Metaphysics

Dear Rev. Amy: There have been so many ways this course has enlightened me. Learning about how I treat myself was an area that I never ever thought about. I was hard on myself, thinking I have been stupid, a failure, a bad person and incompetent. I learned that my life is a journey and all the "mistakes" are lessons I need to learn in this lifetime. Learning to recognize when I have moved out of love, has been difficult and rewarding. On being true to myself and my word, I have come a long way as well. I have researched, meditated and searched inward for my "true" beliefs. I have not blindly followed "popular" beliefs, views or doctrine on spirituality for several years. I have become comfortable being different and self-thinking. I adhere to the teachings of Jesus, as I was raised Christian. I have learned for me, that the Bible opens as many questions as it answers. I feel it is more of a guide than a law, as with all other respected religious material. I have benefited daily from newly learned meditation techniques. Before starting Spirit Quest, I already grounded and opened chakras for meditation. The huge gold sun, protection rose and sticky sun integrated smoothly into my routine. Having the ability to fill my life with golden sun energy has increased my inner happiness, along with creating and destroying roses greatly reduced my stress levels. The ability to destroy even the smallest of annoyances creates more room for positive energy. The sticky sun has taught me that I can re-capture lost energy and re-claim it for my use. I learned to look at situations and ask what am I being asked to learn from this situation? How does this fit into the "big picture" of my life? Functioning in a negative frame of mind or surrounding oneself with negative people and energy was normal for me until this course. I rarely recognized I was hardly ever operating out of love. Life is complicated and does require that one is constantly paying attention and be aware. Daily miracles go easily unnoticed if operating in a robot lifestyle. I have taken time to really look at my beliefs. They are still changing as I learn. Learning that the voices I hear are not mine was a great affirmation. Speaking in the positive to tell the universe the right thing. The importance of asking the right questions.....all great concepts I can use as tools now. I have discovered I am a mature soul. There really are so many questions that need answers. My soul is focused on relationships and bonding. The great spiritual awareness is over-whelming and difficult to handle at times. I try to take baby steps or the one-day-at-a-time process to help focus on the present. Please forgive me for my error in sending this essay in 2 parts. I hit the wrong key...and not being computer knowledgeable, I did not know any other way to get it to you. My sincerest apologies. Yours truly, Kimberly Shaw ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Chaplain Course

This course has taken me to the top and right back to the bottom The top being what I thought was a call to be a Chaplain to my past Biker lifestyle. The bottom being I was so wrong and failed my mission to even help my buddy in Prison right now. I was called to be a follower of Christ back when I was a child. The scripture that spoke life into me was found in the book of Acts 20:24. This call came to me because it was my dead sister who lead me to know Christ in the first place, which now these very words would be anchor to my soul to keep me through my walk right up to the very gates of hell in the Out Law Biker lifestyle. I guess my first response to much of this course was the same as my studies with the Grove Of Dana Bardic Course I started back many years ago. It will also be a lifetime process to become a Chaplain. The word Master of Chaplain is a lifetime process of learning and study. Here I thought my seminary days where over. LOL Ya right. Like the Bardic course this also is a process of being in a furnace, or Calderon. The Mark of the Divine has always been very clear all my life. I guess you could say Psalm 18 is my life in words. Over and over again I have saw the Divine power of Gods hands take me through the death of my sister to being raped to heavy drug addiction. Burnt out Brian cells I still could re site scriptures I had learned as a child. God has always drawn me with His words in scripture. I have also saw myself a shepherd of peoples.I have always tried to lead others rather then foll low in the past and wondered why until I grasped it from the course. Sorry to jump to lessen eight, but that where some meat came to my soul. The structure of, or art of listening. It was an eye opener to have a list of the hands on. I never saw people as permanent or temporary. Yet it does clear up and make for a shorter list. Consistency is one of the biggest words I lack so badly in my life, but now see how important it really is. Availability is a loaded word, which is compounded by Consistency. Seeing them both work together to build trust and better relationships. Compassion has always been a strong part of my life. I have always drawn and been blinded by my compassion also. This I will claim is a process I'll be working harder to build into my character. I also learned a lot about the structure to Listening. I lost the art of listening and am glad for this process to follow with the eye, body posture and gestures. Being first to open the door and offer a seat! I have always known about Touch. This is my fourth year fighting for the new Holly Jones Law. She was murdered and raped and chopped up in May 12/ 2003. This last couple of years we have been trying to pass a theory of touch. I  am off base but trying to show how this lessen helped to clarify Touch. People do need the human touch, which is always good to ask before done. The head is the center of the mind and the Spirit. It is there the nervous system is headquarters. A topic I have set out to learn all I can about in this life is Comfort the Grieving. Being a Chaplain I had said to you it would be good to do the comparative religion, because to relate to others in their own spiritual beliefs. My own theological stance has changed over and over again to be honest. Being a ULC Minister and knowing we accept all faiths it's hard t coin one side. Yet I do fully see an after life, but contend also with a re birth into and form, or being. I have always found on this topic that God opens my mind and heart and mouth to what He wants to be said in this time of sorrow. Counsel to the Troubled. I wish when I was a youth worker I had this information. I would have not suffered burn out, or temptation to the flesh. A safe place with a door, or a window is a great way to see safety and policy. I can't recall how many times this would have saved a lot of trouble in the past. Through the process of the lesson I took responsibility for some of my own actions in studies and the call to reach the lost. Through this process I was able to come away from my former lifestyle and lead a life unto God and the call. I still lack accountability, but one day at a time. The theory of THINK/ ACT & FEEL was the best three words in the hole of the course for me. I learned more in this lesson then any other. I recall the day I did this lessen. In fact I keep doing this one over and over again. Knowing my best variation is to think first, or line up my thoughts with out motto. "WHAT IS THE RIGHT ACTION IN THIS SITUATION"  I gotta say it's true the feeling of satisfaction of doing right comes every time I put this process first. I have made it part of my thinking now and daily use it.I guess this is where they got the What would Jesus do theory? Traps boy that' s a process! Self awareness, Knowing my own limitations. I need to read and re-read and process " It is not about you or me. It is about the One who calls us. It is about bringing Divine presence into the lives of others. It is never about how well we've done. It is about the reality that the Spirit using us." Love it all. I have often failed to ask others for help in the past. Tried to do it on my own and not listen to others. I see now how to avoid my own traps and find friends who can give me honest feed back. Self awareness is the key. The Soul Friend is the next piece of meat to eat in this study. I got'a say it's pretty darn hard to make even one friend in this life let alone a soul- friend. I could in some ways understand this, but fail it in so many ways also. I would have no trouble calling Christ my soul- friend who has drawn me with cords of love through my own personal hell in this life. Even in the very pit of the shadows of death in front of me he spoke to me and calmed my heart. I was not afraid to die point blank in Christ love a couple of times in my life. I also stood in the flesh on a death threat and felt empty when told to get ready to die, but Christ came to my aide also at those items as my soul- friend. I have little trust in man to see one as a soul-friend. Yet I will also confess any and all my christian friendships are forever and it is always like yesterday when we see each other, so yes maybe I have several of them. The ten dollar swear work " Accountability " Back a few years ago I worked with a Army Chaplain for about a year. I was accountable to being there and doing the works of a Chaplain. He and I where where able to finish up and print my Drug & Alcohol outreach program. We shared the pulpit and the weekly Bible study to the homeless also. Looking back he had many of the qualities spoken of in this course, but his heart was and is in Iraq to this very day. So in the end of all this my call to be a Chaplain to the family of Black Label Society is where I rest. People come to me via Internet daily for helps of all sorts. I deal with cancer children daily and death also. Many hold radical faiths in what ever, which they all know I don't judge anyone on the basis of their faith. Funny how death draws people together in life, but it does. I have no clue how many words I have printed and am not doing this for words, or a credit in the end. God said be as eager to finish that which you have started, so here it be my essay. Minister of Peace Revern Douglas Tebbutt ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church.

Gospel of Thomas

ULC Seminary

Gospel of Thomas Final Essay

Rev. Nick Federspiel, M.Min

 

What is this course?   It is the author's discourse, evangelism and apologetics for Gnosticism disguised as a scholarly logion by logion interpretation of The Gnostics Gospel of Thomas – the famous Nag Hammurabi "Fifth Gospel."   By example:  from Lesson 19:

From my reading of this gospel, from here, to saying 108, it becomes much more direct and blunt. It displays either a frustrated Jesus who originally spoke these sayings, or a frustrated Judas Thomas who structured the gospel in this fashion. Therefore, I will be more direct also. The mess the Christian movement made of the work of Jesus frustrates me, too. So many good and honest people denied the right to find their way into the kingdom of heaven.

Any good religion can be depreciated by false prophets and over zealous leadership as is the out of control Islam terrorist movement.  Allah I doubt is actually pleased with one Islamic sect murdering the other.   But that is one thing and a blanket statement like the one above is very much another.  From lesson 9:  

Login 42. Jesus said, "Be bystanders."

Course Interpretation: This short statement sums up all that has gone before. Drop out, and stand aside from the world. Learn to stand aside from your own Self. Pursuing this world in an attempt to find happiness only leads to a temporary illusion of happiness. Get drunk, have sex, go to a concert or ballgame, and we can forget the drudgery of work or the discontent at home. In the morning, however, it is back to the old grind again, stuck in the morning commute.

Compare and contrast is a technique I use to learn from commentary.  How might others comment on Login 42?

F. F. Bruce writes:  " … These words are later ascribed to Jesus in some strands of Muslim tradition (although in other strands they are ascribed to Muhammad or to one of his companions). The most famous instance of their ascription to Jesus in Muslim tradition is on the main gateway of the mosque erected in 1601 at Fathpur-Sikri, south of Delhi, by the Moghul Akbar the Great; it bears the inscription: 'Jesus, on whom be peace, said: "This world is a bridge. Pass over it; but do not build your dwelling there."'" (Jesus and Christian Origens Outside the New Testament, p. 130)

Frankly, this simple example sums up my entire view of this course.  Its only value, in my opinion, is to use it as a catalyst to compare and contrast other's scholarly commentaries – and for ULC credit of course.  Who did this – who was the Apostle Thomas?

Thomas appears in a few passages in the Gospel of John in John 11:16 concerning Lazarus, etc.  

He also speaks at The Last Supper.   Jesus assures his disciples that they know where he is going but Thomas protests that they don't know at all. Jesus replies to this and to Philip's requests with a detailed exposition of his relationship to God the Father.

The Andrea del Verrocchino sculpture showing the incredulity of St. Thomas.

In Thomas'best known appearance in the New Testament, John 20:24-29.  Thomas doubts the resurrection of Jesus and demands to touch Jesus' wounds before being convinced. This story is the origin of the term Doubting Thomas. After seeing Jesus alive, Thomas professed his faith in Jesus, exclaiming "My Lord and my God!" On this account he is also called Thomas the Believer.

And what did Saint to be Apostle Thomas do in the few decades after the resurrection of Christ?

The indigenous church of Kerala has a tradition that St. Thomas sailed there to spread the Christian faith. He landed at the ancient port of Muziris (which became extinct in 1341 AD) near Kodungalloor. He then went to present-day which was a Hindu priestly community at that time. He left there in AD 52 for the southern part of what is now Kerala State, where he established the Ezharappallikal, or "Seven and Half Churches".

"It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Eddessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India." - Hymns of St. Ephraem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni et Sermones, IV).

Eusebius of Caesarea quotes Origen(died mid-3rd century) as having stated that Thomas was the apostle to the Parthians, but Thomas is better known as the missionary to India through the Acts of Thomas, perhaps written as late as ca 200.

Obviously, from the Christian New Testament accounts Thomas is destined to become a Saint of the Church which indeed is recognized by the Roman, Eastern, Oriental and Anglican churches. Now we know of whom we are discussing. 

Well, just one minute …. Where did this "fifth gospel" come from?  Everyone who cares to know is aware of how these "missing books" were found, where they are now and that some say that they toss the New Testament out the window.  After all anything that attacks the Bible is more credible than the Bible itself – just common sense isn't it?  There is a saying consider the source.  So the source is what? Or who?  One major player was, in no small part, an ego bruised bishop of the Catholic Church, Valentinius. Who was he?

Valentinius taught first in Alexandria and went to Rome about 136 AD, during the pontificate of pope Hyginus, and remained until the pontificate of pope Anicetus. In Adversus Valentinianos, iv, Tertullian says:

Valentinius had expected to become a bishop, because he was an able man both in genius and eloquence. Being indignant, however, that another obtained the dignity by reason of a claim which confessorship had given him, he broke with the church of the true faith. Just like those (restless) spirits which, when roused by ambition, are usually inflamed with the desire of revenge, he applied himself with all his might to exterminate the truth; and finding the clue of a certain old opinion (NF Gnosticism) …"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinus_(Gnostic)

 

Just when were these 'New Testament has it all wrong' texts written?

The Gnostic Gospels are Gnostic collections of writings about the teachings of Jesus, written from the 2nd - 4th century AD. A minority view contends for an early date of perhaps 50 A.D. for some passages, citing a relationship to the hypothetical Q document among other reasons. Certain Gnostic texts mention Jesus in the context of his earthly existence, and some scholars have argued that Gnostic texts could contain plausible traditions. Examples of such texts include the Gospel of Truth, Treatise on Resurrection and the Apocryphion of John, the latter of which opens with the following:

" … It happened one day when John, the brother of James — who are sons of Zebedee — went up and came to the temple, that a Pharisee named Arimanius approached him and said to him: "Where is your master whom you followed?" And he said to them: "He has gone to the place from which he came." The Pharisee said to him: "This Nazarene deceived you all with deception and filled your ears with lies and closed your hearts and turned you from the traditions of your fathers. …"

Of all the Gnostic texts, however, the Gospel of Thomas had drawn the most attention. It contains a list of sayings attributed to Jesus. It lacks a narrative of Jesus treating his deeds in a historical sense. The majority of scholars date it to the early-mid second century.

Ref:  Gnostic texts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus

Now we know who, why and when of the Gospel of Thomas and we can proceed in regards to state of the art scholarship of what in this course.  "Login" is preferred Gnostic gospel terminology and is analogous to the term verse.  We are presented with this from lesson 4:

Login 12: The disciples said to Jesus, "We know you will leave us. Who should lead us?" Jesus said, "Anywhere you might be you need to go to James the righteous. For him heaven and earth came into being."

The course:  This is as good a place as any to drop a small atomic bomb on the nonexistent first century town of Nazareth. Jesus appointed James as the leader of the Jewish political party, religious sect called the Nazarenes they were one and the same. There is no record anywhere of the existence of Nazareth in Galilee or anywhere else.

The author might have brought the following to our attention.  Note, Origen referenced below was a famous scholar of this authorship era. The Nazarene sect may well have established their own settlement and the scribes later adopted the name into scripture.

Extrabiblical references to Nazareth.

The form Nazara is also found in the earliest non-scriptural reference to the town, a citation by Sextus Julius Africanus dated about 200 CE. (See "Middle Roman to Byzantine Periods" below.) The Church Father Origen(c. 185 to 254 CE) knows the forms Nazara and Nazaret. Later, Eusebius in his Onomasticon (translated by St. Jerome) also refers to the settlement as Nazara.

The first non-Christian reference to Nazareth is an inscription on a marble fragment from a synagogue found in Caesarea Martima in 1962. This fragment gives the town's name in Hebrew as nun·tsade·resh·tav. The inscription dates as early as c. 300 CE and chronicles the assignment of priests that took place at some time after the bar Kokhba revolt, 132-35 CE.^[12] (See "Middle Roman to Byzantine Periods" below.) An 8th century CE Hebrew inscription, which was the earliest known Hebrew reference to Nazareth prior to the discovery of the inscription above, uses the same form.  Currently the small town settled in antiquity has a population of 64,000

Refs:   http://wapedia.mobi/en/Nazareth http://www.answers.com/topic/nazareth

When the Romans swept through the 'Holy Land' in 68 – 70 A.D. and again in 135 A.D. what would be left over of a modest or small Christian village?  If it was related to Jesus, i.e. Nazareth, logically it would have been number one on the Roman's pulverize it hit list.   If the Romans plowed Jerusalem under in 135 A.D., what is it that we should expect to find of an adjacent village today?  Should we expect something of a place likely obliterated off the map to be in post 135 A.D. literature and / or in great archeological condition today? 

Interpretation of the first part of login 13 (Jesus said to his disciples, "Tell me who you think I am like") is very much like the 'who am I' questions in Matthew 16:13-16; Luke 9:18-22 and Acts 13:25. 

Login 13. Jesus said to his disciples, "Tell me who you think I am like." Peter said, "You are like a great angel." Matthew replied, "You are like a wise truth-seeker," Thomas said to him, "Lord, I am unable to say who you are like.  …  but if I tell you the three words he spoke to me you would pick up rocks and stone me and they would turn into fire …"

The Studies of the Gospel of Thomas includes this analysis of login 13 not mentioned in the author's course analysis.  It suggests there were whispered by Jesus three words that would if repeated in public be most unsettling to the then Orthodox Jews and cause some to throw stones of which fire would emanate.

External Commentary on 13:  It may be significant that while there are several references in the New Testament to stoning or casting stones it is only John who speaks of taking up stones to throw (viii. 59, x. 31). About the three words we can only speculate, but they were evidently blasphemous to Jewish ears. Puech suggests that they were the names 'Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,' Grant and Freedman the three secret words of the Naassenes (Hippol., Ref. 5.8.5). The whole passage is at any rate a substitute for the canonical narrative of Peter's confession, designed to give to Thomas the pre-eminence." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 111-112)

The course author then refutes the virgin birth of Mary by referencing another Gnostic book the Gospel of Phillip. The comparable Christian account is in Matthew Chapter 1 and Luke 1:27 in the Greek uses Strong's G3933 "parthenos" which in the context of Mary's virgin birth.  The New Testament is authored for the most part in Greek.  Greek 'Parthenos' is a virgin epithet of several Greek goddesses, especially of Athena.  However, the course's explanation of logon 13 refutes the virgin birth as follows:

Course:  This is all church propaganda that is so ingrained into our collective subconscious that when we read the Bible, this is what we see there. The final nail in this virginal coffin comes from the Gospel of Philip, "People say that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, but they are wrong. How can a woman get a woman pregnant?"

The course's author then relates login 13 to Egyptian Osiris mythology. Osiris was resurrected per mythology and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. 

The course commentary:  It has become a big question today. From the time of the first well-known Godman, Osiris of Egypt, who died, was buried, rose from the dead, and went on to become the judge of the dead, through several others, and to Jesus this question is asked. For the first Godman, Osiris, this occurred when his wife Isis brought him back to life so she could have intercourse with him. She later gave birth to their son, Horus. All three, Nicholas, were in fact the same person. This story is allegorical; it is about any person who underwent initiation into the highest of the mysteries. This is a story that hides a mystery as old as mankind. Born into death, resurrected by our inner sister and reborn as a new person,a Horus.

 "Immaculate conception" per Matthew 1 and Luke 1 and the parable in Matthew 25:1 clearly means "virgin" to the reader.  One should be aware of the same word in Hebrew translations being "almah" or "bthuwlah (H1330)" perhaps better defined in the terms of the Midrash as 'maiden' or a young girl.  But as in my Yale course, it was taught that when all else fails in the specific consider what 'it' meant to the receptor at the time – in this case a young women who had, in Biblical terms, not known a man i.e. a virgin.  

Consider the question who do you think I am?  In login 13 to logia 43 and 44:  per Modern Gnosis.org.

Logion 44: Jesus said, "Anyone who blasphemes the Father will be excused, and anyone blasphemes against the son will be excused, but for anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be excused either on earth or in heaven".

External Commentary on Login 43-44 which is similar to Mathew 12:31

Mathew 12:31  "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

Login 43-44:  R. McL. Wilson writes: "Grant and Freedman here assume a literalistic interpretation of the synoptic saying, which is to the effect that every blasphemy will be forgiven except that against the Holy Spirit. In this case, as they rightly say, the sequence Father-Son-Holy Spirit reflects Christian teaching. It may be, however, that there is more to be said on this subject, that the Gnostics in fact reversed the order of the sequence. In some systems at least 'Father' is a title of the Demiurge, while in the Apocryphon of John the supreme God is described as the Holy Spirit.  (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 39-40)

The above is in effect a high level summary of Gnostic doctrine related to Jesus sayings per the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas.  I offer the following as my interpretation.  There are levels of God's or heaven the upper most being that of the Supreme Being – of which Jesus was not thought to be.  Jesus had achieved Gnosis and thus was not one to be trifled with.  "Who do you think I am?" might well be answered as he being the product of the lesser evil God of Creation who transcended the rest of us here by achieving true knowledge aka Gnosis.  Thus if I were to shout out what Jesus whispered in (my ear), those among you ignorant of Gnosis might throw stones on hearing my  "Jewish orthodox heresy" and those hurled stones, by the spark of the Holy Spirit, would turn into fire.

The whole course is pretty much the same; however for another compare and contrast example this is from lesson fifteen login 77 which is considered Gnostic, but also frankly main stream Christian. One must remember that unless the Gnostic and Coptic texts were written as early as 50 AD then the Gnostic texts were written AFTER the Christian Gospels. Thomas was long dead by then and obviously NOT the author, i.e. Valentinius et al.

77. Jesus said, "I am the light that is above all. It is I who is the All. From me all came forth and into me the All extended. Divide a piece of wood and I am there. Lift up a stone and there you will find me."

 The course: Wow! Talk about a fully liberated and fully self confident man! And how much clearer can it be that Jesus was fully integrated with the divine web and through it with God?

This is an example of the unity within the individual being projected out as the unity with the divine web and the unity with the universes: Alaha. This should be the goal for every person who sets their feet on the Gnostic path. A son of the God recognizes that he is the light of wisdom shining in this lower heaven. He knows he is one with divine web. A total being, both male and female, demigod and demigoddess. The below fused to the above in a totally integrated mind. A supremely self confident man devoid of ego.

Scholarly commentary Login 77 by Gerd Ludemann and Jack Finegan is as follows:

 "Jesus identifies himself with light (cf. John 8.12; 9.5), which is tremendously important in Thomas: 11.3b; 24.3; 50.1; 61.5; 83.1-2. Jesus claims to be mediator at creation (cf. Romans 11.36; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16). All this recalls the role of wisdom. The presence of Jesus as it is described in vv. 2-3 echoes Matt. 18.20; 28.20 – but in that passage, too, there is a wisdom background." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 629)

Jack Finegan writes: "The first sentence in this saying is doubtless to be recognized as thoroughly Gnostic in character. The theme of light is prominent in Gnostic writings (e.g., §113), and the 'All,' presumably meaning the totality of being, is also mentioned in such works as the Gospel of Truth (§341). The second sentence, which is the part common to the Coptic and the Greek texts, can be interpreted most simply as promising the invisible presence of Christ to the believer in his daily work, involved with stone and wood, the common materials of human labor. But with the introductory sentence in the Coptic, where Jesus is the 'All,' the promise seems to be set within the framework of pantheism or, more precisely stated, of panchristism." (Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus, p. 250)

One significant point is that church legacy has Saint -Apostle Thomas being an evangelist in India.  Also there are artifacts that support that.   He is NOT noted for preaching in Egypt for any significant period before or during 'his' purported Coptic – Gnostic authorships dated in the second to fourth century period.  These perhaps were more likely instituted by those like Valentinius as Thomas was of course dead by then.  1John 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  

Also little of this "Thomas Gnostic" style of writing exists in India, but scholars accept threads of Gnostic tendencies in Thomas' works, and perhaps this was expanded well beyond Thomas' original intent after his lifetime. The point often lost by scholars is that the apostles and close disciples were of course in near shock over the deeds of Jesus, and other than the legacy of Jewish teachings they had no foundation to support what they witnessed.  Put yourself in such a position!   AFTER the resurrection they might have been as confused as they were convinced that has shared life with deity as man and then started to ponder just exactly what was it they heard and witnessed for after the resurrection it all had a new face on it -  that of God. John 3:12; If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  John 6:36; But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.Romans 10:14; How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? I add regarding the Gnostic 'lost books:' How do they know what they preach is truth? Thus I revert back to the immediate disciples, apostles and disciples of those apostles – and take my "Q" from them!

I think the above few examples are reasonable summaries of what to expect in this discourse on the Gospel of Thomas, and how one might use it to its best advantage.  If that is what you are looking for then this is the course for you.  No one says the interpretation of Gnostic text is easy, but in this essay I compared two analysis techniques for your consideration.

********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.

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Rosicrucians

Karma from a Rosicrucian point of view In response to the Karma essay I have had this info in the basic atriums of the Rosicrucian Order 1.Most Rosicrucians believe in reincarnation. 2.Reincarnation was taken from the church teachings by the second church council held at Constantinople in A.D. 533 . 3.What did this do for the right interpretation of "AS ye sow:so shall ye reap" Wicca teachings as far as three things bringing a effect are as well addressed by the Rosicrucians dating back to Ancient Atlantis whom used the triangle as a way of writing and had a whole alphabet based on it. The Rosicrucian philosophy is based totally on the Law of the Triangle( which two things brought about a third or a result or effect and the triangle can be reversed where two things will bring about one..sounds a bit like Monothism or to a Rosicrucian the belief in one God. God can give or take away The triangle is used in math calculations as the pyramid in Egypt was designed after the principal because of strength in building and channeling energy fields.We call the energy spirit which holds all matter together or the God of one's heart,Spirit vibration are allways in motion.  Karma of whole nations is brought about by cause and effect not just an individual being.The Earth we live on is our Ark we need to take care of it's harmony. Some religions believe in transmigration or being reborn as an animal in a next life so they hold a high regard for animals. Be careful what you wish for remember Karma is made as a result of something or an action taken to bring about a result. An old saying I shortened from the Christian bible for myself Whomever believes, shall not parish, but have everlasting life. The fact I believe in Jesus the Christ from this saying is the God of my heart for me. Submitted from a Rosicrucian point of view Rev.Eddie R Albertson D.D. Re.Eddie ULC Seminary student 05/11/2010  ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Christian History

Master of Christian History final essay Rev. Edward Lindsay Lets take a good look at the history of the Church as to my understanding. It really all started with the resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many people do not believe that Jesus is the son of God it has been debated since the resurrection even Christ's own Disciples had a hard time believing that Jesus rose from the dead. Since he was gone and there faith in the resurrection was truly lacking. Peter was given the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven even he had a problem with the resurrection when Christ was crucified on the cross. When the Romans took Jesus they questioned Peter as to knowing Jesus he deigned and even went so far as to hide from the Romans for fear of being put to death himself. It wasn't until after he repented that the Holy Ghost ascended upon him and he became the rock of the Church and also the first Pope. But why was the early Church almost doomed before it got started? They didn't have a doctrine to go by and everyone was going around doing there own thing taking bits and pieces of other religions putting them and calling it Christianity. The big thing was accusing other people of hierarchy. Gnostic's and the practice of Gnosis at that time was a big thing they even had there own Gospels or the Good News Gnostic's were active believing that you could find God and gain spiritual awareness and that knowledge was the way to Heaven and that you did not need a priest or minister to show you the way to spiritual awareness they also had a problem with Jesus being the son of God because he was a man and many Gnostic teachings that material things were evil. The easiest way to describe Jesus is God made into man or the word made flesh. After many years of struggle the early Church had nervous problems like what to believe and what to worship while keeping there Jewish roots. There were numerous Gospels floating around but most Church's had only one book or one Gospel and it was usually different from another church one of the problems is that it was expensive to own more than one Gospel as for most Churches were poor. And the Romans made it a point to persecute all Christians in the beginning the name Christian was atype of insult and it later became a badge of honor. Around 330-334 A.D. Constantine got toghter a group of scholars, clergy, and basically wise men and put toghter the Ecumenical Council to try and figure out what Gospels, creeds and anything else that needed to go into what we call the Bible today. Up until that point most Jews were following Judaism unless they had converted to Christianity. Constantine's conversion to Christianity was the boost the Church needed making Christianity the religion of the land and ending the persecution of the Christians. With the mixing of religions still to this day we call it Jew-daio Christian. Over the centuries Christianity went threw many changes some we care about some we don't. The thing that got me was threw the development of the Church someone always figured out a way to make money off of religion selling positions or indulgences and in the early church money and status played a big role. There is just to many things to list in the development of the church and it always seemed that if you didn't think like the Bishops or the Pontiff wanted you to then you were a heretic. As for the development of the church I believe that many Gospels were left out after the ecumenical Council; decided what went into the bible I feel they left out several gospels that should have been in it. These Gospels are known as the forbidden texts most of them are Gnostic teachings but without them there place in history is left unknown. But no matter how you look at the at the history of the early church it still revolves around money how do I figure this? lets take a good look right before the great schism 1054 of the early church the Western Church did not want a married priest why not if they allowed marriage of clergy then clergy would have children and wives and they would need an income housing and so fourth. That would conflict with the vow of poverty and the Church with there land grants they would actually have to support there clergy the catch is this nowhere in the bible does Jesus say that priest cannot be married that is a church law not God's. The Church over the years became more about power and money and all that appose them are heretics. Even though the Western Church practiced the sacrifice of the Mass. They actually split from the true Church of Jesus that Church is the Eastern Orthodox Church Orthodox meaning true and not the one that has developed to this day but the early one before all the changes. The Eastern Church is extremal spiritual in the sacrifice of the Holy Mass there high Mass is usually sung and there teachings for the most part go all the way back to the beginning of the Catholic Church. The effects and traditions of the early church can be seen today we have a set doctrine called the liturgy and the sacraments are the same. The Sacraments are as follows you have the rite of Baptism, Conformation, Eucharist, Penance, anoting of the sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony but it really started and got a good hold with Constantine being converted to Catholic that really set the roots for the early church and it was to be accepted through out the land. The Eastern Church had many problems with the West being heretics and standing by there traditions. The Eastern Church to this day is still the true church of Jesus Christ and that will never change they refuse to change there doctrine do to modernism and as the church goes threw major changes like Vactatin II which most people think it modernized the church in essence it really destroyed the Roman Catholic Church now you have The Roman Catholic Church, The Traditional Catholic Church, And the Orthodox Catholic Church the Traditional Catholic Church is the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church after Vactatin II became the modern Catholic Church.but they still call it the Roman Catholic Church. The biggest change before Vactatin II was the split between the East and the West the great schism of 1054. That split cost the church dearly the Western Church has thrown out all tradition the changing of the Mass makes that Mass invalid as by Papal decree the rite of Consecration has also been changed making it invalid making the Eucharist just bread and not the body of Christ although the modern Church will argue today that it is valid Papal decree and the the book of Mark say otherwise. The point being this if you are Catholic and you want the Church Jesus started then you would have to find an Orthodox Church the next best thing for a true consecration would be the Traditional Catholic Church but threw the hierarchy and schisms the church most of us know is the modern Catholic Church. I found this an interesting course with more information than I was expecting I spent 3 years studying under a Traditional Catholic Priest Church History was a must the problems of the early church still go on today and yes money talks. Since then I have now moved on to find a new church and I am looking for truth, this is an extremely good course for getting most of the information as to how the church came into being. And the answer is still yes if you want the church Jesus started you are looking for an Orthodox Church. I look forward to more future studies and any debates that one might have. May God bless everyone and may there ministries bring him or her the Joy and salvation they want. Reverend Edward Lindsay ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar