testament)
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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The Gnostic Crucifixion

The Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: George Robert Stow Mead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apocryphal books (New Testament)
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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The Gnostic Crucifixion

The Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: G. Mead
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781544168784
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Those Gnostic texts that discuss Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection display a variety of views that, nevertheless, reveal some common themes. James is consoled by Jesus in the First Apocalypse of James: "Never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed. And this people has done me no harm."19 In the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, Jesus says, "I did not die in reality, but in appearance." Those "in error and blindness....saw me; they punished me. It was another, their father, who drank the gall and vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. I was rejoicing in the height over all....And I was laughing at their ignorance."20 John Dart has discerned that the Gnostic stories of Jesus mocking his executors reverse the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke where the soldiers and chief priests (Mark 15:20) mock Jesus.21 In the biblical Gospels, Jesus does not deride or mock His tormentors; on the contrary, while suffering from the cross, He asks the Father to forgive those who nailed Him there. In the teaching of Valentinus and followers, the death of Jesus is movingly recounted, yet without the New Testament significance. Although the Gospel of Truth says that "his death is life for many," it views this life-giving in terms of imparting the gnosis, not removing sin.22 Pagels says that rather than viewing Christ's death as a sacrificial offering to atone for guilt and sin, the Gospel of Truth "sees the crucifixion as the occasion for discovering the divine self within."23 A resurrection is enthusiastically affirmed in the Treatise on the Resurrection: "Do not think the resurrection is an illusion. It is no illusion, but it is truth! Indeed, it is more fitting to say that the world is an illusion rather than the resurrection."24 Yet, the nature of the post-resurrection appearances differs from the biblical accounts. Jesus is disclosed through spiritual visions rather than physical circumstances. The resurrected Jesus for the Gnostics is the spiritual Revealer who imparts secret wisdom to the selected few. The tone and content of Luke's account of Jesus' resurrection appearances is a great distance from Gnostic accounts: "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). By now it should be apparent that the biblical Jesus has little in common with the Gnostic Jesus. He is viewed as a Redeemer in both cases, yet his nature as a Redeemer and the way of redemption diverge at crucial points. We shall now examine some of these points.

The Gnostic Crucifixion

The Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: G R S Mead
Publisher: Blurb
ISBN: 9781006002250
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
The Gnostic Crucifixion is a fine Christian education text by G R S Mead that deals with Gnosticism and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This classic religious text contains this preface: "The Gnostic Mystery of the Crucifixion is most clearly set forth in the new-found fragments of The Acts of John, and follows immediately on the Sacred Dance and Ritual of Initiation which we endeavoured to elucidate in Vol. IV. of these little books, in treating of The Hymn of Jesus."

The Gnostic Crucifixion

The Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: George Robert Stow Mead
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558181762
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Echoes from the Gnosis: the Gnostic crucifixion. 1907

Echoes from the Gnosis: the Gnostic crucifixion. 1907 PDF Author: George Robert Stow Mead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Theosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Gnostic Crucifixion

Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: George Robert Stow Mead
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781434430830
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Nag Hammadi Library in English

The Nag Hammadi Library in English PDF Author: James McConkey Robinson
Publisher: Brill Archive
ISBN: 9789004071858
Category : Gnostic literature
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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The Gnostic Crucifixion

The Gnostic Crucifixion PDF Author: G. R. S. Mead
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781499267631
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description
The Gnostic Mystery of the Crucifixion is most clearly set forth in the new-found fragments of The Acts of John, and follows immediately on the Sacred Dance and Ritual of Initiation which we endeavoured to elucidate in Vol. IV. of these little books, in treating of The Hymn of Jesus.The reader is, therefore, referred to the “Preamble” of that volume for a short introduction concerning the nature of the Gnostic Acts in general and of the Leucian Acts of John in particular. I would, however, add a point of interest bearing on the date which was forgotten, though I have frequently remarked upon it when lecturing on the subject.

Jesus after the Crucifixion

Jesus after the Crucifixion PDF Author: Graham Simmans
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591439108
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Suggests that Jesus survived the crucifixion, went to Egypt, then settled in France • Reveals new discoveries that show the beginnings of Christianity in Egypt • Presents historical and archaeological research that proves a connection between Jerusalem, Egypt, and Rennes-le-Château in the south of France • Posits Rennes-le-Château as the actual location of Jesus Christ’s tomb, and that writings by him will be found there Jesus did not die on the cross. He survived and went to southern France with his wife, Mary. This possibility is proposed by Graham Simmans, who spent many years on a quest to find the real beginnings of Christianity. Simmans believes that the spread of Christianity beyond Jerusalem was tied to Jesus’s survival of the crucifixion and his subsequent emigration to Europe. Using Coptic and Jewish sources, including the Talmud, that allow a glimpse of the Christian philosophy espoused by Jesus, he contends that true Christianity was brought into France, Britain, and Spain from first century Egypt and Judea, not fourth- and fifth-century Rome. His investigation shows that after a time in Egypt, Jesus settled in Rennes-le-Château, a sophisticated and cosmopolitan center of spiritual diversity. It was a natural move for Jesus to settle in the Narbonne area of France--an area already heavily settled by Jewish and Gnostic groups. Here, safely outside the reach of the cultural dictatorship of the Roman Church, the Gnostic secrets he taught survived the centuries. Later, the Knights Templar centered their activity in the Languedoc region around Rennes-le-Château, where, within the Jewish communities, a well-connected and influential opposition to Rome already existed. This resistance to Rome gave rise to a religious culture that included elements of Gnostic, Pythagorean, and Kabbalistic teachings. Until the Crusades against the Cathar heretics reasserted the dominion of Rome, the culture that flourished around Rennes-le-Château embodied the true essence of Christ’s message.

The Gnostic Gospels

The Gnostic Gospels PDF Author: Elaine Pagels
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1588364178
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Gnostic Gospels is a landmark study of the long-buried roots of Christianity, a work of luminous scholarship and wide popular appeal. First published in 1979 to critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Gnostic Gospels has continued to grow in reputation and influence over the past two decades. It is now widely recognized as one of the most brilliant and accessible histories of early Christian spirituality published in our time. In 1945 an Egyptian peasant unearthed what proved to be the Gnostic Gospels, thirteen papyrus volumes that expounded a radically different view of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ from that of the New Testament. In this spellbinding book, renowned religious scholar Elaine Pagels elucidates the mysteries and meanings of these sacred texts both in the world of the first Christians and in the context of Christianity today. With insight and passion, Pagels explores a remarkable range of recently discovered gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, to show how a variety of “Christianities” emerged at a time of extraordinary spiritual upheaval. Some Christians questioned the need for clergy and church doctrine, and taught that the divine could be discovered through spiritual search. Many others, like Buddhists and Hindus, sought enlightenment—and access to God—within. Such explorations raised questions: Was the resurrection to be understood symbolically and not literally? Was God to be envisioned only in masculine form, or feminine as well? Was martyrdom a necessary—or worthy—expression of faith? These early Christians dared to ask questions that orthodox Christians later suppressed—and their explorations led to profoundly different visions of Jesus and his message. Brilliant, provocative, and stunning in its implications, The Gnostic Gospels is a radical, eloquent reconsideration of the origins of the Christian faith.