Gnostic Scriptures

[markyj987]

Last night there was a special on the DaVinci Code, the best-selling book by Dan Brown.

Though that which ties the theory in his tale are historically, false, there are some potential truth within this book that I found fascinating. (The book is fiction and doesn't proclaim anything else, but uses a ton of historical fact in weaving the story).

Anyway, they mentioned that there are other gospels, the Gnostic Scriptures....the Gospel of Mary Magdelene, the Gospel of Thomas, and a couple of others.

Has anybody studied these? Apparently, the age of the documents that were found were indeed authenticated. I just found it fascinating and wonder why they're not part of the Bible...or are they completely false? Many say that the church in those days wanted them destroyed--some say because there are things that allude to Jesus perhaps having a different kind of love for Mary Magdalene.

Fascinating stuff....

[slugshooter]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

I believe there are many accounts of Jesus' teaching and gospels written from others that will never be known because the church didn't want them known.

[buckee]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

It's fiction ... making Jesus a spotted lamb instead of a spotless lamb.

[slugshooter]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

How do you know it's fiction Buckee? Belief and knowledge are two different things. Do I know there are other scriptures out there that paint a different picture of the life and times of Christ other than what the church dictated for us to know.....no.......Do I believe there are......yep.

[wtnhunt]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

Caught part of that the other night Mark and it is pretty interesting. Not too long back there was also show on I think dateline that covered the same idea. Wanting to say that was right before the release of the Mel Gibson "Passion of the Christ" film if I am not mistaken.

[markyj987]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

Steve, are you referring to the fact that the writings imply he may have been married to Mary Magdalene--or had a special relationship at least?

I'm not saying I believe them...I just don't know anything about them.

If Jesus were married, would it matter? If it WERE true, would it be of any harm? Though I certainly understand the danger of following false teachings, it's well established that the early church quickly turned into a political/military organization and it would certainly not surprise me if some things may have been eliminated from the Bible for political reasons.

William, it definitely is quite a fascinating possibility. I may have to look online and see if any of these texts are available.

[HuntingInMaine]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

I have done some studying of the Gnostic scriptures and the dead sea scrolls. It is my understanding that for a long time there were no "Christians". No bible had been put together (although some of the scriptures were there, just not being used as a bible). A lot of the people practiced Paganism, which means they worshipped multiple gods.

The Catholic church was the first church that was formed. The monks were in charge of copying the original books of the bible into one text because they were part of the few who were able to read and write. The church wanted to convert everyone over to their belief and this would be a very profitable thing for them. (The popes of the time were not at all Christ like and seemed to be more interested in how much land they could get and how much money they could receive from the congregation.)

It is claimed that when the monks were busy transcribing the bible, they added and took away things from the original scripture to suit their agenda. The church wanted to make the Pagans feel comfortable with this new religion and fashioned holidays such as Easter to be very close to the holiday Oestre. During this holiday the pagans would celebrate fertility with eggs and other things that are very similar to our present day Easter celebrations. The same thing goes for Christmas.

These Gnostic texts were found a while ago and they are believed to have been written at the correct time in history to be a part of the bible. It is thought that the Gnostics may have hidden these texts when the Catholic church came after them for their beliefs.

I think that organized religion is so scared that these texts could conflict with the bible we use today (and they do), so they simply call them the work of the devil and dismiss them.

I don't have my books in front of me, so I may be a little off on some of the facts, but the basic message is the same.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but there is enough evidence that everyone should have a question or two about what we have been told is "fact".

[slugshooter]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

[ QUOTE ]

Steve, are you referring to the fact that the writings imply he may have been married to Mary Magdalene--or had a special relationship at least?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know one way or the other whether they were married or not, but having read The DaVinci Code and other subjects as well as other TV programs, I am at least convinced that she wasn't a prostitute as the early church has made her out to be.

One program I watched had an interesting point. Jesus was a Jew, noone can deny that, and he was raised in the Jewish faith and would what to be a good Jew wouldn't you think. Well, the Jewish religion at the time believed marriage was a special thing and people should be married early in life, thus, in Jesus wanting to be a man of faith and wanting to be a good Jew, it stands to reason that he would follow the Jewish laws he was raised to believe in. Of course, there is debate on when Jesus "knew" he was the messiah or the "Son of God", did he know before he learned to read, write, and speak. Or did he realize it when he reached adulthood.

I believe that everyone will learn something new and learn something that shocks them when they die and find out whether or not there is a heaven and a ****.

[Guest KSNimrod]

Re: Gnostic Scriptures

There are 3 legs that Christianity stands on: Christ, Scripture and the Church (the group of Christ's followers). Many will attempt to kick out one or all of those legs to undermine God's plan. As a believer I don't need to be afraid that they will succeed as it truly is GOD's plan and not a creation of man like religion. The canon of scripture and how it was put together in it's current form is easy to research. At some point a person has to believe that if God can dictate and inspire scripture He surely has the power to help people discern what ought to be included. There are many writings that the early church (and the modern church) have used to help shape their faith, but did not deem "Scripture". For example we have many books by good authors today that help us live godly lives but we do not think of them as part of the Bible itself. As for those who would assert that the church formed long after Christ had been ressurected, who do you think the writings of Paul were directed to? Already the early church was being warned against the Gnostic movement as it presented a different gospel than the disciples lost their lives to proclaim. This is all found in the New Testament. Jesus Christ was never married. At 30 years of age He was considered to be out from the covering of his earthly father Joseph. At that time he spent a quick 3 years in ministry devoted to His heavenly Father. I would imagine He did not remain single because He thought being married was wrong, but rather because time was short. I would question the motives of anyone who claimed He married, had kids, came to America, was Satan's brother, etc. because nowhere can that be supported by Scripture.