Greatest I am
Valued Senior Member
Labels are comfy. Belonging. That's nice.
Read it again. Belonging to what or whom?
To yourself. Right?
Would you want it any other way?
Regards
DL
Labels are comfy. Belonging. That's nice.
What do you guys think of Gnosticism? It's theory of our predicament, the cause of evil, etc., I find intriguing. I prefer the Sethian and Marcion forms of Gnosticism myself. I think it is right on point by blaming our predicament on God. I also think that is morally right to hate and detest the God of the Old Testament, yet not necessarily disbelieve in him. Yes, I may go to Hell, but it is preferable to being an ass kissing slave to YHWH ( or Saklas/ Ialdabaoth). Better to burn than to be a treasonous, cringing, detestable slave and a hypocrite too, just so you can con your way into Heaven.
Anyways, what is your opinion of Gnosticism?
People forget that gnosticism is a loose grouping kept together mostly be their shared status as heretics. For every progressive gospel of Mary Magdalene, there are three insanely misogynistic tracts calling women soulless servants of the demiurge.
Interesting. Welcome to the site. This thread has gone stale, but I'm not sure it got the attention it deserves. Gnosticism is genetically linked to the modern incarnations of ancient Christianity, and rarely gets elevated to anything more than the status of a passing curiosity. The piece that strikes me as most relevant to this lineage is the impersonal Jesus seen in the Gospel of Thomas, who resembles the post-Resurrection Jesus of the canon, as well as the bizarre impersonal Jesus of the quasi-hallucinatory Book of Revelation.
If not for some freak accident, or turn of historical events, Gnosticism might have been the religion defended by, say, the Tea Party.
Do you really think the tea party would support the worship of knowledge?
I have seen knowledge in nature. I saw trees light up and turn so beautiful it became knowledge for something more. In my imagination I saw a Man in this beauty.
I learned beauty matches up with conciousness and other lights. When you shine you are thoughtful or wise.
I have seen knowledge in nature. I saw trees light up and turn so beautiful it became knowledge for something more. In my imagination I saw a Man in this beauty. I learned beauty matches up with consciousness and other lights. When you shine you are thoughtful or wise.
Then when you investigate Gnosticism you will be more deeply enlightened
There is further to go , but its a start
In Gnosticism we all can know god through knowledge
In Gnosticism we all can know god through knowledge
Do you practice Gnosticism? Have you ever considered Hermeticism? I was looking into both recently and I felt Hermeticism was a more fundamental teaching than gnosticism but that they both had the same overall recognition of how the universe works. That said, I didn't do much research into Gnosticism, so don't be offended if those were falsely spoken, it was just my personal interpretation at this time. I am genuinely interested if you have compared the two and what may have made you resonate more with Gnosticism, if so?
"As above, so below." In time, this phrase will come to be understood as the most enlightening words ever uttered. Again, my personal interpretation at this time ;-D
(Sorry, if you think this is derailing the Gnostic specific thread, please ignore me!)
No worries
You are exploring both , this is a good thing
Any thoughts on how the two compare then with regard to what I said?! ;-D
Not right now
I have moved. And both of these books are in storage , unfortunately
But please , continue with what you have learned
I will always be interested
river
It's a long story, but it ultimately arrives at me believing that hermeticism is the way to the Philosopher's Stone, which is metaphorical for a mental connection to God that allows for material world manipulation mentally. I think hermeticism describes the mental manipulation of the material world most accurately, and I think this is the skill that anyone who wrote or is written about in the Bible had at least a degree of mental connection to God through hermetic understandings of the universe. I don't know what gnosticism teaches, the best text to refer to for hermeticism is the Kybalion where they teach the seven principles.
One of them is the Principle of Correspondence: As above, so below. This is what drew me to hermeticism the most. I don't know if you are into cosmology, but my Theory of Everything in the Alternative Theories subforum led me to realize that the universe operates by a principle of correspondence; all levels are observably the same if the observer is composed of the level below and lives on that level. Planets are planets, but so are stars (to observers composed of planets) and black holes (to observers composed of stars) and nuclei (to observers composed of electrons) etc etc. Stars are stars to observers composed of atoms, but planets are stars to observers composed of electrons whose planet is an atom's nuclei, and someone on an electron would observe that nucleus as their star and the planet, say Earth, as their black hole. There are an infinite number of such "levels of existence", because the universe is infinite and eternal. Very long story to explain how this is so, but after realizing it I started to research Isaac Newton's occult studies and I was very taken aback by how ACCURATE hermetic teachings were to my realized structure of the universe.
That's why I'm very interested in the differences in gnosticism and hermeticism; does gnosticism teach the same general thing as "as above, so below"?
The only thing I can say is this , Gnosticism promotes the idea that you can understand god through knowledge
For knowledge brings you closer to god