My Observation ...
Ok, I’m going to address a dilemma that seems to be becoming more noticeable. A way to think of it is: a problem within the Christian community of which I seem to be becoming more and more aware; over time, I’ve begun to ‘see’ something that I have never seen before, and I’m getting a distinct feeling that not everyone can ‘see’ it … does that mean I’m psychic? I doubt it … am going I crazy?? … I hope not!! … am I even perceiving this right at all??? After all, it is much easier to say that I’m the one that’s off, and not what I’m seeing as being off. To be honest, I’d rather think of it as an awareness beyond me … especially when it comes upon me with vivid clarity and other times is a faint shadowed thread.
A simple statement on this would be ‘it has to do with the subversive infiltration of Gnosticism into the faith of post-modern Christianity.’ This is something I am genuinely struggling with and have no answer for …
Where do I begin with something this size? How do I break it down to mentally ‘bite-sized’ pieces for someone else to ‘see’ what I am seeing? Hmm … let’s see …
Consider the following quotes:
quote: ---------------the knowledge and understanding of God’s Truth is arrived at by way of an experience that does not lend itself to the language of theology or philosophy but rather through an interior, intuitive means; it rests on a personal experience and relationship with God and not from other Believers of the Church.
quote: ---------------claim to have secret knowledge and understanding about God and humanity of which the mainstream Christian population is unaware
quote: ---------------meat of the Word is hidden meanings of scripture that people wouldn't pick up on if they were just reading it and instead need the Spirit to reveal the truths
quote: ---------------beliefs about God and the Bible which differed from those of other mainstream Christian groups that are oblivious to the true meaning.
quote: ---------------The Spirit is of divine origin and good; the body is inherently earthly and evil
quote: ---------------believe that they alone truly understand Christ's message, and that other streams of thought within Christianity have misinterpreted Jesus' mission and sayings.
quote: ---------------God does not allow them (people) to understand it (the Bible/His word) yet because He knows that they are not far enough along in their journey with Him.
quote: ---------------This hidden understanding has a redeeming and liberating function that helps the individual break free of bondage to the world.
The above quotes are from a few different places – some are from Gnostic websites that explain their thought and some are from Christians from Christian web-boards … my question is: do you know which ones come from Christian sources and which ones come from Gnostic sources? Can you identify which are which??
You see, therein lies my struggle … it seems to me that a lot of what I’m reading on message boards and hearing coming from Christian mouths bears a disconcerting similarity to what I understand some tenets of Gnosticism to be. Albeit, not ALL concepts seem to be rooted in Gnostic thought, but enough for me to start to wonder if somehow we have begun to stray from God’s genuine Truth? Is there a chance that in our gradually developing Christian myopic vision, that we have found ourselves somewhere other than where we are supposed to be?
And oddly, this is not coming from ALL areas of Christianity … if pressed to identify ‘from where’, I would have to say that those who are so caught up in their personal experiences of God that they become oblivious of all surroundings, those that are so focused on God ‘laying’ this or that directly on them – particularly those that refuse to encounter or engage in sharing others thoughts, believing that theirs is the only one that matters. That theirs is the only one from God. Especially if it contradicts what someone else writes.
A good example of this is when I got into a discussion with another ‘Christian’ and asked what this person thought of Martin Luther’s theology on baptism. This person was not familiar with it, came very close to dismissing it entirely, and was vaguely familiar with Luther himself. I could have reached through the monitor and shook the person … to NOT be familiar with Luther – even in a general context – is very hard for me to understand. After all, we have our Protestant faith, our ‘by faith through grace we are saved’ context from Luther; we have the Bible in our own language thanks to Luther!!! The entire Reformation was hinged on the beginnings of Martin Luther. And, like Jesus Christ, Luther did not do what he did with the intention of beginning another branch of Christianity. He just took a stand for something he did not see as being from the Bible. So, when someone is unfamiliar with the history of our Church and Church fathers, there is a part of me that cries … for I truly believe that we are doomed to repeat the past when we forget the past. And, how Gnosticism grew out of Christianity, might be something that we are beginning to ‘repeat’.
I read a thread once that stated that the ‘meat' is hidden from our view and we need a particular 'something' to 'see' it ... Do we really need something to see it? Oh, sure … I get that we need Christ in our lives to truly discern the Truth in scriptures, and yet in a manner I still wonder … First, how is it that some Christians believe that they have the one true understanding and other Christians do not, and second, if one does not have Christ in their lives to discern the truth, how do they connect with the scripture … to God … to begin with?? And what about where it says that we are to come like little children? ... Little children are certainly not into understanding secret knowledge or ambiguous concepts. And to use this as a dividing line, demarcation between those that have and those that have not ... I'm not so sure I agree.
I guess I'm more inclined to believe that God has the potential to be a lot more inclusive than we think He is ... and on the same hand, He could also draw the line in places that we have lost or misplaced or developed a vision that no longer sees it.
I guess one thing that is a niggling concern at the back of my brain, something that I feel the need to ‘prepare’ myself for – is a feeling of a ‘coming wave’. I’m not sure how to explain it. Ok … consider this then … This last spring and summer, our Western world was inundated with talk and discussion around Mel Gibson and his Passion of the Christ film. I personally, had followed its production for about 2 years (thanks to my favorite film website HollywoodJesus.com), and was aware of the growing controversy surrounding it. From the non-Christian camps (i.e. insinuations of anti-Semitism, and attacks on the ‘bloodbath’ component) as well as the Christian camps (it was an R-rated film, it was very graphic, and it was not ‘true to scripture’ as there were ‘additions’ that are not Biblically founded). I remember once receiving an e-zine from HJ that commented on the narrow mindedness of some Christians and how they automatically shun anything that has any more than a PG rating … well, here is a movie about their Lord that is R-rated. That is graphic and holds back nothing … Are they going to shun this one as well? Would they shun Jesus too because there were elements of his life that was R-rated? Or what about the Bible itself? (quite liberally infused with R-rated components … such as gang-rape, sodomy, incest … hmmm. Not quite the makings of a G-movie.)
So, on the one hand we have this split – these Christians that have their head so far up their butt that they see the sun shining out their mouths and think it is a sunny day. On the other hand, is the coming wave that is looming but not yet seen. I believe it is, anyway.
It has to do with a best-selling novel. This novel has been on the best-sellers list since close to its release April 2003, (between its release and Oct. 2003, over 28 weeks as #1) and has already been translated into 40 languages. And there is a movie in production, slated for filming to begin in May 2005 with a late 2005 tentative release date. If POTC got people talking, there is NO DOUBT that this one will do the same … and if the Christian community is not familiar with what they are going to be up against, there will be problems. Mark my words. What movie / book is this? The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.
One site I found stated Brown’s premis thusly:
BROWN’S VERSION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIANITY
~ Jesus appears as a moral and spiritual teacher.
~ As Jesus anticipates his death, he passes leadership on to his wife and co-leaders, Mary Magdalene.
~ Peter and other male disciples resent Mary’s role and seek to suppress evidence of Mary’s true position.
~ Constantine uses Christianity for political purposes, inc., merging Christianity with pagan traditions; declaring Christ to be divine, which Christ and followers did not claim; creates a new Bible to support his position.
~ The church continues to suppress the truth about Jesus and Mary; e.g., secret kept alive by secret societies and in art and legend; Leonardo is an example.
~ The suppressed “secret” is the “royal lineage” of Jesus and Mary’s descendents.
~ Brown emphasizes the wisdom literature, wisdom tradition, and the beauty of the symbols associated with that tradition.
http://www.biltmoreumc.org/davinci_code.htm
http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html <- interesting interview with Brown.
There is much more information (and books) out there that examine the content of this novel from a variety of angles. From the little I have read, the ‘truth’ is most interesting, and, again, if Christians are not educated in the history of their faith, they will be unable to stand against this novel. I think that for the 'babes', it will be impossible to use the Bible as the sourcebook, for Brown has broken down the validity and reliability of that book as well. If all you know is “the Bible tells me so”, it will be impossible to show where the loopholes are in Brown’s ‘truth’. I predict that a lot of Christian people will have their faith shaken, and will do some serious questioning. Which isn’t necessarily a bad.
HOWEVER, when I look at how Christians think already (see the beginning of this rant), and when I realize that a lot of Christians already do not view the bible as the inerrant and absolute Word of God, maybe they need to have their world shaken. Maybe they need to ‘get real’ about what they say they believe.
After all, the foundational basis of Brown’s propositions presented in his novel is Gnosticism.
So, my fellow Christians, are you ready for the tidal wave? The time is dwindling … POTC provided us opportunities to speak on what is important to us … how will we handle these coming ones??? Better not be with ignorance and stupidity!!!!
A simple statement on this would be ‘it has to do with the subversive infiltration of Gnosticism into the faith of post-modern Christianity.’ This is something I am genuinely struggling with and have no answer for …
Where do I begin with something this size? How do I break it down to mentally ‘bite-sized’ pieces for someone else to ‘see’ what I am seeing? Hmm … let’s see …
Consider the following quotes:
quote: ---------------the knowledge and understanding of God’s Truth is arrived at by way of an experience that does not lend itself to the language of theology or philosophy but rather through an interior, intuitive means; it rests on a personal experience and relationship with God and not from other Believers of the Church.
quote: ---------------claim to have secret knowledge and understanding about God and humanity of which the mainstream Christian population is unaware
quote: ---------------meat of the Word is hidden meanings of scripture that people wouldn't pick up on if they were just reading it and instead need the Spirit to reveal the truths
quote: ---------------beliefs about God and the Bible which differed from those of other mainstream Christian groups that are oblivious to the true meaning.
quote: ---------------The Spirit is of divine origin and good; the body is inherently earthly and evil
quote: ---------------believe that they alone truly understand Christ's message, and that other streams of thought within Christianity have misinterpreted Jesus' mission and sayings.
quote: ---------------God does not allow them (people) to understand it (the Bible/His word) yet because He knows that they are not far enough along in their journey with Him.
quote: ---------------This hidden understanding has a redeeming and liberating function that helps the individual break free of bondage to the world.
The above quotes are from a few different places – some are from Gnostic websites that explain their thought and some are from Christians from Christian web-boards … my question is: do you know which ones come from Christian sources and which ones come from Gnostic sources? Can you identify which are which??
You see, therein lies my struggle … it seems to me that a lot of what I’m reading on message boards and hearing coming from Christian mouths bears a disconcerting similarity to what I understand some tenets of Gnosticism to be. Albeit, not ALL concepts seem to be rooted in Gnostic thought, but enough for me to start to wonder if somehow we have begun to stray from God’s genuine Truth? Is there a chance that in our gradually developing Christian myopic vision, that we have found ourselves somewhere other than where we are supposed to be?
And oddly, this is not coming from ALL areas of Christianity … if pressed to identify ‘from where’, I would have to say that those who are so caught up in their personal experiences of God that they become oblivious of all surroundings, those that are so focused on God ‘laying’ this or that directly on them – particularly those that refuse to encounter or engage in sharing others thoughts, believing that theirs is the only one that matters. That theirs is the only one from God. Especially if it contradicts what someone else writes.
A good example of this is when I got into a discussion with another ‘Christian’ and asked what this person thought of Martin Luther’s theology on baptism. This person was not familiar with it, came very close to dismissing it entirely, and was vaguely familiar with Luther himself. I could have reached through the monitor and shook the person … to NOT be familiar with Luther – even in a general context – is very hard for me to understand. After all, we have our Protestant faith, our ‘by faith through grace we are saved’ context from Luther; we have the Bible in our own language thanks to Luther!!! The entire Reformation was hinged on the beginnings of Martin Luther. And, like Jesus Christ, Luther did not do what he did with the intention of beginning another branch of Christianity. He just took a stand for something he did not see as being from the Bible. So, when someone is unfamiliar with the history of our Church and Church fathers, there is a part of me that cries … for I truly believe that we are doomed to repeat the past when we forget the past. And, how Gnosticism grew out of Christianity, might be something that we are beginning to ‘repeat’.
I read a thread once that stated that the ‘meat' is hidden from our view and we need a particular 'something' to 'see' it ... Do we really need something to see it? Oh, sure … I get that we need Christ in our lives to truly discern the Truth in scriptures, and yet in a manner I still wonder … First, how is it that some Christians believe that they have the one true understanding and other Christians do not, and second, if one does not have Christ in their lives to discern the truth, how do they connect with the scripture … to God … to begin with?? And what about where it says that we are to come like little children? ... Little children are certainly not into understanding secret knowledge or ambiguous concepts. And to use this as a dividing line, demarcation between those that have and those that have not ... I'm not so sure I agree.
I guess I'm more inclined to believe that God has the potential to be a lot more inclusive than we think He is ... and on the same hand, He could also draw the line in places that we have lost or misplaced or developed a vision that no longer sees it.
I guess one thing that is a niggling concern at the back of my brain, something that I feel the need to ‘prepare’ myself for – is a feeling of a ‘coming wave’. I’m not sure how to explain it. Ok … consider this then … This last spring and summer, our Western world was inundated with talk and discussion around Mel Gibson and his Passion of the Christ film. I personally, had followed its production for about 2 years (thanks to my favorite film website HollywoodJesus.com), and was aware of the growing controversy surrounding it. From the non-Christian camps (i.e. insinuations of anti-Semitism, and attacks on the ‘bloodbath’ component) as well as the Christian camps (it was an R-rated film, it was very graphic, and it was not ‘true to scripture’ as there were ‘additions’ that are not Biblically founded). I remember once receiving an e-zine from HJ that commented on the narrow mindedness of some Christians and how they automatically shun anything that has any more than a PG rating … well, here is a movie about their Lord that is R-rated. That is graphic and holds back nothing … Are they going to shun this one as well? Would they shun Jesus too because there were elements of his life that was R-rated? Or what about the Bible itself? (quite liberally infused with R-rated components … such as gang-rape, sodomy, incest … hmmm. Not quite the makings of a G-movie.)
So, on the one hand we have this split – these Christians that have their head so far up their butt that they see the sun shining out their mouths and think it is a sunny day. On the other hand, is the coming wave that is looming but not yet seen. I believe it is, anyway.
It has to do with a best-selling novel. This novel has been on the best-sellers list since close to its release April 2003, (between its release and Oct. 2003, over 28 weeks as #1) and has already been translated into 40 languages. And there is a movie in production, slated for filming to begin in May 2005 with a late 2005 tentative release date. If POTC got people talking, there is NO DOUBT that this one will do the same … and if the Christian community is not familiar with what they are going to be up against, there will be problems. Mark my words. What movie / book is this? The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.
One site I found stated Brown’s premis thusly:
BROWN’S VERSION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIANITY
~ Jesus appears as a moral and spiritual teacher.
~ As Jesus anticipates his death, he passes leadership on to his wife and co-leaders, Mary Magdalene.
~ Peter and other male disciples resent Mary’s role and seek to suppress evidence of Mary’s true position.
~ Constantine uses Christianity for political purposes, inc., merging Christianity with pagan traditions; declaring Christ to be divine, which Christ and followers did not claim; creates a new Bible to support his position.
~ The church continues to suppress the truth about Jesus and Mary; e.g., secret kept alive by secret societies and in art and legend; Leonardo is an example.
~ The suppressed “secret” is the “royal lineage” of Jesus and Mary’s descendents.
~ Brown emphasizes the wisdom literature, wisdom tradition, and the beauty of the symbols associated with that tradition.
http://www.biltmoreumc.org/davinci_code.htm
http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html <- interesting interview with Brown.
There is much more information (and books) out there that examine the content of this novel from a variety of angles. From the little I have read, the ‘truth’ is most interesting, and, again, if Christians are not educated in the history of their faith, they will be unable to stand against this novel. I think that for the 'babes', it will be impossible to use the Bible as the sourcebook, for Brown has broken down the validity and reliability of that book as well. If all you know is “the Bible tells me so”, it will be impossible to show where the loopholes are in Brown’s ‘truth’. I predict that a lot of Christian people will have their faith shaken, and will do some serious questioning. Which isn’t necessarily a bad.
HOWEVER, when I look at how Christians think already (see the beginning of this rant), and when I realize that a lot of Christians already do not view the bible as the inerrant and absolute Word of God, maybe they need to have their world shaken. Maybe they need to ‘get real’ about what they say they believe.
After all, the foundational basis of Brown’s propositions presented in his novel is Gnosticism.
So, my fellow Christians, are you ready for the tidal wave? The time is dwindling … POTC provided us opportunities to speak on what is important to us … how will we handle these coming ones??? Better not be with ignorance and stupidity!!!!
Comments