The Confusion of Gnosticism

How do you relate the Bible and the Valentinian writings in the Nag Hammadi Scriptures? First, what authority do the Valentinian writings have? Second, what authority does the Bible have? Third, how do the Nag Hammadi Scriptures and the Bible relate to one another? These are difficult questions and little consensus among Gnostic Christians. But…

Dangers of Christian Nationalism

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). When Church and State join forces you know that bad things…

Marrying Church and State

Gnostic Christianity began as one of many kinds of Christianity. It followed the teachings of the apostles Paul, Thomas, and John. Unfortunately, the organized institutional Church joined up with the imperial Roman Empire and decided that only one form of Christianity would be tolerated. Therefore, gnostic Christianity became a persecuted group, and eventually died out…

Ungrounded Speculation

It is interesting, in fact, fascinating, that those who are interested in Gnosticism tend to speculate all over the place. They bring in occult ideas such as alchemy, Kabbalah, and astrology. But their interests and mine are different. I'm in a quest to discover the historic Christianity. I want to understand the early Christian background,…

Christianity the Foundational Myth of Western civilization

You can certainly leave Christianity but it does not leave you. Your liberation from it is delusion. Christ is the way. You can certainly run away, but then you are no longer on the way. - Carl Jung (Red Book) Christianity is the foundational myth of Western civilization. Myth is what provides context and perspective…

My Position on Abortion

Abortion is a tough subject to address, with a lot of disagreement. I believe that the Episcopal Church has taken the wisest position on the subject. I agree with them when they state the following: All human life is sacred from its inception until death. The Church takes seriously its obligation to help form the…

Gnostic Christianity Defined

Gnosticism is not a single thing. It is not a belief system at all. Rather, it is an orientation towards religion. So in Gnostic Christianity, the orientation is Gnostic, but the belief system is Christian. In other words, it is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ as taught by Paul, John, Thomas, and Valentinus.…

Don’t Speak At All

“It is easier not to speak a word at all, than not to speak more words than we should.” – Thomas a Kempis I have found this true so often that I think it is something to be aware of. We can get so carried away talking that our talk turns frivolous and even harmful.…

The Therapeutae and Therapeutrides

Subject: Therapeutae and Therapeutrides Author: Philo Judaeus Date: 30 CE Editor's Introduction As is evident from the writings of Seneca, Epictetus and others, philosophy in the West ceased to be purely speculative, and dealt with moral and religious questions. This tendency toward the moral and religious was strengthened by the spread of Jewish and Christian…

Four Stages of Faith

There are a number of people beginning the awakening process. This is a painful process of deconstruction of old belief systems. The story your parents, church, or society have told you begin to fall apart. It is helpful to know this is normal for those awakening from the Matrix. There are four stages of faith.…