Guest guest Posted August 7, 2002 Report Share Posted August 7, 2002 Namaste Devibhakti & William For a very good read on Christian Theology and Scriptures from a more enlightened perspective, I HIGHLY reccomend "Jesus and the Lost Goddess" by Frecke & Gandy. Very informative & well researched. I was amazed at some of the obvious connections between Ancient Christianity and Shaktism/Vedanta. ~sunelectric , "devi_bhakta" <devi_bhakta> wrote: > Namaskar William! > > *** Awww man I really love your posts! *** > > Wow, thank you! I appreciate you kindness. And I thank you for your > excellent posts as well. Your latest raised another few thoughts in > my mind, and so I'd like to take a moment and clarify what I see as > Shaktism's attitude toward the other world faiths. > > You write *** I see this [in the symbolism of Genesis and > Revelation]: ... It is not "the world" that is destroyed, but the > Christian world. ...These are symbols for the spiritual renaissance > occuring now! *** > > Your analysis of the Biblical books of Genesis and Revelation is > astute. It is indeed enlightening to think of the books as > symbolizing, respectively, the creation and destruction of > the "oppositional" approach to religious dogma: i.e., light vs. dark; > male vs. female; good vs. evil; etc. But you know, I tend to read all > of it not as an objective description of what will happen to the > world, but rather a *symbolic* exploration of what will happen to the > individual who undertakes serious spiritual practice -- i.e. sadhana. > > In my last post, I spoke of Christianity's Jesus as a yogi. But what > we think of today as institutional "Christianity" is mainly the work > of St. Paul, who wrote the most influential *interpretive* books of > the New Testament; which were then further cooked up and perverted by > medieval theologians like Augustine -- and finally we end up with a > nasty dogma, propounded and enforced by massive corporate entities > like the Catholic and Protestant churches, with a vested interest in > maintaining the status quo. Under all that weight of history and > dogma, however, the historical Jesus --a gifted Yogi whom Hindus can > understand as readily as Shankara or Ramakrishna -- can still be > heard clearly. > > In fact, I could push my theory even further, and suggest that Jesus > was -- like any true Yogi -- speaking very precisely the language of > Shiva-Shakti. Exhibit A: Take the ancient Oxyrhynchus Manuscript of > the Gospels -- a primary source drawn upon by the ancient Church > fathers in tailoring the New Testament that has come down to us. > Asked how one reaches the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus replies as one who > truly believes (as do the Shaktas) that the Earth is divinity > incarnate and that all of Nature is holy: > > "The fowls of the air and the beasts, whatever is beneath the Earth > or upon the Earth, and the fishes of the sea, these they are that > draw you [toward Heaven]. And the Kingdom of Heaven is within you and > whosoever knoweth himself shall find it. And, having found it, ye > shall know yourselves that ye are sons and heirs of the Father, the > Almighty, and shall know yourselves the ye are in God and God in you." > > Now, don't be put off by the male-centric language. Trust me, I > wouldn't be quoting it here unless I had a Shakta point in mind. You > see, Jesus is simply using the male idiom of his time to explain that > humanity is the son of God, the Father -- just as Shaktism (and every > ancient Goddess religion) sees all humanity are the children of the > Mother. But Jesus was a great Yogi whose insight extended beyond the > confining Male paradigm of his time. In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas > (also rejected by the ancient Church Fathers), Jesus sounds like a > *real* Shakta when he speaks of the relationship between spirit and > matter: > > "When you make the two one, and when you make the inner as the outer > and the outer as the inner and the above as the below, and when you > make the male and female into a single one, so that the male will not > be male and the female not be female .... then you shall enter the > Kingdom." (Logion 22) > > And again, he offers an unforgettable image of Divine Immanence: > > "Cleave a piece of wood, I am there; lift up the stone and you will > find Me there." (Logion 77) > > So my belief, William, is not that any one religion is on the verge > of destruction -- but my hope is that dogma and intolerance of > opposing views is on the verge of destruction. Our focus is upon the > Divine Feminine here in this Group; but we do not condemn or > disparage any other honest and tolerant approaches to the Divine. > > There is no need for dogmatic Christianity to disappear -- let it > remain in place for those who need it and find comfort in it. But let > us also realize that -- at the individual level -- all of these > labels of belief cease to have concerte meaning. After all, the Hindu > mystic (or Tantric), the Buddhist mystic (or Tantric), the Muslim > mystic (or Sufi), the Christian mystic (or Gnostic) -- all are > approaching the same Unity with the Divinity within, where all > oppositions and differences are burned away. > > Aum Maatangyai Namahe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 7, 2002 Report Share Posted August 7, 2002 This thread reminded me of my favorite non-Hindu Shakta text, "Thunder, Perfect Mind", which, along with the Gospel of Thomas, was part of the Nag Hammadi library. The full text with some commentary is available at http://deoxy.org/thunder.htm and also at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/thunder.html Re-reading it just now, there is nothing I can say about it. It profoundly speaks for itself. Jai Kali Ma! --Aravind --- sunelectric101 <ouranian wrote: > Namaste Devibhakti & William > > For a very good read on Christian Theology and > Scriptures from a more > enlightened perspective, I HIGHLY reccomend "Jesus > and the Lost > Goddess" by Frecke & Gandy. > > Very informative & well researched. I was amazed at > some of the > obvious connections between Ancient Christianity and > Shaktism/Vedanta. > > ~sunelectric > > , "devi_bhakta" > <devi_bhakta> wrot Health - Feel better, live better http://health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 7, 2002 Report Share Posted August 7, 2002 Early Christian teaching called, "Gnosis" are filled with revelations and other knowledge about "Sophia" the originatrix of the whole creation. Please look at library page of www.gnosis.org for much more info. - sunelectric101 Wednesday, August 07, 2002 12:16 PM Re: Jesus & the Lost Goddess Namaste Devibhakti & William For a very good read on Christian Theology and Scriptures from a more enlightened perspective, I HIGHLY reccomend "Jesus and the Lost Goddess" by Frecke & Gandy. Very informative & well researched. I was amazed at some of the obvious connections between Ancient Christianity and Shaktism/Vedanta. ~sunelectric , "devi_bhakta" <devi_bhakta> wrote: > Namaskar William! > > *** Awww man I really love your posts! *** > > Wow, thank you! I appreciate you kindness. And I thank you for your > excellent posts as well. Your latest raised another few thoughts in > my mind, and so I'd like to take a moment and clarify what I see as > Shaktism's attitude toward the other world faiths. > > You write *** I see this [in the symbolism of Genesis and > Revelation]: ... It is not "the world" that is destroyed, but the > Christian world. ...These are symbols for the spiritual renaissance > occuring now! *** > > Your analysis of the Biblical books of Genesis and Revelation is > astute. It is indeed enlightening to think of the books as > symbolizing, respectively, the creation and destruction of > the "oppositional" approach to religious dogma: i.e., light vs. dark; > male vs. female; good vs. evil; etc. But you know, I tend to read all > of it not as an objective description of what will happen to the > world, but rather a *symbolic* exploration of what will happen to the > individual who undertakes serious spiritual practice -- i.e. sadhana. > > In my last post, I spoke of Christianity's Jesus as a yogi. But what > we think of today as institutional "Christianity" is mainly the work > of St. Paul, who wrote the most influential *interpretive* books of > the New Testament; which were then further cooked up and perverted by > medieval theologians like Augustine -- and finally we end up with a > nasty dogma, propounded and enforced by massive corporate entities > like the Catholic and Protestant churches, with a vested interest in > maintaining the status quo. Under all that weight of history and > dogma, however, the historical Jesus --a gifted Yogi whom Hindus can > understand as readily as Shankara or Ramakrishna -- can still be > heard clearly. > > In fact, I could push my theory even further, and suggest that Jesus > was -- like any true Yogi -- speaking very precisely the language of > Shiva-Shakti. Exhibit A: Take the ancient Oxyrhynchus Manuscript of > the Gospels -- a primary source drawn upon by the ancient Church > fathers in tailoring the New Testament that has come down to us. > Asked how one reaches the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus replies as one who > truly believes (as do the Shaktas) that the Earth is divinity > incarnate and that all of Nature is holy: > > "The fowls of the air and the beasts, whatever is beneath the Earth > or upon the Earth, and the fishes of the sea, these they are that > draw you [toward Heaven]. And the Kingdom of Heaven is within you and > whosoever knoweth himself shall find it. And, having found it, ye > shall know yourselves that ye are sons and heirs of the Father, the > Almighty, and shall know yourselves the ye are in God and God in you." > > Now, don't be put off by the male-centric language. Trust me, I > wouldn't be quoting it here unless I had a Shakta point in mind. You > see, Jesus is simply using the male idiom of his time to explain that > humanity is the son of God, the Father -- just as Shaktism (and every > ancient Goddess religion) sees all humanity are the children of the > Mother. But Jesus was a great Yogi whose insight extended beyond the > confining Male paradigm of his time. In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas > (also rejected by the ancient Church Fathers), Jesus sounds like a > *real* Shakta when he speaks of the relationship between spirit and > matter: > > "When you make the two one, and when you make the inner as the outer > and the outer as the inner and the above as the below, and when you > make the male and female into a single one, so that the male will not > be male and the female not be female .... then you shall enter the > Kingdom." (Logion 22) > > And again, he offers an unforgettable image of Divine Immanence: > > "Cleave a piece of wood, I am there; lift up the stone and you will > find Me there." (Logion 77) > > So my belief, William, is not that any one religion is on the verge > of destruction -- but my hope is that dogma and intolerance of > opposing views is on the verge of destruction. Our focus is upon the > Divine Feminine here in this Group; but we do not condemn or > disparage any other honest and tolerant approaches to the Divine. > > There is no need for dogmatic Christianity to disappear -- let it > remain in place for those who need it and find comfort in it. But let > us also realize that -- at the individual level -- all of these > labels of belief cease to have concerte meaning. After all, the Hindu > mystic (or Tantric), the Buddhist mystic (or Tantric), the Muslim > mystic (or Sufi), the Christian mystic (or Gnostic) -- all are > approaching the same Unity with the Divinity within, where all > oppositions and differences are burned away. > > Aum Maatangyai Namahe Sponsor shakti_sadhnaa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2002 Report Share Posted August 8, 2002 Bless you Jim Blakeley ! I was looking for this site for sometime. I have with me a portion of the text and have been looking for the full version. Thank you. OM ParaShaktiye Namaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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