Cindy Griffith, Psychic
315-685-8395 or 877-511-3510 ~ 9am to 9pm Eastern Standard
Back to Book List Page
Early Christianity & Gnosticism
You might be also interested in Gnosticism.
| Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament While most people think that the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the only sacred writings of the early Christians, this is not at all the case. This book offers an anthology of up-to-date and readable translations of many non-canonical writings from the first centuries after Christ--texts that have been for the most part lost or neglected for almost two millennia. Here is an array of remarkably varied writings from early Christian groups whose visions of Jesus differ dramatically from our contemporary understanding. In all, the anthology includes fifteen Gospels, five non-canonical Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles, a number of Apocalypes and Secret Books, and several Canon lists.This important anthology gives readers a vivid picture of the range of beliefs that battled each other in the first centuries of the Christian era. |
|
| Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between "proto-orthodox Christians"and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame. Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail. |
|
| Magical Christianity: The Power of Symbols for Spiritual Renewal , with a CD of Guided Meditations Drawing on the myths, legends, lore, and symbols inherent in the Christian tradition, Brown reveals the potential in all of us to use, as he does, Magical Christianity as a practice for healing and regenerating the spirit. Brown combines the insights he gained as a student under Gareth Knight with his own study of ancient texts and practice of the esoteric Christian tradition. Readers will be captivated by the symbols including the sphere, the holy fire, the wheel of life, and the planes of being. He even details the magical power of sacred architecture rich in the Christian tradition as a basis for magical practice. This revised edition also includes an experiential meditation at the end of each chapter and a CD of guided meditations. |
|
| The Occult Christ: Hidden & Mystical Secrets of Christianity Drawing on Theosophical, Rosicrucian, Gnostic, and Anthroposophic sources, Andrews presents an extensive overview of the Christ Mysteries of occult tradition. Reading The Occult Christ is like having a series of veils lifted, veils which have obscured your vision of familiar objects without your ever having realized it. Suddenly the cross, the trinity and the events in the life of Jesus reveal themselves as bearers of unsuspected insights. These insights are all the more startling for those who have been raised in the Christian faith and who, through neglect or inattention, have become convinced that there is nothing of esoteric interest in the familiar teachings. |
|
| Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing Gnosticism developed alongside Judeo-Christianity over two thousand years ago, but with an important difference: It emphasizes, not faith, but direct perception of God — Gnosticism being derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "knowledge." Given the controversial premise that one can know God directly, the history of Gnosticism is an unfolding drama of passion, political intrigue, martyrdom, and mystery. |
|
| Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism This clear, concise primer traces the Gnostic threads of philosophy, religion, science and popular culture from their biblical references through to their 21st-century appearances in novels and film. Moving easily from one century to the next while at the same time connecting them to each other, Smoley is at once thoughtful and thought-provoking. Beside the usual examples of the Gospel of Thomas, the Cathars, Rosicrucians and Masons, he resuscitates Manichaeism and Hesychasm. He highlights not only William Blake and Carl Jung, but Theosophy maven Helena Blavatsky, German philosopher Eric Voegelin and, surprisingly, literary critic Harold Bloom. Throughout, Smoley reinforces that Gnosticism is, and always has been, here to stay. He paves a wide, clear path to understanding it, accessible even to the weekend seeker. (May) |
|
| The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium CE—with earlier antecedents and later flourishings—whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience. Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early Christian and non-Christian thought. For example, some gnostic texts suggest that god should be celebrated as both mother and father, and that self-knowledge is the supreme path to the divine. Only in the past fifty years has it become clear how far the gnostic influence spread in ancient and medieval religions—and what a marvelous body of scriptures it produced. |
|
| The Gnostic Gospels In The Gnostic Gospels, author Elaine Pagels suggests that Christianity could have developed quite differently if Gnostic texts had become part of the Christian canon. Without a doubt: Gnosticism celebrates God as both Mother and Father, shows a very human Jesus's relationship to Mary Magdalene, suggests the Resurrection is better understood symbolically, and speaks to self-knowledge as the route to union with God. Pagels argues that Christian orthodoxy grew out of the political considerations of the day, serving to legitimize and consolidate early church leadership. Her contrast of that developing orthodoxy with Gnostic teachings presents an intriguing trajectory on a world faith as it "might have become." The Gnostic Gospels provides engaging reading for those seeking a broader perspective on the early development of Christianity. --F. Hall |
|
| Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas At the center of Beyond Belief is what Pagels identifies as a textual battle between The Gospel of Thomas (rediscovered in Egypt in 1945) and The Gospel of John. While these gospels have many superficial similarities, Pagels demonstrates that John, unlike Thomas, declares that Jesus is equivalent to "God the Father" as identified in the Old Testament. Thomas, in contrast, shares with other supposed secret teachings a belief that Jesus is not God but, rather, is a teacher who seeks to uncover the divine light in all human beings. Pagels then shows how the Gospel of John was used by Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon and others to define orthodoxy during the second and third centuries. The secret teachings were literally driven underground, disappearing until the Twentieth Century. |
|
| Echoes from the Gnosis Between 1906 and 1908, G. R. S. Mead published eleven small books under the series title "Echoes from the Gnosis." These books contain translations and interpretations of the Gnostic writings of the ancients. Long before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library, Mead translated these esoteric texts of various origins (Christian, Roman, Greek). He wanted to make this material accessible to the growing number of people at the time eager to encounter this ancient mystical religion based on an intuitive process of knowing oneself and the hidden aspects of life and existence. Upon the publication of the 100-year anniversary edition of the series, the appeal for this same material remains stronger than ever. |
|
| The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi in the Egyptian desert, it is a short but complex Coptic text that appears to render the voice of Mary Magdalene. This volume contains English translations of Leloup's French version of the original and Leloup's extensive commentary, which discloses the theology that inspired the lost gospel. Less dualistic and more woman-affirming than the canonical quartet, the Magdalene's gospel might be embraced by contemporary seekers, both Christian and non-Christian. Patricia Monaghan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved |
|
| The Gnostic Jung Gnosticism, together with alchemy, was for C. G. Jung the chief prefiguration of his analytical psychology. Jung did not simply interpret Gnostic texts psychologically but also cited them as confirmation of his psychology. An authority on theories of myth and Gnosticism, Robert Segal has searched the Jungian corpus to bring together in one volume Jung's main discussions of this ancient form of spirituality. Included in this volume are both Jung's sole work devoted entirely to Gnosticism, "Gnostic Symbols of the Self," and his own Gnostic myth, "Seven Sermons to the Dead." The book also contains key essays by two of the best-known writers on Jungian psychology and Gnosticism: Father Victor White and Gilles Quispel, whose "C. G. Jung und die Gnosis" is here translated for the first time. |
|
| The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead Jungian psychology based on a little known treatise he authored in his earlier years. |
|
| Christian Gnosis Then shall the candidate be bound upon the wooden cross. . . . After the third day he shall be brought back from the dead and carried up to heaven to be on the right hand of Him from whom he came. Surprisingly, these lines are from an Egyptian initiation ritual thousands of years before the Christian drama. Linking the two is just one fascinating element in this profound introduction to esoteric Christianity, as timely today as when it was first published in 1920. |
|
You might be also interested in Gnosticism. 2012 - Affirmations - After Death Communication - Angels - Animal Wisdom - Carolyn Myss - Edgar Cayce - Chakras - Children's Books - Compassion - Crystals - Divination Cards - Dream Interpretation - DVD's -Early Christianity - Eastern Religions - Feng Shui - Gnosticism - Harry Potter - Healing - Relationships - |