|
|
Post by Soulgazer on Jul 9, 2014 7:54:03 GMT -5
We spent the last two weeks in church studying the "Gospel of Mary". What a marvolously deep text!
|
|
|
|
Post by phantasman on Jul 9, 2014 9:12:50 GMT -5
I agree, my friend.
Pastor Woods words in Sickness and Forgiveness are a direct reflection of the Greek Chapter 4 of the Gospel of Mary:
28) Then He continued and said, That is why you become sick and die, for you are deprived of the one who can heal you.
29) He who has a mind to understand, let him understand.
Then later in the same chapter:
34) Beware that no one lead you astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you.
35) Follow after Him!
I also find it interesting that Christs answer to "What will become of the physical (matter) is answered:
22) The Savior said, All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots.
23) For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone.
This echo's Philip:
"They are inseparable. Because of this neither are the good good, nor evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For this reason each one will dissolve into its earliest origin. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal."
And this aids in understanding the Gospel of John chapter 6:
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
What little bit of the Gospel of Mary that survived, is quite powerful, IMO. Enough to be included in the "big picture" anyways.
|
|
|
|
Post by friendofsophia on Jul 9, 2014 23:50:28 GMT -5
I first read the Gospel of Mary Magdelene a little over five years ago when I first started studying the gnostic texts. I really hope they find the rest of the text someday....like Phantasman said, the little bit we do have is truly amazing......deeply inspired me then and deeply inspired me as I read it again a few minutes ago. I remember reading in a commentary that the "ascent" was related to the story of the seven demons that Jesus freed Mary from. To me it does make sense that Mary's vision came from something she actually experienced as she overcame her own archons.......a vision from the "mind" in between psyche and Spirit. Perhaps it is the soul ("psyche" in Greek, which perhaps paints a clearer picture of what they meant since today soul and spirit are often used interchangeably) which will be "restored to its root": Spirit (indissoluble). As the lost soul is shown the Way by Christ, she is able to overcome the archons holding her back and at last is able to rest knowing she is Spirit after all (repose). As Spirit, she brings forth the Christ from within showing others the Way (movement). Like the Gospel of Thomas says: If they ask you,"What is the sign of your Father in you?"say to them, "It is movement and repose." Hopefully, I have "a mind to understand" and I haven't just been talking out of my hyle-hole.  |
|
|
|
Post by phantasman on Jul 10, 2014 10:00:01 GMT -5
Mary, as a female, was held to a higher standing by Jesus, IMO. The old idea of patriarchy was one of the things Jesus taught against. He wanted people to see that the division was of spirit was NOT one of female and male, Jew or Greek, etc., but the way they were viewing through physical things rather than spiritual. The spirit in the female was just as spiritually capable as the spirit in the male.
Simon Peter said to him, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life."
Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."-Thomas
The Muslims are a perfect example of this ignorance.
|
|
|
|
Post by friendofsophia on Jul 11, 2014 2:19:02 GMT -5
When it comes to patriarchy, I like the Jungian psychology perspective:
"Patriarchy may be seen as an expression of a stunted, immature form of masculinity and thus as an attack on masculinity in its fullness as well as on femininity in its fullness."
The concept of the sacred feminine is one of the things that drew me to Gnosticism initially (as it likely is for many). In the gnostic scriptures, the feminine aspect of God is not treated as an add-on Mrs. God but as a concept so profound, it is almost hard not to experience at least a touch of Gnosis just pondering the paradoxes. Read in the context of the Sophia myth, the canonical Gospels make so much more sense. Jesus can no longer be confused for a virgin sacrifice to appease an angry volcanic deity, but is now clearly a brave hero rescuing his Beloved the only way He can. His Beloved is not a mere damsel in distress but the very one who inspires Him, anoints Him as Christ, and (as I interpret the Trimorphic Protennoia) even saves the Savior in the end. It's not a story of dominance and submission but one of mutual love. Of course there's different ways to read and interpret these texts and how to see Christ and the Holy Spirit in relation to one another.......some writings (modern and ancient) seem to support this way of looking at it, others don't........ doesn't really seem to matter much since as Spirit we are his Beloved and He lives in us. To me what matters is that I can share this different take on the dominant mythos of our time with my daughter. When she is faced with those that look at her as nothing more than a spare rib, I hope she remembers that she truely is a Light shining in the darkness, that the darkness cannot overcome!
|
|
|
|
Post by phantasman on Jul 11, 2014 10:33:14 GMT -5
I believe men see power in (physical) strength. And through ignorance assume knowledge comes through strength as well. The Beatitudes are an example to disprove such thinking. When we are all one in mind, who dictates which mind is male or female? There is no division when we are one in Christ.
The selfishness of men who think God gives them virgins in Heaven, doesn't consider the virgins are there first, and not for the "pleasures" of men, but because they deserve better.
|
|
|
|
Post by Soulgazer on Jul 11, 2014 21:43:21 GMT -5
When it comes to patriarchy, I like the Jungian psychology perspective: "Patriarchy may be seen as an expression of a stunted, immature form of masculinity and thus as an attack on masculinity in its fullness as well as on femininity in its fullness." The concept of the sacred feminine is one of the things that drew me to Gnosticism initially (as it likely is for many). In the gnostic scriptures, the feminine aspect of God is not treated as an add-on Mrs. God but as a concept so profound, it is almost hard not to experience at least a touch of Gnosis just pondering the paradoxes. Read in the context of the Sophia myth, the canonical Gospels make so much more sense. Jesus can no longer be confused for a virgin sacrifice to appease an angry volcanic deity, but is now clearly a brave hero rescuing his Beloved the only way He can. His Beloved is not a mere damsel in distress but the very one who inspires Him, anoints Him as Christ, and (as I interpret the Trimorphic Protennoia) even saves the Savior in the end. It's not a story of dominance and submission but one of mutual love. Of course there's different ways to read and interpret these texts and how to see Christ and the Holy Spirit in relation to one another.......some writings (modern and ancient) seem to support this way of looking at it, others don't........ doesn't really seem to matter much since as Spirit we are his Beloved and He lives in us. To me what matters is that I can share this different take on the dominant mythos of our time with my daughter. When she is faced with those that look at her as nothing more than a spare rib, I hope she remembers that she truely is a Light shining in the darkness, that the darkness cannot overcome! Just another tidbit, I see the duality of Sophia in that light also; the fallen Sophia is us and our desire to follow our own false light (ego?); The repentant Sophia is us realizing what a hodge we've made, creating a false god that wants to rule over his creators. The rescued and risen Sophia is also us, when we have recieved that salvific teaching from our true consort, that teaches that the father is love, and to be a worshippor, we must love also. If immitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then emulation is worship; not only that, but as Jesus said when He said "you will know a tree by it's fruit", what a person emulates must indeed be what he truly worships; A person may declare his love for Jesus all the live long day, but if at the same time emulates the "accuser", it's real easy to see that there are indeed "Christian Satanists" extant in the world. Divine Sophia is knowing the difference. (cf GOJ 8:39) |
|
