I'm getting ready to read a book about the Gnostic Gospels and the Gnostic Bible, I was wondering if there is anyone who knows what they are and could give some background information on them so I can have a little bit of an idea as to what I'm getting myself into.

Anything.

Well, since you've asked, they are an alternate (omit flawed) view of the original Judeo-Christian texts which claim God to be a demon, and that 'satan' helped all you lovely people learn wisdom and that you should *wake up brother* and find the 'god' within you. I do beg to differ.

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Most people are doing just that these days because they realise religion is flawed and filled with historical attrocities. If not an outright lie. Look how many other messiahs live before Jesus...the story is not new. Religions water down the truth of life and put stumbling blocks in the way of spiritual growth. When I stopped going to Church, I felt free. As far as finding the god within you ...I see what the implication is...the other stuff about Gods and Demons...well, I am just not worried about it anymore, sounds like mythology to me.

Watch what you call an outright lie there.

Why should he when you go around calling beliefs "crap"?

I omitted flawed in this one. That's enough.

Why did you even mention it in the first place? And second of all, you called beliefs "crap" in other threads...

I just read a brief summary in Secrets of the Code by Dan Burstein called The Gnostic Tradition and the Divine Mother (excerpt from The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels, pgs. 68-70). This summary seems to hit home on the points of there being both a divine father and divine mother, that God is "beyond" gender, and that:

"there is in everyone [divine power] existing in a latent condition... This is one power divided above and below; generating itself, making itself grow, seeking itself, finding itself, being mother of itself, father of itself, sister of itself, spouse of itself, daughter of itself, son of itself - mother, father, unity, being a source of the entire circle of existance." (Burstein 70)

Gnostics believe this because according to Gensis 1:27, humanity was created "male and female." Because of this some concluded that the God whose image we are made in must also be masculine and feminine - both Father and Mother.

interesting.

i never thought I would see a sect of the monotheistic religions I could agree with anything on! (well at least at the 10000 foot view)

My hypothesis is that "gods" are a human construct born out of the need for the primative human mind to cast order upon its environment. Thus "gods" exist only within the minds of men. Any creatures that theoretically could exist that would be powerful enough to meet the descriptions of the various gods over time are not gods except in the projection of this god construct onto them by man.

Hyperactive, your flawed opinion, is just that, an opinion. There is no ommitted 'flawed' here.

...and yet again, others views are 'invalid'...

LOL Kinda like the kettle calling the pot flawed!!!

on flawed: anything created by man is flawed. This includes any religious teachings. Do not forget that the mind is not a tape recorder. It actively processes all information it recieves. The processing is driven by hard wiring (ex instincts) as well as state of mind and preconceptions.

on Opinion: it is an hypothesis based on the study of the mind, perception, brain, and religions and their historical contexts.

Let me help you with this Ashley.

First of all, the Gnostics were not a homogeneous group that we like to think they are. No, they were eclectic in their beliefs about God and about Jesus, and this very independence was a threat to the evolving orthodoxy that the likes of Tertullian were crafting. For Tertullian, it wasn't so much of a matter what you read as the "one true revealed religion of god" but in fact how you read it. Simply, Tertullian would not allow independent conclusions or independent theology from his co-religionists brothers. I am reminded of this by your own words Ashley... watch what you call a lie. Similar happened with Arian – the Arian Controversy too which precipitated the Council of Nicea in which not only the canon was nailed down (so to speak) but the Apostle's Creed as well (which has undergone several revisions and versions according to many sects that your religion now proffers).

Now it's been awhile since I revisited this stuff about the gnostics, but let me try to explain some of it for you.

Let's take a look at the theology of Valentine. Since Valentian gnosticism believed that the true message of Jesus was not in a physical rebirth but in spiritual rebirth (which was heresy to the legalistic Fathers of the Nicea) that only the demurrage (a kind of tertiary God promulgated by the Goddess Sophia who was sister of Jesus in Mary M. guise) created the physical world, but out of error. Not evil. The demurrage could only be "evil" as material existence is separate from God. Thus Jesus taught that you could be Spiritual reborn, but not physically reborn too as the legalistic church mandates.

I wonder if you have ever read the Contra-Celsus by another early church father – Origen? Celsus was an early Pagan critic of this "new" religion of Christianity. Origen tries in vain to defend Christianity in this Apology, but is unable to shake the very real connections of Christian myth and pagan myths of resurrecting God-men and similarities of these biographies.

Hey that one guy,

I'd say the Gnostic gospels are commonly considered to be the gospels of Jesus that were left out of the new testament. The early church had three criteria in determining which books made it into the new testament:
1) The book had to have been written by either apostles themselves, who were eyewitnesses to what they wrote about, or by followers of the apostles.
2) It had to fit the criterion of conformity, as in it fit with basic Christian tradition that the followers would recognize as normal.
3) The document had to have continuous acceptance and usage by the church at large.

There are numerous Gnostic gospels, including ones that carry the names Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Mary, etc. that are completely unrelated to their real authorship. They're written later than the four gospels, in the second through sixth centuries.

The controversy surrounding the Gnostic gospels usually has to the Gospel of Thomas and the cross gospel. A lot of people think the Gospel of Thomas should be elevated to the same status as Matt, Mark, Luke and John. I have to say I'm one of the many who disagree. After doing my own history research, I don't think the Gospel of Thomas is accurate. It's generally dated to AD 140, and was obviously influenced by Gnosticism, which was a religious movement in the second-fourth centuries that supposedly had secret insights that would allow people to know the universe, aka salvation was through knowledge. Some of the things it says are similar to the four gospels, but with phrases added in. And then there are some things that are totally different, such as Jesus saying " Split wood; I am there. Lift up a stone, you will find me there." That's panthiesm, which not only goes against the other gospels, but against the Jewish faith laid down in the Old Testament. However, it does fit in with Gnostic ideals. It also quotes Jesus as saying some blatantly antifeminsist things, which goes against the Jesus of the other gospels/history. The gospel wasn't excluded based on a hateful council, but because it did not harmonize with the other testimonies that early Christians accepted as trustworthy.

The other well-known gospel, the Cross Gospel, involves a ginormous Jesus coming out of his tomb and a cross that comes out and talks. And I'm sorry, but that just seems ridiculous.

the gnostics were several sects of people for whom salvation was attained by aquiring special knowledge, gnosis. they arose about the same time as christianity.
occasionally gnostics would take orthodox christian theology and somewhat twist it around to fit gnostic belief systems.

first nicaea had NOTHING to do with the biblical canon at all.

Edit: heres a wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnostic

GNANA, GNOSIS. KNOWLEDGE DAATH IN HEBREW
`Gnana' ‘Daath’ means `Knowledge'. It is akin to the Greek word `Gnosis' which means knowledge.

What is Knowledge or Wisdom? Does it mean that a person who has amassed a lot of degrees from Universities all over the world has attained wisdom or Gnana, Gnosis?

Knowledge or wisdom is also a kind of wealth gained through education (Vidya Sampath). But, what is true wealth of knowledge? And, how many degrees and doctorates can bestow a hall mark of knowledge?

No doubt, education is valuable. But, not all knowledge can blossom into REAL Gnana, Gnosis.

Some Biblical Proverbs:

“The apprehension of the INTELLIGENCE is the beginning of knowledge (Gnosis): but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

“How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge (Gnosis)?

“Then shall thou understand the apprehension of INTELLIGENCE, and find the knowledge (Gnosis) of God.

“Whosoever loves instruction loves knowledge (Gnosis): but he that hates reproof is brutish.”

As water is endowed with humidity, likewise, the universe is endowed with knowledge (Gnana, Gnosis)!

A Gnani is a Gnostic, is someone with knowledge:

i.e. Moses’ knowledge is shown in the first five books of the Bible, so, he shows there a lot of his knowledge (Gnosis), so, he is a Gnostic, a Gnani!

Likewise, Mohammed and Jesus they are Gnostics. The Koran has a lot of knowledge from Mohammed and the New Testament a lot of knowledge from Jesus.

All the Masters of the White Brotherhood are Gnostics or Gnanis, Initiates with a lot of knowledge!

Ignoramuses believe that the only Gnostics are those who belonged to several sects that emerged in the time when Christianity arose. The truth is that only the Gnostics understood and still understand that salvation was and is attained only through the mysteries of DAATH (GNOSIS). The hidden mystery of the Tree of Knowledge!

Gnostics understand not only Christianity but any religion of the world, because they understand the hidden KNOWLEDGE (GNOSIS) within their orthodox theology.

Gnostics do not find conflict within the knowledge of all religions, but they understand that ignoramuses had somehow twisted the meaning of this knowledge because of their lack of understanding, since they only see the outer garment that cover all gnostic doctrine systems.

Of course the book of Hebrews is a notable exception to these rules (at least in today's society).

Originally thought to have been written by the apostle Paul, it was put in because of this. More recently though, it is universally accepted that we have no idea who actually wrote it.

Since then, it has caused some small level of controversy amongst some (not all) Christian groups in deciding whether it even belongs in the Bible.

But this is slightly off topic, I just thought it warranted mention.