Ask a Gnostic Anything

[meltzerboy]

Well, not everything he does IS a trick. He revealed that when he pushes a large needle through his hand, he actually pushes a large needle through his hand. He just practiced over many years to avoid bleeding. He is just that -]devoted/-] crazy.

What kind of practicing of this behavior would result in avoiding bleeding?

 

[steido01]

What kind of practicing of this behavior would result in avoiding bleeding?

Apparently, here’s how: secrets-explained.com/david-blaine/ricky-gervais-needle-trick

Well, I’m sufficiently horrified for the day.

 

[Jerurussia]

Seems to me the Gnostic lineage is via the rebels in Egypt and Babylon who perverted the orthodox monotheist revelation of God, His will and His nature. All the faithful and true were demonized, and God was demoted. That’s the “secret.” Tinkering.

 

[Lucretius]

Seems to me the Gnostic lineage is via the rebels in Egypt and Babylon who perverted the orthodox monotheist revelation of God, His will and His nature. All the faithful and true were demonized, and God was demoted. That’s the “secret.” Tinkering.

The rebels in Egypt and Babylon? Was there any Apostles in Babylon? Maybe St. Thomas passed through there on his way to India

Christi pax,

Lucretius

 

[manualman]

Hello everyone!

I am a Christian Gnostic-Ask me anything at all

OK, What’s the secret?

 

[Lucretius]

The first thing that strikes a reader is the insistence in the stress laid on the ascetic endeavour. Modern man seeks mainly for ‘experience’ - putting himself at the centre of things he wishes to make them subservient to this aim; too often, even God becomes the source from which the highest experience flows, instead of being Him Whom we adore, worship, and are prepared to serve, whatever the cost to us. Such an attitude was unknown to the Desert, moreover, the Desert repudiated it as sacrilegious: the experiential knowledge which God in His infinite Love and condescension gives to those who seek Him with their whole heart is always a gift; its essential, abiding quality is its gratuity: it is an act of Divine Love and cannot therefore be deserved. The first Beatitude stands at the threshold of the Kingdom of God: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God’ - blessed are those who have understood that they are nothing in themselves, possess nothing which they dare call ‘their own’. If they are ‘something’ it is because they are loved of God and because they know for certain that their worth in God’s eyes can be measured by the humiliation of the Son of God, His life, the Agony of the Garden, the dereliction of the Cross - the Blood of Christ. To be, to be possessed of the gift of life and to be granted all that makes its richness means to be loved by God; and those who know this, free from any delusion that they can exist or possess apart from this mystery of love have entered into the Kingdom of God which is the Kingdom of Love

The Desert Fathers teach that God is not “an experience”, but rather the object of our worship, love, desire, faith, hope, and life. We are not to desire Him for the experience of Him, but rather follow Him, even if we have to carry a heavy cross, which we will eventually be nailed to and hung up in the hot desert sun. In other words, we don’t follow Him because He “feels good”, but rather because He is God. We follow Him even when it sucks to do so.

Christi pax,

Lucretius

 

[Slartibartfast]

The Desert Fathers teach that God is not “an experience”, but rather the object of our worship, love, desire, faith, hope, and life.

Surely there must some form of experience? I agree that God is external; that, as Creator, he is beyond all things including the universe. However, isn’t it the case that, through Christ, we can experience the presence of God in our lives? Can’t that presence be perceived in some way or other? I know the response from many will be to say that if we have faith, we shall be rewarded in heaven and that’s that. Isn’t it the case though that we can have a real sense of inner transformation which colours our every moment of experience?

 

[Lucretius]

Surely there must some form of experience? I agree that God is external; that, as Creator, he is beyond all things including the universe. However, isn’t it the case that, through Christ, we can experience the presence of God in our lives? Can’t that presence be perceived in some way or other? I know the response from many will be to say that if we have faith, we shall be rewarded in heaven and that’s that. Isn’t it the case though that we can have a real sense of inner transformation which colours our every moment of experience?

I did not say there is not an experience, but rather that the experience is not the primary goal, at least in this life. This life is the journey; and like all journeys, have hardships. Even when we collapse, we must get up again and keep going. The destination, is the Beatified Vision, where we experience God as He really is. We might get a taste of the Vision before the end of our journey, God permitting, but God is not to be met completely until the end. I just read a quote from St. Francis de Sales about this yesterday:

I am not terribly concerned about living out these brief and passing moments, so long as I can live eternally with my God in glory. We have already started out on our trip to eternity, and we have taken the first steps; provided our eternity is a happy one, why worry about the passing moments of trial in this life? These tribulations last three or four days and are to be followed by so much eternal glory and joy! How is it possible that we are not prepared to put up with them?.. Everything that has no bearing on eternity is mere vanity.

The Gnostic search for God in this life. I mentioned in post #178 that even the most Holiest of experiences in this life are not perfect. The Gnostics turn their experiences into an idol, it seems to me.

Christi pax,

Lucretius

 

[Slartibartfast]

I did not say there is not an experience, but rather that the experience is not the primary goal, at least in this life. This life is the journey; and like all journeys, have hardships.We might get a taste of the Vision before the end of our journey, God permitting, but God is not to be met completely until the end.

Yes, I would agree but maintain the ‘taste’ is an enduring one, only interrupted by those times of hardship and hopefully restored soon afterwards . I am not sure if you agree with that or are suggesting that these experiences are rather more transient in their nature.

The Gnostic search for God in this life. I mentioned in post #178 that even the most Holiest of experiences in this life are not perfect. The Gnostics turn their experiences into an idol, it seems to me.

Did our Gnostic chums ever mention the role of Christ in their experiences of knowing God? I can’t remember.
Actually, I am still hoping that they might give insight into the practices that lead to this Gnosis…

 

[Lucretius]

Yes, I would agree but maintain the ‘taste’ is an enduring one, only interrupted by those times of hardship and hopefully restored soon afterwards . I am not sure if you agree with that or are suggesting that these experiences are rather more transient in their nature.

I don’t really know. Some people might live joyfully all their lives, and only occasionally be interrupted with hardship, while others might be miserable all their lives, and only occasionally feel joy.

Nevertheless, we must love God and neighbor all our lives, rain or shine, hot or cold, on vacation or in prison.

Christi pax,

Lucretius

 

[danrooke]

To be given the title “Christian” on must believe in the doctrine of the Trinity,

So my question is, do you deny the Trinity?
if so, why do you claim to be Christian?

Forgive me if this question has been asked but I got bored reading the forum.
God Bless you.

 

[Sephero]

Your true god became ‘fractured’, it divided itself, and a portion of itself (Ultimately), created this world, and other little portions of itself (What else can they be?) became ‘trapped’ in this world (which has zero value), they seek to reabsorb themselves back into their original Godhead (that is paradoxically free at the same time) this is your ‘Salvation’. Then… your true god divides itself, and a portion of itself… etc etc - because as you said Sophia in eternity became bored - restless - with the monotony of the perpetual harmony.

When you do reabsorb yourself, what stops your from doing the whole charade again, and allowing for another demiurge to create another valueless world, where there is suffering?

On that day, will you be there to say, oh Sophia, don’t be so silly and go and create another imperfect god?

Ultimately your god is imperfect, as imperfection has its source in that god, and ultimately you are that god. What else can you be? You are not created, you have emanated, at least the ‘truest’ part of you has that is.

The Triune True and Holy God is perfect. Gods rebellious angels are the source of all the misery you see around you. Through the lie of the chief of the fallen angels, death, and sin(evil) came into the creation. Creation was not always like you see it now, nor were our bodies.

"For it is He who in the beginning created the world full of all visible and intelligible beings, among which He created nothing better than those spirits whom He endowed with intelligence, and made capable of contemplating and enjoying Him, and united in our society, which we call the holy and heavenly city, and in which the material of their sustenance and blessedness is God Himself, as it were their common food and nourishment. It is He who gave to this intellectual nature free-will of such a kind, that if he wished to forsake God, i.e., his blessedness, misery should immediately result. It is He who, when He foreknew that certain angels would in their pride desire to suffice for their own blessedness, and would forsake their great good, did not deprive them of this power, deeming it to be more befitting His power and goodness to bring good out of evil than to prevent the evil from coming into existence. -St.Augustine

Note created - not emanated from its very self.

The True God, is truly Perfect, truly Good, truly Loving. Is truly Wise (unlike Sophias decisions), truly Creative, truly Saving.
God saves us! Is The Good News. How can you not hear this?

All things are to be made new, creation is being redeemed, eternal perfection is to come. One where there is no ‘monotony’, because it was not monotony in the first place that brought destruction. Not an unending cycle of emanating, returning, emanating, returning…

“There will never be any boredom or satiety in heaven since God is infinite and eternal, he is infinitely attractive and eternally fascinating. God’s self-revelation comes to us like rays of light flowing out from an inexhaustible Sun. God is an unstoppable source pouring himself out in manifestations of goodness, truth and beauty yet the source itself is limitless that can never be fathomed or drained dry. God descends to us in energies of love but his innermost essence and the ultimate secret of this heart lie always beyond our comprehension.” - Gregory Collins O.S.B

The True God is perfect. God does not bore of Himself. He is an eternal furnace of Love which in itself is eternally fulfilling.

There is no need for some part of God to emanate, and create another lesser God because that emanation was bored.

There is need for God (because He is Love) to do everything to save us from the mess we got ourselves into. Love. The Truth is, Love.

Where is Love in your philosophy? Is it Love that motivates your to absorb yourself back into yourself? Can Love be generated between a monistic entity?

Here is a glaring contradiction from your philosophy also.

You said “my practice would continue to develop and flourish…”

But you said this world has no value, how can you ‘develop and flourish’?

Your development and flourishing is valueless I’m afraid.

Also even if you could do this in a valueless world. You’re not developing or flourishing, your simply returning to what you were - period.

I understand where your are coming from by he way, I am just waking away from Advaita Vedanta, and back to Catholicism. Catholicism makes more sense, and it is far more beautiful, it’s all I could ever wish for essentially - it’s almost too good to be true, and that is why it’s the Truth, because God is the best!

You’ve also said.

*"Different Gnostic schools have different interpretations on this act of Sophia.

There are many different Gnostic interpretations of the afterlife."*

and then said

“The first is intuition which is the foundation of Gnostic experience.”

So many different realities have been ‘intuited’ by several gnostic thinkers?

Yet the particular one that you adhere to is correct? By what means, and in what manor have you verified this? How do you infallibly know this?

Also you have said regarding the Cloud of unknowing .

• ‘A must-read for anyone interested in mysticism’*

Yet you reject this authors beliefs. Why is this a ‘must read’ for you?
The author explicitly beliefs that the True God - Jesus Christ came to this earth, to redeem and save all those who hear him, and to make all things new (Creation).
You don’t belief this, so why do you recommend the text?

Thanks you for your time.

God Bless.