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Originally posted by Athma_Shakti:
"....open mind is very important in any type of learning by inquiring or exploring and taking the positive points, but the inquiring should not be exploited or used as a tool for degrading the teachings of great spiritual giants like Jesus Christ."

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Originally posted by Philip:
"What is being taught today by mainstream religions, almost without exception, is totally dead and devoid of real understanding."

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Concerning the back-fitting of scriptures. I could not disagree more on this point. All the scriptures are written in code, and only those who know the ciphers can read this correctly.

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Philip wrote:
What is being taught today by mainstream religions, almost without exception, is totally dead and devoid of real understanding. This is because the supposed experts do not possess the knowledge (gnosis, daath, jana, etc.) that is needed in order to properly assimilate and teach those looking of spiritual guidance.

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Now, at first the Christians had this knowledge, yet, eventually lost it. The entire Bible was written by those who knew the Kabbalah, yet, today that knowledge is thrown out as hogwash. No one can understand the Bible, especially Genesis and Revelations without deep kabbalistic understandings.

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I do not know how can someone say they understand the Bible if they do not understand Kabbalah. That seems quite absurd to me. We should know, for example, that the four gospels each teach a specifically about different sephorioth, namely: Malkuth, Yesod, Hod, and the Netzach, which is in relationship to the physical, vital, astral and mental bodies.

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The word 'Gnosticism' is a modern construction, though based on an antiquated linguistic expression: it comes from the Greek word meaning 'knowledge', gnosis (ãí#8182;óéò). However, gnosis itself refers to a very specialised form of knowledge, deriving both from the exact meaning of the original Greek term and its usage in Platonist philosophy.

Unlike modern English, ancient Greek was capable of discerning between several different forms of knowing. These different forms may be described in English as being propositional knowledge, indicative of knowledge acquired indirectly through the reports of others or otherwise by inference (such as "I know of George Bush" or "I know Berlin is in Germany"), and empirical knowledge acquired by direct participation or acquaintance (such as "I know George Bush personally" or "I know Berlin, having visited").

Gnosis (ãí#8182;óéò) refers to knowledge of the second kind. Therefore, in a religious context, to be 'Gnostic' should be understood as being reliant not on knowledge in a general sense, but as being specially receptive to mystical or esoteric experiences of direct participation with the divine. Indeed, in most Gnostic systems the sufficient cause of salvation is this 'knowledge of' ('acquaintance with') the divine. This is commonly identified with a process of inward 'knowing' or self-exploration, comparable to that encouraged by Plotinus (ca. 205–270 AD). However, as may be seen, the term 'gnostic' also had precedent usage in several ancient philosophical traditions, which must also be weighed in considering the very subtle implications of its appellation to a set of ancient religious groups.






An alternate heritage is offered by Kurt Rudolph in his book Gnosis: The Nature & Structure of Gnosticism (Koehler and Amelang, Leipzig, 1977), to explain the lineage of Persian Gnostic schools. The decline of Manicheism that occurred in Persia in the 5th century AD/CE was too late to prevent the spread of the movement into the east and the west. In the west, the teachings of the school moved into Syria, Northern Arabia, Egypt and North Africa (where Augustine was a member of school from 373-382); from Syria it progressed still farther, into Palestine, Asia Minor and Armenia. There is evidence for Manicheans in Rome and Dalmatia in the 4th century, and also in Gaul and Spain. The influence of Manicheanism was attacked by imperial elects and polemical writings, but the religion remained prevalent until the 6th century, and still exerted influence in the emergence of the Paulicians, Bogomils and Cathari in the middle ages, until it was ultimately stamped out as a heresy by the Catholic Church.

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Doc: Gnosticism, in each of its many cleverly fabricated versions, has consistently been rejected by the Orthodox Christian Faith as a heresy from the time of gnosticism's initial appearance nearly 1,800 years ago. And in turn, it has also been rejected by most other Christian church denominations since then, finding both the gnostic doctrine and the methods based upon it to be erroneous and objectionable.

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Originally posted by Christi

I am only on a dial-up connection so unfortunately could not watch the video link that you posted. Do you have any links to websites that help people understand the bible based on an understanding of the kabbalah?

Christi

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Originally posted by Doc

And in turn, it has also been rejected by most other Christian church denominations since then, finding both the gnostic doctrine and the methods based upon it to be erroneous and objectionable.

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Chapter IX.-Refutation of the Impious Interpretations of These Heretics.

1. You see, my friend, the method which these men employ to deceive themselves, while they abuse the Scriptures by endeavouring to support their own system out of them. For this reason, I have brought forward their modes of expressing themselves, that thus thou mightest understand the deceitfulness of their procedure, and the wickedness of their error.

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Originally posted by VIL:

"...for the love of God."

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david_obsidian:
...we are not a Christian forum, though Christians are of course free to post here.

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Originally posted by david_obsidian
You see, my friend, the method which these men employ to deceive themselves, while they abuse the Scriptures by endeavouring to support their own system out of them. For this reason, I have brought forward their modes of expressing themselves, that thus thou mightest understand the deceitfulness of their procedure, and the wickedness of their error.
[/purple][/b]

[ winks and clownies mine ]

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david_obsidian:
...it is unfortunate that St. Irenaeus of Lyons did not have use of emoticons

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Originally posted by Philip


Adam and Eve represent (in the context of the biological organism) what is called Ida and Pingala in the east. Eve is the Lunar, Adam is the Solar. Adam is related with the mind, and the cerebral fluid. Eve is related with the sex, and the sexual fluids (endocrine system). The serpent of genesis is directly related with the kundalini, it is absoultely sexual. The serpent tempts Eve because she represents the sexual nature in every man and woman. The fall of Adam and Eve is the fall of one's own kundalini. Sex gave us knowledge of good and evil, yet we have become trapped in good and evil (which are just descriptors for evoloving and devolving energies).

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I have come across a belief-system, where Eve was sexually tempted
by Lucifer (spiritual Fall), and then in turn, through the influence
of Lucifer, Eve tempted Adam (physical Fall).
So here the serpent is Lucifer, an angel, having sexual realtionship
with Eve. What would you make of such a belief system ?
Well, this brings up the question: what are angels ? And what kind
of relationship is possible between (wo)man and an angel ?

Anybody got some enlightening insight to offer ?

L&L
Wolfgang

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Yogani wrote:
Scriptures can be useful when taken on blind faith over the short term, aiding in promoting bhakti and direct spiritual experience, and thus helping dissolve blind faith. But, if taken as absolute truth on blind faith indefinitely, without ongoing spiritual growth via effective practices, scriptures can become the foundation (or excuse) for grossly aberrant conduct in human beings. Any knowledge reduced to the level of an "ideology" and taken on blind faith on an ongoing basis will lead to conflict with other ideologies also taken on blind faith. When a scripture has been reduced to an ideology, beware!

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Doc wrote:
Gnosticism, in each of its many cleverly fabricated versions, has consistently been rejected by the Orthodox Christian Faith as a heresy from the time of gnosticism's initial appearance nearly 1,800 years ago. And in turn, it has also been rejected by most other Christian church denominations since then, finding both the gnostic doctrine and the methods based upon it to be erroneous and objectionable.

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Philip wrote:Actually, that link was for a DVD that you can order.

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I find your descriptions of Genesis fascinating. You obviously have a very great undrestanding of the Kabala, and of mysticism. One thing I have always wondered, what are the Elohem? I always thought they were angels, but you mention them in one of your posts above as being aspects of the human soul. Is it true that the first line of the Christian bible is not about God at all, but rather about the Elohem (In the beginning was the word, and the word was with the Elohem, and the word was the Elohem....)?
I heard this once, but as I don't speak ancient hebrew, I had no way of validating it).

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For the crime of having accompanied Jesus Christ in the Holy Land and because of having celebrated our rituals within Rome's catacombs, we, the Gnostics faced the lions in the circus of Rome. Then, later, in time, we were burnt alive in the flames of the Roman Catholic inquisition. Previously, we were the mystical Essenes of Palestine. So, we are not improvising opportunist doctrines. We were hidden during twenty centuries, but now we are returning once again to the street in order to carry on our shoulders the old, rough and heavy cross.

Paul took our doctrine to Rome. Yes, he was a Gnostic Nazarene.

Jesus-Christ taught our doctrine in secrecy to his seventy disciples.

The Sethani, Peratae, Carpocratians, Nazarenes and Essenes are Gnostic. The Egyptian and Aztec Mysteries, the Mysteries of Rome, Troy, Carthage, of Eleusis, India, of the Druids, Pythagoreans, Kambirs, of Mithra and Persia, etc. are in their depth that which we call Gnosis or Gnosticism.

We now once again open the ancient Gnostic Sanctuaries which were closed with the arrival of the Dark Age. Thus, we are now opening the authentic Initiatic Colleges. - From The Major Mysteries by Samael Aun Weor.

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