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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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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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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March 17, 2009, 11:45 pm by dc-agape.

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Testing using Nag Hammadi as a reference.  How does Zemanta work with 1and1 and WordPress.  My posts recently have been about the Apocryphon of James. 

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March 17, 2009, 9:04 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 6:21 – 8:27

This section of the Apocryphon of James starts with a question about prophecy.  Jesus answers them that when the “head” is removed there will be no more prophecy.  Two verse from the Word of God explain this concept and why removing the “head” had ended prophecy.

Eph 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

So from this verse, from Paul to the Ephesians, Jesus is the Head.  Which means that when he is gone prophecy will end, making John the last Prophet.  But there is one more verse that collaborates with this passage from the Apocryphon of James:

1^st Cor 13:8-10 Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Many Christians see this verse as the explanation of why prophecy does not occur today.  But when you put all three passages together there is no need to guess.  Jesus and Paul have made it clear that after Jesus left prophecy would end.  What Paul meant by the “when perfection comes” has been lost.  Great going inerrant Word of God!

Jesus continues to remind James and Peter about his teachings.  This section reminds me of an earlier post in the Gospel of Mark.  Jesus is still showing his humanity…he rebukes his disciples for not being able to perceive his teachings through the parables and even his straight talk.  Yet we know that YHWH has to open the eyes and unblock the ears for people to understand (Mark 4:12).  Obviously, YHWH has still not accomplished this task!

Here again Jesus changes the subject rapidly.  This entire section is more like clips than a narration.  He talks about how to be saved.  He says that being saved requires eagerness and cannot be urged upon anyone.  No less to his apostles, who should already be saved?  I do like his next topic about hypocrisy:

7:17-22 Come to hate hypocrisy and the evil thought; for it is the thought that gives birth to hypocrisy; but hypocrisy is far from truth.

Hypocrisy is one thing that I can say is a pet peeve of mine!  It would seem that it was also one of Jesus’.  The decision to be a hypocrite does come before the action itself.  And hypocrisy is most definitely far from the truth.  As I have said before, Jesus had some wonder teaching.  I just wish that the “Christians” would actually follow his word and his actions.  They claim to imitate him and yet there is not a single sign that this is true.

Jesus continues to jump from topic to topic.  At one point he talks about the kingdom of heaven.  He warns that it can wither.  The cause of this withering is similar to a fruiting plant.  If you allow the plant to go to “seed” it stops producing seed, but if you continue to harvest the plant continues to grow more seeds.  Jesus claims that he has done exactly this while on earth and is eager to return to heaven.  Jesus then mentions some of the Parables that he taught and how some people understood them.  It would seem that Jesus is rebuking James and Peter for not being satisfied with these Parables.  But the text jumps to the next subject abruptly.

He jumps to the concept of being earnest about the word:

8:10-15 “Become earnest about the word!  For as the word, its first part is faith; the second, love; the third, works; for from these comes life.

This definitely goes in the face of modern “Christianity”.  Works actually ranks third in the list of things required to receive life!  Many of today’s “christian” believe that only faith is required.  How wrong they are!  Love and works are also required.  Jesus goes on to explain why this is so.  Using an example of a grain of wheat, he tells James and Peter that it is by faith that one sows the seed (hoping that it will sprout).  That same person lovingly tends the plant that sprouts.  But to live the person must do the work of harvesting and preparing the food to live.  This is so true and seems to be self-evident, yet the “christians” of today seem to focus on only single parts of this lesson.

Remember, you can read the entire Nag Hammadi Library here…The Gnostic Society Library.

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March 16, 2009, 9:12 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 2:23 – 6:20

This section of the Apocryphon of James begins with Jesus telling the twelve apostles that he is about to leave.  A conversation about how to enter heaven ensues. During this brief dialog Jesus tells them that he cannot command anyone to enter heaven.  But he tells them that they must be full.  At this point we don’t get a sense of what they must be full of…. But Jesus requests both James and Peter to follow him to a different location.  They leave the other to continue the recording of their experiences during Jesus’ ministry.  The way it is written it does seem that the author was the apostle James and not the brother James.  But historians claim that it could not have been the apostle James because he died in Acts 12:3.  But if that was 42CE (Episcopal Church Lectionary), I don’t see how James the brother of Jesus was any more likely, he was killed in 62CE (Wikipedia).

I just came across a reference that explains that James the brother of Jesus was actually an apostle (Gal 1:18-19).  So there were more than twelve apostles.   Yet the author of this Holy Christian Document refers to himself as one of the twelve apostles.  So my comments about the turmoil in the 1^st century may have begun immediately after the death of Jesus. 

This is where the “secret” message that Jesus had for James and Peter begins.  Jesus starts off telling them that they have received mercy, should they not “desire” to be filled.  He also describes their situation as being drunk, where they should “desire” to be sober.  The narrative is quite broken, not due to damage to the Codex but just the way the topics are covered.  It is quite obvious that this was handed down verbally for some time before being recorded, or that many copy errors occurred before being set in the Nag Hammadi Codex.

The next topic covered by Jesus is how these men needed to remember that they have seen, spoken to, and listened to the Son of Man.  An aside, Jesus only spoke of himself as the Son of Man; other people called him the Christ, Son of God, and the Messiah.  Jesus then goes on to tell them that it is wretched to have seen Jesus.  Those who have not seen Jesus are blessed and have life compared to those who lived with Jesus!  At the end of this mishmash, Jesus again tells them to be full.  But he gives them a reason, he warns about a person who is coming who will mock them.

Peter then asks the big question…how can we be more full than we already are?  Jesus’ answer is worse than the most esoteric woo you can imagine.  He babbles about being full is good and being in want as bad, then switches the two around.  One point that does make sense in this woo is the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus jumps to the next topic: suffering.  Jesus then warns them to stop loving the flesh.  He goes on to tell them that they will suffer the same things that he did.  He ends this with a powerful statement that all Christians should remember:

5:31-35 Scorn death, therefore, and take thought for life!  Remember my cross and death, and you will live!

He basically is warning them to remember his life and death and stop being afraid of death.  He goes on to tell them to “be seekers of death”!  This next passage must be repeated:

6:14-18 Verily I say unto you , none who fear death will be saved; for the kingdom of God belongs to those who put themselves to death.

Yet today, almost all “Christian” I know fear death!  They force people to stay on life support (Terry Schiavo) and themselves mourn when a loved one dies and goes to heaven. BTW, this is not the only source of material that warns Christians to seek death (death of sin or death of body).  Jesus finishes this section with this comment:

6:19-20 Become better than I; make yourselves the son of the Holy Spirit!

Here Jesus is not telling his disciples to imitate him.  He is telling them to be better than him!  But it returns to the Holy Spirit, Christians you must be filled with the Holy Spirit.  You can’t live by your bodily needs and wants. 

Gal 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

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