The Mystic Way by Jay Forrest

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 consciences of its members concerning this sacredness. Human life, therefore, should be initiated only advisedly and in full accord with this understanding of the power to conceive and give birth which is bestowed by God. It is the responsibility of our congregations to assist their members in becoming informed concerning the spiritual and physiological aspects of sex and sexuality.
The Book of Common Prayer affirms that “the birth of a child is a joyous and solemn occasion in the life of a family. It is also an occasion for rejoicing in the Christian community” (p. 440). As Christians we also affirm responsible family planning.
We regard all abortion as having a tragic dimension, calling for the concern and compassion of all the Christian community.
While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion, as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience.
In those cases where an abortion is being considered, members of this Church are urged to seek the dictates of their conscience in prayer, to seek the advice and counsel of members of the Christian community and where appropriate, the sacramental life of this Church.
Whenever members of this Church are consulted with regard to a problem pregnancy, they are to explore, with grave seriousness, with the person or persons seeking advice and counsel, as alternatives to abortion, other positive courses of action, including, but not limited to, the following possibilities: the parents raising the child; another family member raising the child; making the child available for adoption.
It is the responsibility of members of this Church, especially the clergy, to become aware of local agencies and resources which will assist those faced with problem pregnancies.
We believe that legislation concerning abortions will not address the root of the problem. We therefore express our deep conviction that any proposed legislation on the part of national or state governments regarding abortions must take special care to see that the individual conscience is respected, and that the responsibility of individuals to reach informed decisions in this matter is acknowledged and honored as the position of this Church; and be it further
Resolved, That this 71st General Convention of the Episcopal Church express its unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive or judicial action on the part of local, state or national governments that abridges the right of a woman to reach an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that would limit the access of a woman to safe means of acting on her decision.

Citation:

General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, 1994 (New York: General Convention, 1995), pp. 323-25.

Could of, Would of, Should of

I find I have a malady of the mind. Call it regret or a desire for a do-over.

Here are the symptoms. I realize that my choices have limited my options and I think, I should have done such and such. If I knew then what I know now, I would have done such and such. Then I could have done such and such.

Sometimes there is regret, sometimes it is just a wish to do things differently. But the could of, would of, should of scenarios play on and on.

I know, as the Stoics would point out, the past is not under my control. And if it is not under my control, drop it. Let it go. These could of, would of, should of scenarios are a waste of time.

As I write this, I wonder if this is where belief in reincarnation gets some of its support. It would be nice to redo my life and correct my mistakes. I have made more than my share. Many of my mistakes have hurt other people. How can I not have regrets?

But the Stoics are right, of course. I can’t undo the past by running improvement scenarios in my head. I have to deal with the things I can control, like my current beliefs, actions, and attitudes. You can’t move forward, looking back.

Yes, we can learn lessons from the past. But this is different. You think of a past mistake and then draw out a lesson from it. For example, if you have two job offers, take the one that helps the most people. Don’t follow your passion, follow the path that produces the most good in the world.

So the next time could of, would of, should of scenarios play in your head, think to yourself, “The past is not under my control. I need to deal with what is not what could have been.”

Then learn from your mistakes and move on. Life is too short to live in the past. Life is happening now.

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.

In order to help the reader understand what I mean by Gnostic Christianity, I offer the following definition, taken from my book Understanding Gnosticism:

Gnostic Christianity

aims for salvation through mystical knowledge (gnosis) of God through Christ.
approaches Scripture as primarily myths, though they contain some historical facts.
interpret Scripture allegorically, though some things might be literally true, the deeper truths never are.
seek new revelations from God, and therefore is open to further Scriptural works.
reserve secret truths for the initiated.
follows the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Prophet, Priest, King, Messiah, Savior, and God in the flesh.

It appears to me that Sethian Gnosticism went astray, by confusing the secret teaching with gnosis (mystical experience). Jesus Christ and mystic union with God got lost in the secret teaching, occult knowledge, and myths making. Valentinus, therefore, is the true representative of the Christianity taught by Paul, John, and Thomas. Too many confuse occultist and mystics. Gnostic Christian were, in my view, mystics.

References

Jay N. Forrest, Understanding Gnosticism: Rethinking Church History, United States: Tserrof Books, 2024.

How Orthodox am I?

As a Progressive Christian and Gnostic sympathizer, how much of orthodox doctrine can I affirm? Here is what I agree with.

I believe that the Holy Scriptures are inspired by God.

I believe that God created all things through the Logos and the Holy Spirit.

I believe in the Holy Trinity, that God is both one and three, known to us as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins.

I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day.

I believe that Jesus Christ was God incarnate in the flesh.

I believe that Jesus Christ will come again.

I believe that salvation is gained through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and Friend.

Misogyny in the Gospel of Thomas?

Simon Peter said to them, “Mary should leave us, for females are not worthy of life.” Jesus said, “Look, I shall guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter heaven’s kingdom.” (GThom 114).

If you read this with a literal interpretation, you will misinterpret it. This does not mean what it appears to say, as any Gnostic will know. This is a metaphor. A man is a symbol of the educated, a woman is a symbol of the uneducated. It has nothing to do with changing genders. It has to do with the fact that in this historical context, men were given an education and women were not.

Simon Peter, the spokesman for the patriarchy, says that Mary isn’t worthy of spiritual life. Jesus responds by saying, in effect, “I will make her educated. This will make her equal to you men. For every woman who makes herself educated will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Of course, the education Jesus is talking about is the education of gnosis, the mystical knowledge of God. This education would also include the spiritual illumination of the Holy Spirit. In these times, very few could read and write. Most Christians got their scripture through public reading on Sunday in church.

We know that this passage cannot be taken literally because the Bible is filled with passages where women are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17; 21:9). And as Paul said, “there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). If we are all one, then we are all equal, and therefore equally worthy of life.

Unfortunately, most people come to the Bible and think that it is historically accurate and literally true. The truth is that the Bible is the record of peoples encounter with God and is conveyed in the language of myth, metaphor, and parable. Interpret the Bible allegorically unless outside evidence points to a literal meaning.

References

Marvin Meyers, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts, New York: Harper One, 2007.