December 20, 2009, 8:10 am by dc-agape.

The Treatise on the Resurrection

I am changing gears for a number of reasons.   First, I have lingered in the Dead Sea Scrolls for too long.    I had thought that I would post on five additional Scrolls, but they are indeed very dry and very technical with little spiritual importance to modern day Theists.  Secondly, the gotten bored.  For the most important reason is that I have come to a much stronger conclusion that the Pauline doctrines of the New Testament should be questioned.  Both Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi indicate a much stronger understanding and source for the teachings of Jesus.  As a result, I want to go ahead and work on the Nag Hammadi library.    The Treatise on the Resurrection is the next Scroll in this series. 

The scholars who have studied this Treatise can place this document as part of the Valentinian Gnostic doctrine.   The same scholars placed writing of this Treatise near the end of the second century CE.   This was a period of time in the new Christian religion where the concept of the Resurrection had not been firmly established.  Questions still abound as to whether the Resurrection would occur before death, immediately after death, or At the Second Coming (the Judgment Day).   More questions were still related an unresolved about whether the body, the soul, the mind, or a combination of these three would occur during the Resurrection.   This Treatise leaves no doubt in the mind of the reader exactly what the author understands will occur as part of the Resurrection.

The author of the Treatise does add one additional concept that is left out of modern Christianity.  It is certainly not a new one, but it is one that has been forgotten but almost all of today’s denominations.  The author indicates that once the Truth is known about death and the Resurrection one has already been resurrected.  As a result, one should live a life as If they already possess the new resurrected body.  In other words, outwardly the believer should live a life free from the worldly nature of humankind.

This concept is truly appealing to a gay Atheist.  First of all, this Treatise does indicate that predestination elects the believer.  No amount of persuasion is involved in believing in this religion, it is truly based on faith.  Second of all, this Treatise indicates that Christians should be noticeably different from the mortal unbelieving human.  Both these attributes fit what is observed in today’s modern Christian religion.  In other words, the unbeliever cannot be persuaded to have faith, and this faithful should not be identical (in nature) to the unbeliever.  Since neither of these concepts are applied in modern Churches it becomes obvious that the Valentinian faith is more accurate than the Pauline religion.

Posted in Resurrection, Treatise on the Resurrection, The Nag Hammadi, Biblical topics, Readings, Introduction | Print | 2 Comments »

November 21, 2009, 3:18 pm by dc-agape.

Well I happen to have taken a trip to Wilmington, NC and forgot to bring my copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  As a result, I will have to make some posts from the Nag Hammadi Library which I can get on line at The Gnostic Society Library.  Since I have finished the Pray of the Apostle Paul and the Apocryphon of James, I will introduce you to the Gospel of Truth.  Two translations of this gospel are available, so I will explain which one I have chosen to read and why.

Two translations exist on the Gnostic Society’s website.  The first translation is by Robert M Grant.  RM Grant is a prolific writer about Gnostic Christianity and early Church history.  The Second translation is translated by Harold W. Attridge and George W. MacRae.  Dr Attridge is a professor at Yale Divinity School and Dr MacRae received his doctorates from Cambridge University.  I have look at both translations and I enjoy reading Attridge and MacRae’s version better.  Grant writes with a very spiritual mumbo-jumbo style, probably very similar to the original, but more difficult to understand and read.  Attridge and MacRae have made a stronger attempt at making this material reader friendly.  Neither have offered an introduction on-line.  So I have done so here as my first post.

This Gospel seems from historical perspective to be written during the era of St Valentinus’ (120 – 160 AD).  During this time Valentinus was nearly appointed a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.  This would have lead to the first recording of this Gospel to between 140 and 160 AD.  Irenaeus (175 – 185 AD) does report Valentinus using this Gospel as Scripture and possibly being the author.  If Valentinus was the author, The Gospel of Truth was written by a 2^nd generation Pauline Christian.  One must understand that Valentinus studied with Theudas , who was a pupil of Paul of Tarsus.  This information is recorded directly from Clement of Alexandria (130 – 160 AD).  If this is the case then the Gospel of Truth is as significant as the writings of Luke (The Gospel of Luke – written between 59 and 89 AD, the Book of Acts – written between 63 and 70 AD), Timothy, or Barnabas (The Book of Hebrews – written before 70 AD).  The history of Theudas (a disciple of Paul of Tarsus) is sketchy at best.  Little is known about him, yet many of the Gnostics claim direct training from him and indicate that he was a contemporary of Luke, Timothy, Apollos, and Barnabas.  As a result, this Theudas could not be the same Theudas that died in 44 AD after starting a revolt against the Romans.  We can be certain of this because Paul did not write the First Letter to Thessalonica until 50 AD.   

Posted in Gospel of Truth, The Nag Hammadi, Introduction | Print | 2 Comments »

October 17, 2009, 9:10 am by dc-agape.

This Scroll starts by claiming to “speak out freely” about various saying, parables, and riddles.  The term “speak out freely” is directed to those who are willing to hold fast to what is taught.  These include those who are devious, stiff necked, and even the Gentiles.  This sounds so familiar, yet we can be certain that it was written nearly a century for Jesus is teachings.  Is this not exactly what Jesus did?  So the Judaism had forms of religion that were evolving into Christianity. 

The next paragraph is so what fragmented but has a very interesting interpretation.  It would seem to be saying that there’s only one source for the desire of knowledge.  It even uses the words “Light” and “Illumination”.  This light and illumination is from the “angels from those we praise”.  This seems to indicate that light and illumination come only from YHWH.  But it is the origin of knowledge that this paragraph is referring to.  Interesting, if applied to Christianity, that wisdom and knowledge are equal and both come from YHWH.  How I wish Christians would take this to heart.  Knowledge is not evil; knowledge is from the one they worship.  In that case, there is nothing wrong with learning new things.

The next paragraph is actually rather simple but in a surprising way.  It basically says those that do not learn and from the past will repeat the past.  The only way to avoid this cycle is to know “this secret of the way things are.”   But what exactly is the secret of the way things are?

The rest of the scroll is devoted to explaining the secret of the way things are.  Unfortunately, it starts with a prophecy that has not occurred.  It claims that time will come when all evil has been eliminated from this world.  We will know when this occurs because there will be no more sin or folly.   It claims, it this prophecy, that the end of sin and folly cannot be averted!  I certainly can’t wait for that time…  But it’s if since this was written over 2000 years ago, the chances of that happening now are very slim.

The next paragraph tells how all cultures space and nations are similar.  This similarity is in the rejection of evil, the desire for truth, freedom from its oppression, freedom from theft, and possibly some more that have been fragmented away in time.  So the author(s) of this Scroll understood that all humans desire the same thing.  They also understood that all of these things cannot be stopped.  Evil occurs, falsehood is spread, oppression and theft continue to happen.  Even the “righteous” have fallen short of fulfilling these eternal desires.  And the reason for this is that the “righteous” have not sought the true secret of the way things are.

Since the wisdom of YHWH is secret, YHWH knows all secrets.  Not only does he know them all, but he “stands behind every thought”.  The “secret” is that all things are controlled by YHWH.  Even the times of our birth, the test of our heart, the limits of our deeds, and the actions of the Gentiles are controlled by YHWH.

So is there more to this secret?  From this Scroll the answer seems to be yes. One must understand that the stars, the day, the night the rivers in the seas, the rains, and even the mounds were created for humankind. The most important thing to keep in mind is that humans have the ability to understand knowledge, insight, and great intelligence.  The Scroll claims that we were created to pursue true knowledge and wisdom.  But YHWH locked this knowledge and wisdom up away from humankind so that we would have to search for it.

The final paragraph comes from a completely different scroll and does not seem to have much to do with the earlier part of the Scroll.  It speaks of YHWH having patience, great anger and splendor.  It ends by claiming YHWH to be the leader of Israel, honored by the people who are splendid and blessed when the period of wickedness is over.  

Posted in The Book of Secrets, Dead Sea Scroll, Readings | Print | 32 Comments »

August 15, 2009, 10:28 am by dc-agape.

John 1:1 – 34

The Gospel of John starts with the spirituality of Jesus.  Matthew starts with the physical lineage of Jesus.  Mark opens with a portion of who John the Baptist was and Jesus’ spiritual “awaking”.  Luke begins with both the births of John the Baptist and leads into the birth of Jesus.  As a result, the Gospel of John begins from the very beginning to delve into the more mystical attributes of the man history knows as Jesus.  In this way, John is more similar to the Gnostic Gospels than the Synoptic Gospels. 

To say the least John starts off being very mystical.  Traditionally the “Word” that John describes is translated into the spiritual being of Jesus.  This, to an Atheist, immediately brings up the 1^st century through 3^rd century disagreement between the Gnostics and the Pauline Christians.  Even St Valentinus was more a Gnostic than a Pauline Christian!  The readers of the New Testament must always keep in mind that man did not codify the New Testament until the Third Council of Carthage in 397AD.  True some of the Books of the New Testament were accepted earlier than others…but the NT as we know was not accepted until 397AD.  So for John to start his Gospel with the spirituality of Jesus is very interesting!

In fact, John does not mention Jesus’ birth or even much about John the Baptist.  The introduction of John the Baptist was specifically for the purpose of preparation for the baptism of Jesus.  John writes nothing of Jesus prior to “the Holy Spirit came down and remain”.  As far as John is concerned the physical body of Jesus was not as important as the spiritual body of Jesus. 

For me this post seems short.  But I feel that the John’s introduction deserves special recognition.  It is obvious, for the omission of Jesus’ earlier physical existence, that John is not concerned with the body of Jesus.  This is clearly a Gnostic perspective.  He does not attempt to describe the “Virgin Birth”, Mary the mother of Jesus is unimportant, and even the events surrounding Jesus’ physical birth are ignored.  Jesus ministry is of utmost importance to John, who was certainly the only guaranteed eyewitness to Jesus’ existence known to modern humans.  Yet John’s focus is on the teachings and actions of Jesus…where is, and why is it not, apparent in the Church today?  Yes, some focus on Jesus’ teachings, but many more (to an extreme) focus on the physical aspects of what is legal or sinful to perform as a “Christian”.  Oddly, this brings me to the strange concept that the word Christian is only used in the Bible three times!  Where are the disciples of Jesus?  Why has that term been watered down to “Being a Christian”?  Is it because being a disciple means being more like Jesus than merely being a Christian?  I have a strong feeling that this may be the case for a large number of “Christians”.

Posted in Gospel of John, The Nag Hammadi, Disciples | Print | 3 Comments »

April 18, 2009, 7:30 am by dc-agape.

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In Gnostic Christianity YHWH is not the Supreme Being and Jesus is not his son.  Christ’s purpose is to being knowledge to humans.  He has done this twice.  The first time was when he told Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The second time was when the Christ descended upon Jesus at his baptism.  Now that I have your attention and you are completely confused…The Highest Supreme Being is both male and female.  One is the Father of Light the other is Sophia, the Mother of Knowledge.  In her desire to create, she made YHWH, but because she did not include the Father of Light YHWH was incomplete.  YHWH, in fact, is Satan!  YHWH did create the Garden of Eden (and Earth, the animals, etc).  But when he attempted to create humans he failed, he could not breathe life into Adam.  Sophia, feeling guilty for her mistake of creating YHWH, and seeing the inert body of Adam lying in the mud, came down to earth and breathed life into him.  When YHWH saw this he was enraged and attempted to defile Sophia.  She did two things to thwart YHWH: she made a duplicate of herself (Eve) and hid in what would become the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (because of her existence in the Tree).  When her son, The Christ, saw what had happened he came down to rescue his Mother.  But then he saw Adam and Eve and felt pity of them because of the ignorance that YHWH had left them in.  He instructed Eve (not tempted) while in the form of a snake (to avoid YHWH) to eat from the now infused Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  He then rescues his Mother and both leave YHWH to continue to bring ignorance to humanity until his second return.

You see that is why YHWH is a Jealous God; he knows that he is not the Supreme Being.  But he wants his creation to believe that he is by leaving humans in ignorance of the Truth.  Basically, the Gnostic Christians explain every detail of why YHWH is such an evil god.  Since creation he has attempted to keep humans from knowing the truth, but when the Christ descended upon Jesus for a short period of time humans knew the truth.  YHWH has continued to malign Christianity so that the Truth that Jesus taught was buried under the lies that YHWH whispered to the leaders of the Church. 

To an Atheist this story does an excellent job of explaining why so many Christians ignore or rationalize away the teaching of Jesus.  Love thy neighbor, give to the poor, turn the other cheek, humility, and serving others before yourself, all these teaching are ignored for the “more important Christian teachings”. These more important ones are like pleasing YHWH, teaching “creation science”, stopping abortion (which would only create more poor and miserable children), stopping homosexual marriage, and slow (or stop) scientific research that would create knowledge.

With many of the Gnostic Gospels having been written in the 1^st century CE, it is obvious that someone or something did intervene in the teaching of Jesus.  Call it Satan or the Gnostic Christians version of YHWH, but something happened to Christianity prior to the 3^rd Council of Carthage (when the Christian Bible was complied).  An entire (possible three) Christian sect(s) were deemed heretical.  But the question comes were they heretical because they were the false teachers or was the more popular version of Christianity (Constantine’s) actually the false religion?  Now that we have the Nag Hammadi Library I hope this will shake the Christian arrogance to the core.  If you are a Christian, are you sure, not in faith, but in reality that you have the one True Faith?  What proof can you provide that you are right and the Gnostic Christians are the heretics?

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Posted in The Nag Hammadi, Inerrancy - My Ass, Tree of Knowledge, Readings | Print | No Comments »

March 23, 2009, 10:02 am by dc-agape.

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Surāh 112: Al-Ikhlās (The Unity)

This surāh is one that explains how Allah is different from the Christian “God”, but in general is identical to YHWH.  Only 4 verses are in this surāh.  One verse claiming that Allah is singular.  One that points out that only Allah is permanent.  The third verse “explains” the error of the Trinity.  The fourth verse is about how no one can be like Allah.

The first verse may be important to polytheism but it certainly is nothing new to Judaism or Christianity.  Of course, today only one major religion has polytheism at its core.  True some societies do have reverence for the old god: an example of this is Hawai’i.  It is also true that Catholicism does get pretty close to polytheism with prayer to the saints.  This verse does not disagree with Christianity.  They believe that YHWH, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same.  Some go as far as to say that each is a different “face” to one being.

The second verse is something that shows the similarity between Christianity and the Holy Qur’an.  In the Apocryphon of James (my post on heretical Gnostic Christianity) it is stated that God does not need the Son, and the Son does not need humanity.  Since this came from the heretical side of the first century this concept has been forgotten in modern “god loves you” Christianity. 

The third verse is the major point.  Unfortunately, this does nothing to persuade a Christian.  They will certainly agree with the “nor is He begotten”.  The short “He begets not” is a core belief in the Islamic religion but is crucial to Christianity.  Some of the heretical Gnostic Christians would agree with this concept.  Gnostics, like Valentinus (Gnosis.org), are actually responsible for the Trinity yet at the same time believed only one “Godhead” existed.  As an Atheist, this verse is not substantial enough to give any reason to believe that he was not “begotten”.  Where did he come from?  Why was he not created just like the universe?  What happened before the “creation”?

The final verse is easily agreed with by Christians.  They would easily say that no mere mortal could ever hope to be likened to YHWH.  But of course, they are using this as an excuse to explain why they can continue to sin.  Since most Christians see no difference between “the Christ” and YHWH they would not have a problem with the concept that “none is like Him”. 

In the end, since this surāh is so short and direct, it has no ability to change either a Christian’s nor an Atheist’s point of view.  Of course the difference is that to a Christian it is a point of faith.  To an Atheist it does not answer the underlying question of how YHWH (Allah) came into existence.  Simply put, if YHWH is eternal, then why can’t the universe be eternal as well?  With Superstring Theory (slider.com) and m-/d-branes (aswers.com) the concept of an everlasting expansion and deflation of the universe is acceptable.  In fact, some Christians are using String Theory to prove (Origin of God) the possible existence of YHWH!

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Posted in Apocryphon of James, Holy Qur'an, Readings | Print | 4 Comments »

March 21, 2009, 9:30 am by dc-agape.

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This is my post about the errors that my second “Christian” commenters made.  This comment comes from a post on the Apocryphon of James.

21.  William Cody Bateman |  codybateman.org |

Your theology is terrible!

1. James and Peter, you correctly point out - were not “born of the Spirit” until AFTER Jesus’ ascension to heaven! They knew of Jesus Christ by words and deed but not kept by the Spirit Himself!

2. As the Son of Man (God in flesh) Jesus Christ came to the will of the Father (God the Father). But, He NEVER put off his Godhead as the Son of God! Therefore, it makes absolute sense that, speaking as the Son of Man - He would pray to God the Father and also, do the Father’s will.

3. Both James and Peter were warned by Jesus Christ PRIOR to Pentecost (God the Spirit coming and inpowering them) that they would be persecuted and inventually, put to death - though they were as innocent of any crimes like He, the Son of Man was.

4. Though you use a very liberal interpretation for your scripture references, it doesn’t change the fact that, as followers of Jesus Christ (born-again Christians by the working and indwelling of the Spirit Himself), no man or circumstance can separate them from the Love of God!

5. But, as believers - those adopted by God the Father through the blood of God the Son, Jesus Christ and kept by the power of God the Spirit unto the day of salvation - we are now become the enemies of this world!

6. I would suggest you read Hebrews 10, 11 and Acts 1-3 on these matters.

7. Lastly, those who claim to have been Christians at the start but now, reject Him as the Son of God and the only propiation for sin - were never born of the Spirit to begin with… or as Christ Himself proclaims; “I NEVER knew you!”

I will start with my reply:

21.  William Cody,
I was wondering if Zemanta would have this effect. I noticed a lot of your posts are recommended by Zemanta.

We agree on #1, but the problem is when did Jesus ascend? In the Book of Acts it was 40 days after his resurrection. In the Apocryphon of James (one of two Holy Texts ascribed to the brother of Jesus) it was 150 days. And Jesus did not appear to Paul until 6 months after his resurrection.

In #2, I think the comment that you are referring to is my analogy of YHWH to the head of a corporation, where the little guy (us) is replaceable.

In #3, Pentecost had already arrived when this story occurred. The contradiction is that in one section of the Apocryphon Jesus tells them that they will not be persecuted and then later tells them that they will be persecuted.

In #4, you are forgetting Heb 6:4-6 NIV translation. Followers can fall away, but they can never return! 

In #5, how I wish Christians were enemies to the world. In the US it is the exact opposite. Christians are the world, everyone else is the enemy. Christian control the world, they make the decisions in govt, schools, and even the military. And I thought they were supposed to “turn the other cheek”, “be feed and clothed like the sparrow by God” and “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar”.

In #6, how I wish Christians would read Hebrews 10:24, 11:26, and Act 2:42-47. Then I would see TrueChristian(TM).

In #7, I will only say that that is contradicted by Heb 6:4-6 and Luke 19:10 (seeking and save what was lost). Obviously, not everyone was lost or there would have been no need to seek.Please, remember, I am reading from the Nag Hammadi Library, it is not your conical Word of God. I am reading it to see how other Christian sects of the 1st century created and held their beliefs that became heretical.

I will do the same thing in each of these “usual suspect” posts.  I will use 2^nd Tim 3:16 as Paul recommends. I will admit that William Cody Bateman did attempt to do this.  But instead of giving direct verses he recommended reading entire chapters of the NT without emphasis on specific passages.

Let me put some color into what Cody has said.

#1)  The Holy Spirit had not entered James and Peter yet because Jesus had not ascended to heaven.  This boils down to the fact that James and Peter did not have freewill.  Only by having the Holy Spirit would they understand.  If that works for the apostles it must also work for us!

#2)  The passage from the Apocryphon of James describes how the Father does not need the Son and the Son does not need us peons.  But that we little morals have a need for the Son just like the Son need the Father.  This is exactly like Corporate America.  The boss does not need the workers, and thinks that the worker is easily replaced.  Yet to the worker he must please the boss or be fired.  With that analogy we see that Christianity’s concept of freewill is bogus.

#3)  In this section of the Apocryphon of James, Jesus at one point tells the apostles that they will not be persecuted and then he turns around a little later and tells them they will be treated just like he was.  This is a contradiction within only a few rows of each other.  Both statements are attributed to Jesus.  But remember, this is the Apocryphon of James…a Holy Text that was destroyed by “mainline” Christians over 1600 years ago. 

#4) Cody claims that we cannot be separated from YHWH.  Yet this statement is in direct contradiction to:

Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of Man all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

This set of verse is quite clear.  Anyone can fall away from Christianity.  Unless you want to cherry pick which Bible verse you follow.  Then there is this one:

Mark 3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.

”So not only does the Word of God make it clear that Cody is wrong, but Jesus himself is quite blunt about the subject.

#5)  I will leave my remarks in my post as enough about Christians being the enemy of the world.  Other than starting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have seen no proof that American Christians are the enemy to the earth.  Unless, you trust scientist and agree that global warming is real.  Then I can see how Christians are enemies to the earth, but not taking care of it!

#6)  Let’s read some of the chapters that Cody recommends.  Starting with Act, it is a favorite of mine, the whole section is worth are read (Acts 2:42-47), but focus on this:

Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

You just don’t see that today!  But I sure wish we did.  Instead, we see power corrupt “christians” making bad decisions in business, govt, and education. They are not sharing anything with anyone!

How about the passages from the Book of Hebrews? In chapter 10 we can read about how the author(s) of the Book of Hebrews suggests this:

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Instead of following this verse, we see “christians” doing the exact opposite.  The Phelps family is a great example, the California Prop #8 is another example.  Both these cases are examples of Christians treating other people with hatred and spurring their own followers to do evil deeds.  In the past “christians” have done the same thing with mixed racial marriages and with slavery.

In a few verses down from that last one we read this:

Heb 10:26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

We certainly do not see many “Christians” following this verse.  How many continue to sin after being “saved”?  How many use the cop-out “it wasn’t deliberate”?  Come on Christians, us Atheist, especially us gay Atheist, need to see some real change.  Otherwise, your religion is a lie.

7) I think I have covered this one well enough.  It’s the old, and moldy, “you just never really knew Jesus” line that the believer will use on any of us that have converted from Christianity to Atheism.  Between my points on freewill and being able to fall away….that just about covers it.

In the end, any comments made on this blog that disagree with a gay Atheist interpretation of the Word of God needs to have some heavy back-up.  That back-up had better be specific verses.  Those verse had better be to the point and clearly not in contradiction to another verse in the Word of God.

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Posted in Comment Policies, The Usual Suspects, Apocryphon of James, Inerrancy - My Ass, correcting, Freewill | Print | 1 Comment »

March 20, 2009, 7:36 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 13:25-16:30

This will end my posts on the Apocryphon of James.  I plan to return to the Holy Qur’an after this post.  I will follow some logical advice that I received from one of my commenters about starting with the last Surahs and reading toward the front of the Qur’an.  Before I return to the OT, there are a number of Dead Sea Scrolls that I want to take a look at.  Many of the Scrolls are either commentaries on the OT Books or additions to the OT Books.  Many things occurred in the Book of Genesis and the Dead Sea Scrolls expand upon those stories.  So before I return to the OT and start reading the Book of Exodus, I will be looking at Books like the “The Words of Levi”, “The Last Words of Judah (3Q7)”, “A Sermon on the Flood (4Q370)”, and “Lives of the Patriarchs (4Q464)”.

The final section of the Apocryphon of James starts with Peter asking a question to Jesus.  Peter was confused by Jesus’ remarks about becoming closer to the kingdom of heaven and then later casting them away from the exact same kingdom.  Jesus did that wishy-wash twice so I can completely understand Peter (the Rock) being confused.  It was a confusing reading for me as well.

Jesus told Peter that it was ok to be elated at the thought of eternal life.  But that it was ok to also be sorrowful when receiving instructions on how to receive that life.  He went on promise them that they had received eternal life.  Here is a passage that today’s “Christian” will eat up:

14:14-19 Verily I say unto you, he who will receive life and believe in the kingdom will never leave it, not even if the Father wishes to banish him.

This is definitely in contrast to Barnabas’ (Paul’s) or Apollos’ teachings:

Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

So the big questions is: are the author(s) of Hebrews teaching the “true” Word of God, or are they not?  Jesus says you can’t fall away, the Book of Hebrews says that you can.  Which is right?  And if Jesus is right, which most will agree with, and then what does that make the Book of Hebrews?  Does that not make that Book a false teaching?  Should it be in the Word of God?  Why is it in the Word of God, if it contradicts Jesus’ own teachings?  Every Christian should look at these questions in the most serious manner possible.  Their salvation may depend upon it.

Then Jesus began to teach them about his leaving.  During this lesson Jesus describes how those who came before him and prophesied about him were blessed.  It again, gets into predestination of “they who were proclaimed by the Son before they came to be”. 

When Jesus left, James and Peter did follow him for a short period of time.  They saw:

15:9-13 We heard with our ears, and saw with our eyes, the noise of wars and a trumpet blare and a great turmoil.

Ain’t heaven grand?  They continued upward, and heard and saw angles signing, benedictions, and rejoicing.  But when they attempted to reach further “to the Majesty” they were interrupted by the other disciples. 

They had to tell the other disciples that Jesus had left, only the two seeing this, which is in contrast to this verse:

Acts 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

In this verse Luke makes it clear that all the disciples saw Jesus ascend.  So the question must be asked again, this time of the Book of Acts!  Which story is accurate?  Is Luke, who might have been a companion of Paul correct, or is the brother of Jesus correct?  Is the Book of Acts the Word of God?  Remember, in Acts Jesus only stayed for 40 days.  In the Apocryphon of James, Jesus stayed for 150 days.  The question must again be asked, did a fait accompli occur in the first century Church?  Where are the teachings of the actual apostles?  Why are almost all the Books of the NT written by people who had never been taught by Jesus?  How accurate can 2^nd hand information be, especially when it was not recorded for hundreds of years and had many scribal errors and changes?

Returning to the last few lines of the Apocryphon, James and Peter have worse news for the other disciples.  There will be more generations of Christians, and the apostles were only saved for the sake of these later Christians.  James then claimed that he dispersed the apostles to different areas, while he stayed in Jerusalem.  At that point, he was still in doubt that he was saved:

16:9-10 But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying that I might obtain a portion among the beloved, who will be made manifest.

James ends with directions to the recipient (Cerinthus?).  These directions included the need to strive to be part of those that had life.  But he ends with more predestination:

16:26-30 We do, indeed, proclaim a portion with those for whom the proclamation was made, those whom the Lord has made his sons.

Indeed, it is Jesus (or YHWH) who makes the decision as to who will be his sons.  And that would make both 14:14-19 and Heb 4:4-6 then not be contradictions.  Only if predestination occurs can both passages be in harmony.  Only when YHWH is the chooser can the concept of never losing salvation and the possibility of losing salvation be unified.  So in the end, a loving creator has chosen who will be separated from him for all eternity.  How loving is that?

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March 19, 2009, 7:33 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 11:10-13:25

As William Cody pointed out in a comment yesterday, James and Peter were not yet saved.  The logic behind this was that even though they were his apostles Jesus had yet ascended to heaven to become their advocate before YHWH.   With that in mind, the beginning of this section of the Apocryphon of James has some rational meaning.  Jesus berates both men for not having an advocate.  He does give them one good piece of advice before he slides into a description of YHWH that most of today’s Christians would find offensive.  That advice is:

11:18-23 Liken yourselves to foreigners; of what sort are they in the eyes of your city?  Why are you disturbed when you cast yourselves away of your own accord and separate yourselves from your city?

Basically, he’s asking them why they are still involved with worldly activities.  As Christians, once you are separated from the world, why do you care?  This is Jesus’ own question, not mine.

Then he goes into a description of YHWH that is very OT. 

11:29-36 Or do you perhaps think that the Father is a lover of mankind, or that he is won over without prayer, or that he grants remission to one on another’s behalf, or that he bears with one who asks? – For he knows the desires and also what it is that the flesh needs!

That is pretty OT YHWH if you ask me.  YHWH not loving mankind, not granting remission, and not tolerating those that ask!  Of course, that makes sense now as well.  If YHWH knows what you need, why bother praying at all, except to remind him that you are a pitiful sinner who wants “daddy” to love you back.  Everything else is his domain and in his plan, prayer is not going to change his decision. 

Jesus continues with the concept of the spirit (possibly Holy Spirit) saving the soul and the flesh.  And without the spirit neither the soul nor the flesh can be saved.  This, of course, distresses both James and Peter.  Jesus does little to improve their distress.  He tells them about the kingdom of heaven and how it will require work to reap an “ear (corn) of life”.  He continues to berate them about not “knowing” him while he was on earth.  Telling them this:

12:41-13:1 Blessed will they be who have not seen, yet have believed!

Well that fits nicely with what others have said (John 20:29).  And remember that the recipient of this Apocryphon was active circa 100CE (Cerinthus) and that most scholars believe that the Gospel of John was also written at the end of the first century (Catholic Encyclopedia for both Cerinthus and the date/authorship of the Gospel of John).

Jesus then reminds Peter and James about the reason that he came to earth.  He begins this with a warning to “do not make the kingdom of heaven a desert”.  He explains that by becoming proud this is exactly what will happen.  Boy are there way too many “Christians” today who need to listen to Jesus!  Flat out, Jesus is telling to avoid being cocky.  But he goes further; he tells them to be treat people like he treated people.  Man that goes against everything that “Christians” do today.  Oh sure, there is a bunch of talk, but show me the action!

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March 18, 2009, 8:57 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 8:27-11:10

Jesus starts with the warning to be sober and to avoid deception.  He then reminds them of all that he has taught them.  Then comes the tried a true Christian meaning of why Jesus came:

9:2-4 For I came down to dwell with you so that you in turn might dwell in me.

But he continues with a twist: the Father does not need the Son, but the Son needs the Father.  He also explains that in the same way the Son does not need James and Peter.  Yet James and Peter need the Son and the Father!  Wow, I didn’t know that corporate America was founded on the Apocryphon of James.

Everyone is replaceable, except the head boss (and he gets a golden parachute on the way out). Here is a good explanation of that “Is everyone replaceable?” posted on Random Thoughts by Sajith M.

One minute Jesus is warning them to be prepared for persecution.  Now he completely changes that:

9:18-23 Hearken the word; understand knowledge; love life, and no one will persecute you, nor will anyone oppress you, other than you yourselves.

This is directly in opposition to:

5:10-20 Or do you not know that you have yet to be abused and accused unjustly; and have yet to be shut up in prison, and condemned unlawfully, and crucified without reason, and buried shamefully, as was I myself, by the evil one?

Good old contradictions.  These are the stuff that makes Atheist out of Christians.  As has been pointed out by many Atheist.  For example, The Naked Emperor describes how these types of contradictions made a Bible College Student into an Atheist.

Worse is the next section.  Jesus seems to be calling James and Peter (the Rock) wretches, pretenders, sinners, and sleepers.  Can Jesus actually be speaking about his apostles in such a way?  Are they still not saved?  And are these the people he is going to leave in charge of his Church?  He continues, and he certainly is talking about his apostles.  He describes them as “outside of the Father’s inheritance”.  He continues to say that he would never have been sent down to earth if it was for him to talk and teach to those who would listen.  This leads to another post that I want to do in the future, many verses from the NT talk about:

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

How can you seek what is lost…if everyone is lost?  Obviously, the loving YHWH either considered some not worth saving, or some people do not belong to YHWH!  And if they do not belong to YHWH, what happens to them?  Or are others not lost?  But how can that be if we are all condemned by the act of Adam and Eve?

Right after telling them that they were not the inheritors of gifts of YHWH, he then tells them that they are “the beloved” and that they will “be the cause of life in many”.  He even calls them the “sons of God” and that they are saved. 

Jesus ends with another famous Christian line:

11:4-6 I intercede on your behalf with the Father, and he will forgive you much.

Of course this makes James and Peter glad.  But one thing “Christians” forget is that last little caveat: “he will forgive you much”.  Jesus never tells the disciples that YHWH will forgive everything, on the contrary Jesus, Paul, and the rest of the NT authors keep reminding the disciples that to continue to sin will not be tolerated.

These contradictions are too much for a poor mortal gay Atheist.  How does a Christian put up with such nonsense?  Isn’t it a constant battle between faith and logic?  What do they think “I’m going to go read the inerrant Word of God? Click, Logic off, switch dials, Clink, faith on”. Or is it completely a subconscious act.

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