Post by Limitless Questions on Jan 24, 2009 10:50:00 GMT -5
Relevant search results from Google News for "gnostic". Search performed Jan. 24, 2009.
Wasatch Gnostic Society 2009 Winter Lecture Series
Is Mysticism Gnostic - The New Christians From Beliefnet.
Brings to mind Logion 50 from the Gospel of Thomas: If they ask you, "What is the evidence of your father in you?" say to them, "It is motion and rest." The comments, of course, are typically Christian. Good opportunity to put into practice the exhortation from the Gospel of Truth, "be not concerned with Error".
The Middle East Puzzle
Somehow, I don't think that word means what that "journalist" thinks it means........
Unitarian Church in Denver to discuss Pagels' "The Gnostic Gospels"
Interview from Canadian paper with NT Wright
Hm. Now I see why the Anglicans in my area are up in arms......What is that, some kind of eschatologized reincarnation mythos?! Wow. Just wow. And "bodily incorruptible"? Way to coin an oxymoron there, "New Testament".
LOL! The new Anglican bishop is the Elron for the ages?! ;D
Of course he does. And the System wins again.
More gnostics-are-dualists-bashing. Hah! Also check his closing quote, that "Life on Earth is purgatory."
Hm. Well that, at least, agrees with gnostic theories. Although he unfortunately tries to shoehorn that into solving the problem of evil........
Islamo-Christianity, Christiano-Judaism, or Judeo-Islam, or None of the Above, or All of the Above? Blog post dealing with syncretism.
Not to mention opposing orthodox ideologies. My former "Judeo-Christian sect" certainly did!
Not really an article on gnosticism.
Consider the Source Review of book The Mind of Jihad.
Emphasis mine. Say what?!
Cite audition to be held
Naming Things their right names
Reminiscent of the passage in Philip, "Truth came into the world by images and names." (I'm paraphrasing badly.) Excellent article, overall.
Congregation Leaves Church, Bishop Sues to Keep Land
Now if that doesn't just read like something from the 1200s, I don't know what does.......
On the other hand, it sounds like the bishop is getting the bums' rush. He suggested that blind bibliomancy on the part of his followers might lead to the creation of false idols? "Off with his head!!!!" Sounds Christian to me.
So Who is the Real You? Book Review of Albert Clayton Gaulden's You're Not Who You Think You Are.
Sounds good, right? Until you read this:
Chock up Gaulden as another guru-tastic victim-blamer, kthxbai.
The Book From the Sky, by Robert Kelly Book Review from Chronogram.
Sounds like my kind of book. I shall have to keep an eye peeled for it.
This has been your weekly Gnews roundup!
Wasatch Gnostic Society 2009 Winter Lecture Series
Lance Owens writes: In Salt Lake City, Utah we have a major series of Tolkien lectures coming up in Feb and March 2009.
Is Mysticism Gnostic - The New Christians From Beliefnet.
True Christian mysticism is not in search of some secret revelation from God to the individual. It is, instead, a contemplative Christian practice is meant to clear the table of all the distractions of life so that we who wish to can simply rest in God's presence. There's no magic involved.
Brings to mind Logion 50 from the Gospel of Thomas: If they ask you, "What is the evidence of your father in you?" say to them, "It is motion and rest." The comments, of course, are typically Christian. Good opportunity to put into practice the exhortation from the Gospel of Truth, "be not concerned with Error".
The Middle East Puzzle
The Middle East is a historic land bridge between the three continents and a melting pot for so many civilisations over many millennia. It is at the heart of the planet earth and cradle for three major Gnostic religions.
Somehow, I don't think that word means what that "journalist" thinks it means........
Unitarian Church in Denver to discuss Pagels' "The Gnostic Gospels"
We will read Elaine Pagel's book The Gnostic Gospels and look at how she has interpreted the Gnostics from within and outside Christianity. Nadine will supplement with other thinkers' views on these Gospels. We will also work with the underlying concept of a secret wisdom that helps us mature as spiritual beings. Participants will be asked to work towards a personal notation of the secret wisdom that infuses their current spiritual life. Thursdays • March 26 to April 30 • 7 p.m. Facilitator: Nadine Swahnberg, Community Minister
Interview from Canadian paper with NT Wright
Heaven, to Bishop Wright, is a sublime staging area, a place where souls are "refreshed" till they are ready to reach their final destination, which is right back here on Earth. And once back here, everyone will receive a new body, similar enough to what we have now that we will all be recognizable - but different. Even those who long ago turned to dust will be back for a more glorious, but earthly, existence, where there is no decay and the promise of Christ's resurrection - the defeat of death - is fulfilled.
"We cannot be in the new world in the condition we are," he said, adding that in the New Testament, "Paul said flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood for Paul was a way of describing corruption. Our present flesh is corruptible; it's decaying. We are going to be incorruptible, but bodily. But the idea of a bodily incorruption is so foreign to Western culture it is hard to grasp."
"We cannot be in the new world in the condition we are," he said, adding that in the New Testament, "Paul said flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood for Paul was a way of describing corruption. Our present flesh is corruptible; it's decaying. We are going to be incorruptible, but bodily. But the idea of a bodily incorruption is so foreign to Western culture it is hard to grasp."
Hm. Now I see why the Anglicans in my area are up in arms......What is that, some kind of eschatologized reincarnation mythos?! Wow. Just wow. And "bodily incorruptible"? Way to coin an oxymoron there, "New Testament".
Bishop Wright's vision can be a bit discomfitting. So specific is his description of the life to come that it can feel like science fiction.
LOL! The new Anglican bishop is the Elron for the ages?! ;D
His view of the afterlife is drawn from his careful reading of the Bible: He insists that it is not one option among many.
Of course he does. And the System wins again.
The distortion of our view about the afterlife, he explained, began in the early days of the Church. The Gnostic movement saw a clear distinction between the physical, which was bad, and the spiritual, which was good. Gnosticism was also a heresy because it could not conceive of a Christ who is both human and divine. But a form of gnosticism has become popular in the past 200 years, said Bishop Wright.
"A lot of people in the Western world are basically saying we're all heading off to heaven, so what's the fuss about what I do here either with my body or with the wider world. And that is classically what happened in the Gnostic movement in the ancient church - people said this material world is irrelevant to salvation."
"A lot of people in the Western world are basically saying we're all heading off to heaven, so what's the fuss about what I do here either with my body or with the wider world. And that is classically what happened in the Gnostic movement in the ancient church - people said this material world is irrelevant to salvation."
More gnostics-are-dualists-bashing. Hah! Also check his closing quote, that "Life on Earth is purgatory."
Hm. Well that, at least, agrees with gnostic theories. Although he unfortunately tries to shoehorn that into solving the problem of evil........
Islamo-Christianity, Christiano-Judaism, or Judeo-Islam, or None of the Above, or All of the Above? Blog post dealing with syncretism.
Ross is I think has a point that Judeo-Christian works in contexts opposing secularist ideologies in mostly Western 20th century discourse.
Not to mention opposing orthodox ideologies. My former "Judeo-Christian sect" certainly did!
In other words, the notions of what constitued being Jewish were I think far more expansive in that period than later and we are stuck thinking in terms of a much later Jewish orthodoxy as somehow dominant (against which the "Christians" were breaking from). Such a view also assumes a great deal more cohesion between all these various Jesus is Messiah groups. Even the orthodox (i.e. non-Gnostic) ones.
Not really an article on gnosticism.
Consider the Source Review of book The Mind of Jihad.
Instead, according to Murawiec, radical Islam is an ideological heir to Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Nazism, Marxism, and nihilism; jihadists are duplicates of otherwise arcane characters from Christian history, such as the Millenarians. Indeed, any number of European concepts and personages permeate The Mind of Jihad, often presented as prominent factors contributing to the rise of radical Islam--betraying, perhaps, the author's vast erudition concerning Western, not Islamic, paradigms.
Emphasis mine. Say what?!
Cite audition to be held
Three actresses/dancers of varying ages are needed for the cast of "Gnostic Coincidence," a play by local playwright Steven Cooper.
Naming Things their right names
Language and thinking go together, as many a myth recognizes.
Reminiscent of the passage in Philip, "Truth came into the world by images and names." (I'm paraphrasing badly.) Excellent article, overall.
Congregation Leaves Church, Bishop Sues to Keep Land
Now if that doesn't just read like something from the 1200s, I don't know what does.......
They said the spirit of the bishop's letter was little more than "Gnostic" and described their move into another Anglican jurisdiction "wherein Holy Scripture is still the unerring and unchanging Word of God and Christ's Atonement alone is upheld as sufficient means of eternal salvation."
On the other hand, it sounds like the bishop is getting the bums' rush. He suggested that blind bibliomancy on the part of his followers might lead to the creation of false idols? "Off with his head!!!!" Sounds Christian to me.
So Who is the Real You? Book Review of Albert Clayton Gaulden's You're Not Who You Think You Are.
Like many who believe in a more Gnostic form of religion, Gaulden believes the spark of the divine lives in everyone and can only be reawakened through self-awareness. People are so caught up in the world, Gaulden writes, they cannot see the "big picture" that we are all linked together in a complex universe. Nothing new there - quite a few faiths around the world believe the same. But Gaulden has a down-to-earth style and an ability to break down these complex ideas into easily digestible bits.
Sounds good, right? Until you read this:
He even addresses the old "bad things happen to good people" bit by saying it is possible they are simply paying the price for something done in a previous life.
Chock up Gaulden as another guru-tastic victim-blamer, kthxbai.
The Book From the Sky, by Robert Kelly Book Review from Chronogram.
There is a gnostic tradition in which Jesus has an imperfect twin, a personage who was once believed to be the turncoat Judas. Early societies made much of the uncanny aura of twins, and the doppelgänger (German for “double-goer”) is the oldest of narrative devices. The double abounds in fiction and film, with countless examples that range from Dostoevsky to “South Park.” In his novel The Book from the Sky, Bard College professor and poet Robert Kelly gives an updated tweak to this ancient story form while mindfully adhering to its orthodox trappings.
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We learn that the “Darlings” in Brother William’s windows of text are not addressed to just anyone, but meant for his Judas-figure twin, his muse of otherness. Likewise, the book is a providential mirror for his disciples. In a Vanity Fair interview, Brother William elaborates: “A book should be something that shows precisely and clearly the spiritual condition of the reader.” (Kelly’s own readers may be tempted to join the faithful.)
Among the cult’s amusing practices is kissing the bathroom mirror; and one wonders whether a convert’s passing mention of Jacques Lacan, who theorized on the significance of the mirror, is solemn or jokey. The story is toned with a vatic sense of mission, and Kelly’s poetic incongruities exert an eerie force: “Darling, if you want to find heaven keep looking down. The mud has much to tell you.”
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We learn that the “Darlings” in Brother William’s windows of text are not addressed to just anyone, but meant for his Judas-figure twin, his muse of otherness. Likewise, the book is a providential mirror for his disciples. In a Vanity Fair interview, Brother William elaborates: “A book should be something that shows precisely and clearly the spiritual condition of the reader.” (Kelly’s own readers may be tempted to join the faithful.)
Among the cult’s amusing practices is kissing the bathroom mirror; and one wonders whether a convert’s passing mention of Jacques Lacan, who theorized on the significance of the mirror, is solemn or jokey. The story is toned with a vatic sense of mission, and Kelly’s poetic incongruities exert an eerie force: “Darling, if you want to find heaven keep looking down. The mud has much to tell you.”
Sounds like my kind of book. I shall have to keep an eye peeled for it.
This has been your weekly Gnews roundup!