Greatest I am wrote:David Handeye wrote:
Most of this is garbage and does not show what Gnostic Christianity is.
You say it simplifies things but the contrary is true and that mental exercise, we are a thinking person's religion, put';s us a cut above brain dead Christians who swallow a bunch of supernatural garbage as real.
As to your salvation comment.
The only thing we need saving from is the stupid notion that a God would condemn us for being exactly as created, and then instead of just forgiving us,, has his son needlessly murdered to save us.
Having another innocent person suffer for the wrongs you have done, --- so that you might escape responsibility for having done them, --- is immoral. That immorality does not change even if Jesus would have volunteered, which he did not do.
Christianity is based on human sacrifice and the notion that it is somehow good to punish the innocent instead of the guilty.
That is why Christianity is an immoral creed.
Care to argue that it is good to punish the innocent instead of the guilty?
I did not think so.
Regards
DL
Just a few words, as to teach you, and so that everybody would know what Gnosticism really is.
Christianity, True Religion, is freedom. Christ, who called himself "Truth", is not afraid to assert that "The truth will set you free" and St. Paul "did not receive the spirit of slavery" (Rom 8:15). The Gnostic can not (and could not!) that feel alone. On the other hand you could believe in a Christian Gnosticism straight: that does not trust a man's wisdom, of a thought that elevates it above the "ilici", but that humbly obeys the Apostle proclaims to be no "more boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ "(Gal 6:14). Then the man is no longer far away from himself: as taught by the mystic, comes to himself, and therein lies not only in itself, but the whole Trinity: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him "(Jn 14:23). How will he be able to feel alone, so? It seems to me from your previous answer that you missed completely the cornerstone not only of the nature of God, but also the reason of His creation and then the response that the creature has to give: love. Gnosticism is false, because Jesus never failed to be the "light that enlightens every man" (Jn 1,9). St. John wrote his Gospel in its key
adversum gnostics and therefore uses the keyword "light" in the right sense. All proceeds from the contempt of "gross matter", another element Gnostic: the task is not to eliminate "the ballast which prevents us from seeing", but subdue the ballast to the spirit of obedience and love, as the thought is not free, but "the spirit is willing." The same pure Word has not diminished taking this matter. Tying His pure grace to elements such as water, salt, bread, wine ... He who has created everything from nothing would not heal the blind man with a solemn gesture, but "he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva" (Jn 9.6): nothing more coarse. But nothing is coarse of what God has done, so much so that "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you" (1 Cor 6:19). It matters little to be good or bad, healthy or sick: in this body we glorify God, as Christ did on the cross. If you want to discover the way of truth, read "The Interior Castle" of St. Teresa of Avila, who converted the Gnostic Edith Stein. Sant'Antonio Abate asked God what he lacked to be perfect, and God showed him a cobbler of Alexandria because he learned one thing that was missing; went there, questioned him, but all his spiritual and ascetic practices he had already performed in the highest degree. Inspired him to say more, and this: "See - he said - after work I sit in front of the shop, watch the world go by and I say, 'All these people are better than you.'" This is the only Christian gnosis.
"We venerate the Serpent because God has placed the origin of Gnosis for humanity: he taught to man and woman the complete knowledge of the high mysteries," according to the mysteries Ophites. But the same Freemasonry has in it the cult Ophite and as such the '"ouroboros" as a symbol of their metaphysical naturalist. The "sacred" they are talking about has nothing transcendent and for this are perfectly Gnostics: Gnosticism is actually Satanism. On the contrary, "Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God" (Jn 3,3). That's why being a Christian is not a label, but ontological transformation. But "The natural man, however, not the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Cor 2:14). "Even Moses was asked to raise a bronze snake on a stick." Symbol of the curse that Christ took upon Himself (Gal 3:13) in our place; but Christ rises leaving the snake defeated on the cross (1 Cor 15.54 to 55). Man defeats death and transience introduced by PO joining mystically to Christ.
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up" (Jn 3:14); is a apophaticism: say what Christ is expressing what is not. Why just the snake? Because "death entered the world through the envy of the devil" (Wis. 2:24): to redeem the Word was to assume a body liable, give it at the mercy of death and kill her with it and then rise again. The snake is death, that Christ leaves on the pole rising. St. Paul says it exclaiming: "Where, O death, is your victory?" (1 Cor 15:55). The snake is therefore the devil, destined to eternal death, the "whoever believes in him" of John 3:15 refers to Christ, not to the serpent. See St. Augustine, In Io., Om 12,11.
Now I will teach you, there is no Christian Gnosticism, because true Christianity and Gnosticism are mutually exclusive. In fact, the principles on which Gnosticism is based contradict the meaning of Christianity. Although there are Gnostics who declare themselves Christians, in fact they are not. Gnosticism has been one the most dangerous heresy, under the influence of philosophers such as Plato, Gnosticism is based on two false premises. First of all, consider a dualism between body and spirit: it affirms that the body is evil and spirit is good. Given this belief, the Gnostics are convinced that any action done with the body, even the worst, has no weight, because the real life concerns only the spirit; secondly, gnostics claim to have superior knowledge, a higher truth, known only to a few. Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis meaning "to know". Their higher truth does not come from the Bible, but from some mystical revelation top. The Gnostics believe they are a privileged class because they have a deeper knowledge of God and elevated. While on the question of Salvation, Gnosticism teaches that Salvation is gained through knowledge of the divine free from the darkness of false illusions. Although gnostics claim to follow Jesus and his teachings, they just contradict it. In fact, Jesus never spoke of salvation through knowledge, but only through faith in Him as Savior from sin. Ephesians 2: 8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. It is not by works, so that no one can boast. "Perilous salvation offered by Christ is for all and not just for a select few who have had a special revelation (John 3:16).
Christianity asserts that there is a single source of truth, that the Bible is inspired, (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3: 15-17; Hebrews 4:12). And 'the written revelation sent by God to mankind without any interference from the thoughts, ideas and visions human. On the other hand, the Gnostics use a series of texts that define how lost books belong to the Bible. Were the fathers of the church who did not recognize these texts as valid, rejecting them for their false doctrines about the Bible, about Christ, about God and Salvation. There are many contradictions between the Gnostic gospels and the Bible. Even when quoting verses from the Bible modify them, to paraphrase match them to their doctrine, a practice prohibited by the same scriptures. (Deuteronomy 4: 2; 12:32; Proverbs 30: 6; Revelation 22: 18-19). Another reason for the sharp contrast is the person of Jesus Christ. The Gnostics believe that Jesus was not a physical being, but his physicality was only apparent and that his spirit came upon him at the time of his baptism. This view destroys the true humanity of Jesus and ignores the incredibility of Jesus fully man and God at the same time, leaving the real physical suffering of Jesus on the cross. (Hebrews 2: 14-17) The Biblical view affirms his full humanity and divinity.
Eventually, Gnosticism is based on a mystical approach, intuitive, subjective and emotional truth, believing that it is based on something very ancient that date back to the Garden of Eden, when satan intervened to sin Adam and Eve.