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Gnosis
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THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY
WEB LECTURES
For over fifty years
The Gnostic Society
in Los Angeles has sponsored activities dedicated to furthering an understanding
of Gnosis and Gnosticism. The Society's "Friday Evening Lecture Series",
directed for the last two decades by Dr. Stephan Hoeller, provides a
distinguished and uniquely focused forum for individuals interested in
Gnosticism, Jungian psychology, Kabbalah, mythology, and other subjects related
to Gnosticism.
THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY LIBRARY
The Nag Hammadi Library
About the Nag Hammadi Library Section
The Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of thirteen ancient
codices containing over fifty texts, was discovered in upper Egypt in 1945. This
immensely important discovery includes a large number of primary Gnostic
scriptures -- texts once thought to have been entirely destroyed during the
early Christian struggle to define "orthodoxy" -- scriptures such as the Gospel
of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Truth.
The discovery and translation of the Nag Hammadi library,
completed in the 1970's, has provided impetus to a major re-evaluation of early
Christian history and the nature of Gnosticism. Readers unfamiliar with
this history may wish to review the brief
Introduction to Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library
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The
FRONTLINE Series
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This FRONTLINE series is an intellectual and visual guide to the new and
controversial historical evidence which challenges familiar assumptions about
the life of Jesus and the epic rise of Christianity.
Throughout the site, maps, charts (for example, the
fortress of Masada), ancient texts (including
Perpetua's diary), pictures of the
archaeological discoveries, ancient imagery |
The Crucifixion
Archaeological discoveries offer new information about the Roman practice of
crucifixion.
Jesus as Rabbi
Scholar Jaroslav Pelikan examines the changing perceptions of Jesus' role as a
Jewish rabbi and teacher.
The Parables
Madeleine Boucher discusses the different types of parables used by Jesus and
their role in his teaching.
The Quest for the Historical Jesus
Two interesting examinations: The
'Jefferson Bible' was Thomas Jefferson's attempt to extract
an authentic Jesus from the Gospel accounts. And, scholar Claudia Setzer
explores the discoveries and controversies of the present
1990's quest, comparing it to earlier intense periods of inquiry into Jesus'
life.
Chart of Jesus' Family Tree
Here are Jesus' relatives - as cited in the gospels, in Paul's letter to the
Romans and, in the work of church historian Eusebius.
Audio Excerpt from the Documentary
Why archaeological findings are requiring scholars to re-think Jesus'
socio-cultural background.
The Myth Of Masada
Did hundreds of Jews really commit suicide at Masada? Historian Shaye Cohen
compares Josephus' account with recent archaeological evidence.
Religion In The Roman World
An essay by Marianne Bonz describing the myriad of religious options available
in the Roman Empire.
Bibilical Archaeology
Maps and profiles of the discoveries at major archaeological sites.
Josephus
Descriptions of the
sack of Jerusalem and the
tragedy at Masada by this first century historian.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Discovered by bedouin shepherds in cliff caves above the shore of the Dead Sea,
these scrolls are internationally recognized as essential reading in the attempt
to understand Jesus as a human being in his own time. The scrolls date to Jesus'
time and the period shortly before. But they speak to us across two thousand
years revealing much about early Christianity and its roots in ancient Judaism.
Here are selected readings.
Audio Excerpt from the Documentary
The Essenes, a Jewish group who exiled themselves to the desert and are usually
thought to have produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their story reveals how many Jews
in Jesus' time shared a conviction of "apocalyptic expectation."
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From The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels.
Why were these texts buried-and why have they remained virtually unknown for
nearly 2,000 years? Their suppression as banned documents, and their burial on
the cliff at Nag Hammadi, it turns out, were both part of a struggle critical
for the formation of early Christianity. The Nag Hammadi texts, and others like
them, which circulated at the beginning of the Christian era, were denounced as
heresy by orthodox Christians in the middle of the second century. We have long
known that many early followers of Christ were condemned by other Christians as
heretics
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Yet by A. D. 200, the situation had changed. Christianity had become an
institution headed by a three-rank hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons,
who understood themselves to be the guardians of the only "true faith." The
majority of churches, among which the church of Rome took a leading role,
rejected all other viewpoints as heresy. Deploring the diversity of the earlier
movement, Bishop Irenaeus and his followers insisted that there could be only
one church, and outside of that church, he declared, "there is no salvation."
Members of this church alone are orthodox (literally, "straight-thinking")
Christians. And, he claimed, this church must be catholic-- that is,
universal. Whoever challenged that consensus, arguing instead for other forms of
Christian teaching, was declared to be a heretic, and expelled. When the
orthodox gained military support, sometime after the Emperor Constantine became
Christian in the fourth century, the penalty for heresy escalated. |
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Gnosticism
"gnosis" (Greek for "knowledge") |
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One of the most popular types of Christianity was
"Gnosticism," a movement centered in Alexandria, Egypt, whose adherents claimed
that salvation came not through faith, but through "gnosis" (Greek for
"knowledge"). Humanity's "original sin," according to these early theologians,
lay not having disobeyed "God, " but in having allowed him to trick us. Indeed,
many scholars now believe that Jesus himself was probably Gnostic!
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