Robert Tulip wrote:The Bible operates on two levels, esoteric and exoteric. The esoteric or secret teachings are Gnostic mysteries designed for an elite elect, and present an enlightened spiritual philosophy. The exoteric or public teachings are popular stories designed for the general public, as an introduction to the Christian vision.
The claim of the existence of Jesus Christ in the flesh is a solely exoteric simplified teaching, whereas the deeper spiritual understanding, and the real basis of the authentic Christian ethic, is that the Jesus story was invented as allegory.
Hi Robert, I think we have to step back a little bit here, with some preliminary questions such as who wrote the books of the Bible and when were they written? The old testament contains many books some of which were ancient even in the first century C.E.
If the essence of it all is Gnostic,how does this work? Gnosticism holds that the creator God of the Bible was an evil deluded demiurge who created a botched material world.
Robert Tulip wrote:Only fugitive traces of the original high teaching survived in hidden form in the Bible and in Christian symbols. The attack was so comprehensive and successful, given the use of the enfleshed myth as the basis of imperial stability and the inherent weakness of a secret society against an empire, that the original teachings were entirely lost, and now must be reconstructed from the fragments.
So were the "original teachings entirely lost"? Not if the dead sea scrolls are anything to go by. Theoretically on the conspiracy to destroy the "secret teachings" the old testament books found in the scrolls at Qumran should be radically different showing the purged,original "secret teachings," but they don't.
To read the old testament in a Gnostic framework what must be done? Well the creation is repeatedly called good in the creation account but the Gnostic must find some hidden "code" meaning bad.
If it's all code for pagan vegetation and fertility cycles, how do we explain the repeated prophetic denunciation of pagan fertility god worship,polytheism and idol worship so pervasive in these writings?
In short, we are to think that what it's blatantly saying is the opposite to what it's really saying!
Now it may provide some satisfaction to think, that it's just because regular readers are thick as planks that they read "God saw it was good" to mean it was good and not bad. We have to suppose that these ancient documents promote pagan polytheism and vegetation cycle religion while roundly condemning pagan idolatry and insisting on one God only,at one and the same time.
Robert Tulip wrote:But Flann supports the depraved mentality of the church in also attacking Freke and Gandy, who are among the most brilliant scholars writing today.
Well lets just say, I don't agree with you on their brilliance and scholarly prowess.
youkrst wrote:i suppose i'm still at where i was earlier
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well tell us all about these historical Jesii, they sound fascinating
but if we are talking about the guy in the NT gospels, name something about him that is not found in other stories.
Well Youkrst, When it comes to religions pagan or otherwise one expects to find certain similarities in subject matter and I don't think this proves borrowing or copying.
To look at the pagan Copycat thesis in depth from a Christian perspective, here's quite a detailed study of the subject by Glenn Miller.
www.christianthinktank.com/copycat.html