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re: What if God is a trickster demon?
Posted on 2/27/15 at 8:53 pm to sleepy gnostic
Posted on 2/27/15 at 8:53 pm to sleepy gnostic
You asked if we'd heard of gnosticism before. It's my academic field so yeah of course I know a lil bit about it. 
I'm not sure why that statement was perplexing to you. It's like asking an airplane pilot if he'd ever heard of an airplane. Of course he or she has.
I'm not sure why that statement was perplexing to you. It's like asking an airplane pilot if he'd ever heard of an airplane. Of course he or she has.
This post was edited on 2/27/15 at 8:57 pm
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Posted on 2/27/15 at 9:01 pm to Prof
quote:
You asked if we'd heard of gnosticism before. It's my academic field so yeah of course I know a lil bit about it.
I'm not sure why that statement was perplexing to you. It's like asking a pilot if he'd ever heard of an airplane. Of course he or she has.
The way it was said, in the mildly condescending manor with the laughing emoji would have made sense if I disputed something you'd said, but it was your opener. I found it just a tiny bit odd.
I'm not gifted enough to presume the jobs of all possible viewers of a thread.
Anyway, over and done with.
Btw, are you the guy who does the writing for Doctor Bronner's soap bottles? Your writing style reminds me of them.
Posted on 2/27/15 at 9:04 pm to sleepy gnostic
I have no idea who or what Doctor Bronner is so no.
ETA: At any rate, I didn't mean to offend or condescend you personally with that initial response. The question amused me because it's my field not because you asked it. It was meant as dry humor not as a jab directed at you.
ETA: At any rate, I didn't mean to offend or condescend you personally with that initial response. The question amused me because it's my field not because you asked it. It was meant as dry humor not as a jab directed at you.
This post was edited on 2/27/15 at 9:17 pm
Posted on 2/27/15 at 11:25 pm to Prof
Prof, if you could recommend a particular book or collection on Gnosticism, what would it be?
Posted on 2/27/15 at 11:45 pm to Prof
quote:
The question amused me because it's my field not because you asked it. It was meant as dry humor not as a jab directed at you.
Gnosticism is your specific field?
Posted on 2/28/15 at 12:15 am to PowerTool
quote:
Prof, if you could recommend a particular book or collection on Gnosticism, what would it be?
If you want primary texts both The Nag Hammadi Scriptures LINK AND Bentley Layton's The Gnostic Scriptures LINK are must haves.
For the most accessible Gnostic Text - start with the The Gospel of Thomas (there are several translations to choose from and you can read several for free online).
For general beginners Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels is the best place to start. LINK I would actually start with Pagels first because of the accessibility factor.
The next I'd pick up would be The Documents for the Study of the Gospels (which has the Gospel of Thomas and several other texts). It's not all gnostic but you need more than gnostic texts to understand gnosticism. It's a great book for understanding both Christianity and gnosticism and was written by dear friend of mine who was a fantastic scholar. LINK
What you must keep in mind with gnosticism is that there's no single strand of it -- everything from Marcionism to Valentinianism to Manicheanism and Sethism and much more fall under the term and much (though not all) of Marcionism and Valentinism you'd be hard pressed to distinguish from your local church.
This post was edited on 2/28/15 at 12:20 am
Posted on 2/28/15 at 12:26 am to sleepy gnostic
quote:
Gnosticism is your specific field?
Yes. I'm a heresiologist if ya wanna get technical about it (although I don't know anyone who uses that term anymore, I do like the sound of it). Gnosticism, specifically the Valentinian school, is my specialty.
Posted on 2/28/15 at 12:28 am to Prof
^^^ My boy is wicked smaht
Posted on 2/28/15 at 12:57 am to Vols&Shaft83
quote:
^^^ My boy is wicked smaht
What you done, I seent it.
Posted on 2/28/15 at 11:36 pm to Prof
Thanks for the suggestions. I've done a little reading online, but would like to sit down for more serious reading at some point.
I have a shallow familiarity with early church heresies from my Catholic school days, but they were only covered in brief, without source material.
I have a shallow familiarity with early church heresies from my Catholic school days, but they were only covered in brief, without source material.
Posted on 3/1/15 at 9:19 am to derSturm37
What's laughable is the notion that GOD was once Patton on nordic shrooms and then came to earth in the form of John Lennon on wine.
If you disregard the testimony of millions of people, past and present, who claim to have a personal relationship with Christ including some of the most distinguished.
If you disregard the testimony of millions of people, past and present, who claim to have a personal relationship with Christ including some of the most distinguished.
Posted on 3/1/15 at 2:36 pm to sleepy gnostic
tits and shite
Posted on 3/1/15 at 8:06 pm to mbogo
quote:
If you disregard the testimony of millions of people, past and present, who claim to have a personal relationship with Christ including some of the most distinguished.
I'm open to the possibility that Jesus is the way, the truth, the light, the [son of] God. I'm just saying that if Jesus IS God then The Old Testament is a tome of lies, a canon of blasphemies.
Read Ecclesiastes. It's just a few pages long. (Not to mention MY favorite book of The Bible).
Posted on 3/1/15 at 8:29 pm to mbogo
quote:
If you disregard the testimony of millions of people, past and present, who claim to have a personal relationship with Christ including some of the most distinguished.
We all disregard the testimony of millions and millions of people who believe just as fervently in other religions and gods. There's nothing special about Christianity in that regard, or any regard for that matter.
Posted on 3/1/15 at 8:54 pm to sleepy gnostic
quote:
What if God is a trickster demon?
I'd just like to say that I figured this thread title alone would've accounted for 3x as many pages by now.
Posted on 3/1/15 at 11:12 pm to derSturm37
quote:
I'm open to the possibility that Jesus is the way, the truth, the light, the [son of] God. I'm just saying that if Jesus IS God then The Old Testament is a tome of lies, a canon of blasphemies.
This is the biggest thing I have been thinking about the last few years. The Old Testament is really crazy fvcked up when you dig into it.
I think modern churches have done a good job of picking out the right texts from the Old Testament to use in Sunday school and in Church, but how do you just ignore a huge part of the Bible?
Posted on 3/2/15 at 12:25 am to TiggerWoods
quote:
This is the biggest thing I have been thinking about the last few years. The Old Testament is really crazy fvcked up when you dig into it.
I think modern churches have done a good job of picking out the right texts from the Old Testament to use in Sunday school and in Church, but how do you just ignore a huge part of the Bible?
Agree with you 100%. I remember singing "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" many times in Sunday School. Nobody bothered to tell me that God told Joshua to slaughter every Jerichoan man, woman, and child save one prostitute!
This post was edited on 3/2/15 at 12:28 am
Posted on 3/2/15 at 12:35 am to derSturm37
quote:
The Old Testament is really crazy fvcked up when you dig into it.
There is no such thing as absolute power for us, except on the receiving end. Using fear will get you nowhere. Its not your job to determine what's just. It's not your place to choose the version of God that you like best. Its not your duty to serve this country alone, and it better not be your goal to simply serve yourself.
This post was edited on 3/2/15 at 12:48 am
Posted on 3/2/15 at 2:26 am to BlackPawnMartyr
If it's not our job to determine what is just, then why do we have laws and enforcement of them? And if we did not determine that the biblical gods laws were unjust and applied them in our modern society, well, that is not a place where I would want to live.
But as it is, we have ruled those laws unfit and abolished slavery, rape, genocide, and various atrocities sanctioned by the biblical God. We have cast judgement upon this mythical tyrant and rejected him fundamentally as a society, even if we are indivually still afraid by the threat of hell to reject them as the writings of subjugative, primitive men.
But as it is, we have ruled those laws unfit and abolished slavery, rape, genocide, and various atrocities sanctioned by the biblical God. We have cast judgement upon this mythical tyrant and rejected him fundamentally as a society, even if we are indivually still afraid by the threat of hell to reject them as the writings of subjugative, primitive men.
This post was edited on 3/2/15 at 2:27 am
Posted on 3/2/15 at 5:46 am to Masterag
quote:
We all disregard the testimony of millions and millions of people who believe just as fervently in other religions and gods. There's nothing special about Christianity in that regard, or any regard for that matter.
That's incorrect. Other religions don't profess a personal relationship. Muslims say god hasn't revealed himself yet. Other religions don't profess anything personal either. They know about the supposed god they worship but don't actually know him while Christianity is having a relationship and knowing Christ.
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