The error of fasting with cooked food mind

[Guest guest]

This post is not about water fasting or dry fasting or juice fasting, it is

about my

transition from a cooked fasting mind (fasting and then eating cooked foods on

and off for a few years) into my present state of allowing myself the liscence

to eat

raw foods in huge quantities as a way to convert my mind, steer my thinking

towards true health, vibrancy and authenticity in order to, EVENTUALLY (when the

mind is clean), experience fasting without the cooked food fantasies (falacies

and

falsities) which used to regularly plague me when i water/ dry fasted and

eventually

lured me back into their clutches, erroneously viewing cooked food as food at

all,

enjoying cooked food from a place of fasting out of hunger (habit, true body

withdrawal from eating) led me into a complete delusion that cooked food is not

only acceptable but the least bit desireable. I truly believe that it poisons

the blood

stream and that almost anything raw is superior to the most popularly

" nutritious "

cooked food.

I have tried being raw so many times over the years always leading back to the

ovens. It was the RESTRICTION that caused the failure. It was the inner urge to

NOT

eat those dates, plums, nuts and avocados that appeal to me so much! This led me

to seek similar sensations in denatured (cooked, processed) " frood. "

The Raw diet is not an entertainment or a childish whim or a passing fancy. It

is a

commitment to something far beyond imagination, to truths so deep and profound,

to logic so Original that it appears " extreme " to the cooked world view that we

stoop to and bow to in reverence to the cooked temple, the ovens.

The most amazing things have happened due to raw food eating and the

development of " Raw Food Mind. " It is pleasant and healthful to eat raw foods

and

enjoy the recipes and the fruits and blah blah blah... but unless one has the

Raw

Mind, one will not really know the Magic of a raw food diet as one views raw

foods

as an entertaining dining option. The magic comes when one eats Raw food

exclusively, consciously with understanding and develops a relationship with

whole

foods, viewing them as nature's gift and develping an unconscious gratitude for

the

food of nature! This requires absolute Raw food Action, massive raw food

consumption WITHOUT guilt. Be it ten avocados, a pound of almonds, half a pound

of dates, a box of strawberries, 20 bananas and a pound of carrots all in one

sitting, one walks away from this Feeding without guilt, feeling absolutely

confident

that one is doing the very best thing for oneself. persist in this way for days,

weeks

at a stretch and then you will know the magic. pass through the " sick " feelings,

possibly initial constipation followed by the 30 bowel movements in one day,

possible nausea and heart burn, all will pass after a week or more after which

one

continues to stuff oneself with the raw food stuffs of nature with pleasure,

gratitude and confidence, forgetting everything you ever heard about calories,

fat,

fruit sugars, night shades or whatever other nonsense the cooked

" nutritionmists, "

in their cooked food stupor, have created from a psuedo science that cannot be

trusted, should automatically be doubted and is, frankly, appalling and,

actually, if i

eat enough dates, appears downright laughable. While i used to succumb to the

sales on pints of ice cream that make it so appealing, I now buy a big avocado

and

indulge in that instead for around the same price and get similarly " fixed " with

taste

sensations and the feeling of warmth that naturally occurring fats produce in my

precious body. all mainstream myths and delusions and, to be compassionate,

misled, misunderstood beliefs about health and nutrition are to be immediately

doubted for thier source is dead, mutated degenerating cells that are so

desperate

for real nurishment that they become parasitic, developing a mind of their own

and

battling to keep you, their host, in a constant state of turmoil and addiction

to keep

them in their degerated state (having forgotten their original, vibrant nature,

they

now struggle to maintain what they erroneously view as themselves (their

corrupted, sagging, malnourished vital force) at the expense of true health,

vibrancy and confidence. They need you to feel bad in order for them to maintain

their supremacy within your temple. Their thoughts are negative and quarrelous.

They live in a quagmire of ill health, rotting garbage and polluted waters which

they

believe is their little slice of heaven much the way we humans erroneously view

a

slice of bread or apple pie. The effects of sick eating are to make us confused

and

dull and forget that their is a more authentic way to live. We become slaves to

low

vibrations and one of the tricks to keeping slaves from running away is to

convince

them that they got it good. The good Life, Livin' Large, etc.. Poem: stoop to

poop,

in nature's world, it's not disgusting, any more. It comes out much, like it

went in,

nature's call, is not a sin! The beauty, when the Mind is Raw. Is what I see

still

what I saw? No, it is new now, bright and clear, away from ignorance, I steer!

Hurray hurray! For knowledge Now. These eyes are opened, to the " Wow. "

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for writting this, I really need to read something like

this. I'm new hear and i find it amazing that there are other people out

here who experince the same things as i have, While your letter was

greatly encouraging, being that i'm on the 2nd day of a 7day dry fast , i

felt like i want to go crazy on some prosecced food, just one last time,

before i change. But I guess thats because i'm missing the " Changed

Mind " you spoke of! But I'll strive on! Thank you.

, " Molly OKeeffe "

<mollyokeeffe2001> wrote:

>

> This post is not about water fasting or dry fasting or juice fasting, it is

about my

> transition from a cooked fasting mind (fasting and then eating cooked

foods on

> and off for a few years) into my present state of allowing myself the

liscence to eat

> raw foods in huge quantities as a way to convert my mind, steer my

thinking

> towards true health, vibrancy and authenticity in order to,

EVENTUALLY (when the

> mind is clean), experience fasting without the cooked food fantasies

(falacies and

> falsities) which used to regularly plague me when i water/ dry fasted

and eventually

> lured me back into their clutches, erroneously viewing cooked food as

food at all,

> enjoying cooked food from a place of fasting out of hunger (habit, true

body

> withdrawal from eating) led me into a complete delusion that cooked

food is not

> only acceptable but the least bit desireable. I truly believe that it

poisons the blood

> stream and that almost anything raw is superior to the most

popularly " nutritious "

> cooked food.

> I have tried being raw so many times over the years always leading

back to the

> ovens. It was the RESTRICTION that caused the failure. It was the

inner urge to NOT

> eat those dates, plums, nuts and avocados that appeal to me so

much! This led me

> to seek similar sensations in denatured (cooked, processed) " frood. "

> The Raw diet is not an entertainment or a childish whim or a passing

fancy. It is a

> commitment to something far beyond imagination, to truths so deep

and profound,

> to logic so Original that it appears " extreme " to the cooked world view

that we

> stoop to and bow to in reverence to the cooked temple, the ovens.

> The most amazing things have happened due to raw food eating and

the

> development of " Raw Food Mind. " It is pleasant and healthful to eat

raw foods and

> enjoy the recipes and the fruits and blah blah blah... but unless one

has the Raw

> Mind, one will not really know the Magic of a raw food diet as one

views raw foods

> as an entertaining dining option. The magic comes when one eats

Raw food

> exclusively, consciously with understanding and develops a

relationship with whole

> foods, viewing them as nature's gift and develping an unconscious

gratitude for the

> food of nature! This requires absolute Raw food Action, massive raw

food

> consumption WITHOUT guilt. Be it ten avocados, a pound of almonds,

half a pound

> of dates, a box of strawberries, 20 bananas and a pound of carrots all

in one

> sitting, one walks away from this Feeding without guilt, feeling

absolutely confident

> that one is doing the very best thing for oneself. persist in this way for

days, weeks

> at a stretch and then you will know the magic. pass through the " sick "

feelings,

> possibly initial constipation followed by the 30 bowel movements in

one day,

> possible nausea and heart burn, all will pass after a week or more

after which one

> continues to stuff oneself with the raw food stuffs of nature with

pleasure,

> gratitude and confidence, forgetting everything you ever heard about

calories, fat,

> fruit sugars, night shades or whatever other nonsense the

cooked " nutritionmists, "

> in their cooked food stupor, have created from a psuedo science that

cannot be

> trusted, should automatically be doubted and is, frankly, appalling

and, actually, if i

> eat enough dates, appears downright laughable. While i used to

succumb to the

> sales on pints of ice cream that make it so appealing, I now buy a big

avocado and

> indulge in that instead for around the same price and get

similarly " fixed " with taste

> sensations and the feeling of warmth that naturally occurring fats

produce in my

> precious body. all mainstream myths and delusions and, to be

compassionate,

> misled, misunderstood beliefs about health and nutrition are to be

immediately

> doubted for thier source is dead, mutated degenerating cells that are

so desperate

> for real nurishment that they become parasitic, developing a mind of

their own and

> battling to keep you, their host, in a constant state of turmoil and

addiction to keep

> them in their degerated state (having forgotten their original, vibrant

nature, they

> now struggle to maintain what they erroneously view as themselves

(their

> corrupted, sagging, malnourished vital force) at the expense of true

health,

> vibrancy and confidence. They need you to feel bad in order for them

to maintain

> their supremacy within your temple. Their thoughts are negative and

quarrelous.

> They live in a quagmire of ill health, rotting garbage and polluted

waters which they

> believe is their little slice of heaven much the way we humans

erroneously view a

> slice of bread or apple pie. The effects of sick eating are to make us

confused and

> dull and forget that their is a more authentic way to live. We become

slaves to low

> vibrations and one of the tricks to keeping slaves from running away is

to convince

> them that they got it good. The good Life, Livin' Large, etc.. Poem:

stoop to poop,

> in nature's world, it's not disgusting, any more. It comes out much,

like it went in,

> nature's call, is not a sin! The beauty, when the Mind is Raw. Is what

I see still

> what I saw? No, it is new now, bright and clear, away from

ignorance, I steer!

> Hurray hurray! For knowledge Now. These eyes are opened, to

the " Wow. "

[Guest guest]

, " Mr. Immaculate Esias

Immanuel " <esiasemanuel> wrote:

> Thank you so much for writting this, I really need to read something

like

> this. I'm new hear and i find it amazing that there are other people

out

> here who experince the same things as i have, While your letter was

> greatly encouraging, being that i'm on the 2nd day of a 7day dry

fast , i

> felt like i want to go crazy on some prosecced food, just one last

time,

> before i change. But I guess thats because i'm missing the " Changed

> Mind " you spoke of! But I'll strive on! Thank you.

> , " Molly OKeeffe "

> <mollyokeeffe2001> wrote:

> >

 

> I've heard of juice fasting and water fasting. What is dry fasting?

Your body needs water and lots of it. I hope I have misinterpreted

something.

I am about 70% raw. There are addictive " hooks " in processed foods.

I remember eating nuts and bolts or bits and Bites as the salty

snack was called. If I bought a large bag I could not stop until

I finished them. They had monsodium glutamate in them .If you

watch TV fast food giants are pitching you every commercial break.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED is book Fast Food Nation by Eric Shlosser

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060938455/002-5496959-5608825?v=g\

lance

 

I don't pick food fanatically. If I really want it I have it.

But knowing how I will feel later has made me turn down burgers

at a church barbeque, red meat, chicken most of the time although

I'll still eat salmon and some fish. When I drink milk or too

much dairy in my diet my sinuses plug up. I've learned that

bread better not have preservatives in it and should be a whole

wheat pita although I can't have too much grain. Nuts and seeds

are very necessary if you are going to go no meat and raw.

In other words if you listen to your body it will tell you

by your energy levels, skin, nails , energy levels and eyes how

you are doing. Lifes too short to never have a toasted bagel if

thats what you want.

There are some people that don't thrive on a vegan or vegetarian

diet and the priority ought to be health not a forced should

do choice. Even if a person gets to 50% raw they have made a

great stride from the poisioned masses eating a SAD diet.

 

Mike

[Guest guest]

A dry fast is a fast from any drink or food. It stems from a book called the essense gospel of peace or the Book of St. Tohmas the Contender.

Its a spiritual fast for a period of 7 days,violinmike2002 <violinmike2002 wrote:

, "Mr. Immaculate EsiasImmanuel" <esiasemanuel> wrote:> Thank you so much for writting this, I really need to read somethinglike > this. I'm new hear and i find it amazing that there are other peopleout > here who experince the same things as i have, While your letter was > greatly encouraging, being that i'm on the 2nd day of a 7day dryfast , i > felt like i want to go crazy on some prosecced food, just one lasttime, > before i change. But I guess thats because i'm missing the "Changed > Mind" you spoke of! But I'll strive on! Thank you.> , "Molly OKeeffe" > <mollyokeeffe2001> wrote:> > > I've heard of juice fasting and water fasting. What is dry fasting?Your

body needs water and lots of it. I hope I have misinterpretedsomething. I am about 70% raw. There are addictive "hooks" in processed foods.I remember eating nuts and bolts or bits and Bites as the saltysnack was called. If I bought a large bag I could not stop untilI finished them. They had monsodium glutamate in them .If you watch TV fast food giants are pitching you every commercial break.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED is book Fast Food Nation by Eric Shlosser http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060938455/002-5496959-5608825?v=glanceI don't pick food fanatically. If I really want it I have it.But knowing how I will feel later has made me turn down burgersat a church barbeque, red meat, chicken most of the time althoughI'll still eat salmon and some fish. When I drink milk or too much dairy in my diet my

sinuses plug up. I've learned that bread better not have preservatives in it and should be a wholewheat pita although I can't have too much grain. Nuts and seedsare very necessary if you are going to go no meat and raw. In other words if you listen to your body it will tell you by your energy levels, skin, nails , energy levels and eyes howyou are doing. Lifes too short to never have a toasted bagel ifthats what you want. There are some people that don't thrive on a vegan or vegetariandiet and the priority ought to be health not a forced should do choice. Even if a person gets to 50% raw they have made a great stride from the poisioned masses eating a SAD

diet. Mike

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

Not able to put my head around a "dry fast". I thought the rule was 3 minutes without air - dead --- 30 days without food - dead --- 3 DAYS without WATER - dead. I know David Wolfe talks about dry fasting for 3 days and breaking the fast with melon and it causes a tremendous cleanse.

 

I have the Essene Gospels, but I've not ever read anything about 7 days without water.

 

Anywhere I can read about this? Without purchasing another book?

 

Thanks, Shari

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hey Shari and all other Fasters, I look through my old notes and try to post any info i have on the subject.SV <shavig wrote:

 

Not able to put my head around a "dry fast". I thought the rule was 3 minutes without air - dead --- 30 days without food - dead --- 3 DAYS without WATER - dead. I know David Wolfe talks about dry fasting for 3 days and breaking the fast with melon and it causes a tremendous cleanse.

 

I have the Essene Gospels, but I've not ever read anything about 7 days without water.

 

Anywhere I can read about this? Without purchasing another book?

 

Thanks, Shari

 

[Guest guest]

so! oddly enough i just skimmed thru my old notes, and I couldn't find anything in backing of Dry fasting, I have no idea now, where or how I came up with that concept. But I'll still send info for those who dont have the EGP, or the Book of Thomas, its long so brace yourselves!Antwan Penn <esiasemanuel wrote:

 

Hey Shari and all other Fasters, I look through my old notes and try to post any info i have on the subject.SV <shavig wrote:

 

Not able to put my head around a "dry fast". I thought the rule was 3 minutes without air - dead --- 30 days without food - dead --- 3 DAYS without WATER - dead. I know David Wolfe talks about dry fasting for 3 days and breaking the fast with melon and it causes a tremendous cleanse.

 

I have the Essene Gospels, but I've not ever read anything about 7 days without water.

 

Anywhere I can read about this? Without purchasing another book?

 

Thanks, Shari

 

 

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE

Introduction: It is with great reluctance that I attach a copy of the Essene Gospel of Peace to my web site -- not because it contains untruths -- but rather, because it is literally one of the more extreme of the Gospels associated with Jesus and the New Covenant. The problem is seen in the fact that modern Christians are simply not prepared to embrace the true essence of the Gospel message. They fail to consider the warning of the Apostle Paul that man's true spiritual reality will appear to be "foolishness" (1 Cor 2:14) to the mind of "natural man". Of the Mysteries of God Paul himself wrote to the congregation at Corinth: "...in paradise, [he] heard things so astounding that they are beyond a man's power to describe or put in words (and anyway I am not allowed to tell them to others)" (2 Cor 12:2-4 TLB). And of course we have the warning in the Epistle to the Trallaus by the first century Overseer of Antioch named Ignatius -- who was himself a disciple of John -- where he

writes to the people of the simple faith whose minds have not yet been prepared to receive what the Apostle Paul referred to as the Mysteries of God, and writes: "Might I not write to you things more full of mystery? But I fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are babes. Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive their weighty import, ye should be strangled by them".

Perhaps even more important is the fact that the below Essene Gospel of Peace was found hidden away in the Vatican Library and removed by a priest because he believed the world should know the truth. In deep states of meditation, among the many things that I was taught in the presence of the Being of Light in the realm of souls (see http://www.nazirene.org/gospel_prologue4.htm ), was the fact that hidden away in the Vatican Library is copies of ancient manuscripts that are far older and more pure than anything we make our biblical translations from today. When I asked why the Roman Church does not make these manuscripts available to Christians today, I was told that they (the church) believes that they are the sole keepers of the truth -- that these scriptures do not belong to those who are outside Roman Catholicism. They believe that genuine followers of Christ will be a part of their Church -- a priest dedicated to the furtherance of what they consider God's true Church -- and

they therefore believe that they alone have been entrusted with the ultimate truths of the teachings of The Way, and the secrets of the Kingdom belong only to them.

In the same way that the Roman Church attempted to conceal the sexual abuse of young children for the sake of the institution, it would be truly difficult to explain why many of the core beliefs that were suppressed while Christianity was under the direct control of the Roman Imperial Government, was not re-established once the church became free. How can the church at this late date reveal to the faithful flock that such truths as the pre-existent soul that evolves to perfection (Mt 5:48) over the course of many lives (transmigration/reincarnation), was removed from Christian doctrine by a Roman Emperor (see http://www.nazirene.org/secret_doctrine.htm#reincarnation )? How can the church admit that doing no harm to any living creature was a commandment of Jesus to those who would be his followers -- that they were vegetarians (see http://watcher.nazirene.org/watcher4.htm#vegetarian ) -- and would not even consider someone who ate the flesh of slain beasts to be a follower of

Christ? How could the church at this late date admit that within us is the True Temple of God, and whatever exists outwardly in this world with respect to the church is merely at best a portal that serves as an entrance point into the indwelling Kingdom (Luke 17:20-21)? They cannot! And in the manner of the cover-up of the pedophile priests, these truths are best concealed from the masses -- for the sake of the church.

If, what I am saying is true, then the Essene Gospel of Peace should disturb every person who calls themselves a Christian today. If it is true that the Church of Rome has been withholding more pure and ancient copies of the scriptures than anything we use to make our Bibles today, then every person who calls themselves a Christian should be outraged! So outraged, that they demand that these copies of the scriptures be made immediately available to a world that is literally starving for Higher Spiritual Truth! The problem is that the majority of Christian Churches and sects will not do this, because like the Roman Church, they don't want to upset the integrity of their doctrines of belief. This same suppression of the facts was observed by John Allegro, who was at that time a Professor at Manchester University who worked extensively on the Dead Sea Scrolls, where he was quoted in the August 1966 issue of Harpers Magazine as stating: "The very scholars who should be most capable of

working on the documents and interpreting them have displayed a not altogether surprising, but nonetheless curious, reluctance to go to the heart of their matter. The scholars appear to have held back from making discoveries which, there is evidence to believe, may upset a great many basic teachings of the Christian Church. This in turn would greatly upset many Christian Theologians and believers. The heart of the matter is, in fact, the source and originality of Christian doctrine". What Prof. Allegro was conveying to us is that Church authorities have rejected what the Hand of God has in fact placed in their hands, because there is no doubt that the essence of Christianity has very little in common with what is commonly believed today.

While the Essene Gospel of Peace may appear radical and extreme by modern cultural standards, is is actually mild in comparison to the Mysteries of God that Jesus revealed to his most faithful of disciples. From a New Covenant perspective, history records the fact that the Gentiles were not even given the more spiritual and genuine scriptures of The Way. When Edward Gibbon writes: "But the secret and authentic history has been recorded in several copies of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, which these sectaries long preserved in the original Hebrew, as the sole evidence of their faith" -- he is speaking about the fact that the original version of Matthew was written in Hebrew characters, rather than the Greek text that our Bibles are translated from today.

Of this Hebrew original of Matthew, St. Jerome wrote to the Bishops Chromatius and Heliodorus: "A difficult work is enjoined, since this translation has been commanded me by your Felicities, which St. Matthew himself, the Apostle and Evangelist, did not wish to be openly written. For if it had not been Secret, he would have added to the evangel that which he gave forth was his; but he made up this book sealed up in the Hebrew characters, which he put forth even in such a way that the book, written in Hebrew letters and by the hand of himself, might be possessed by the men most religious, who also, in the course of time, received it from those who preceded them. But this very book they never gave to any one to be transcribed, and its text they related some one way and some another".

If the genuine essence of the teachings of Jesus was little more than belief in the personage of Jesus -- and the purpose of the scriptures was to enlighten man with regard to the personage of Jesus so that they might have faith and believe, which is the root concept upon which the modern church is founded -- then there would never have been a reason for the disciple Matthew to author a writing that was too secret to place into the hands of either the secular Jewish or Gentile converts. Once we truly begin to understand what is being conveyed in a statement such as this, then we would be forced to evaluate everything that we presently believe with regard to the very design and purpose of New Covenant teachings. Moreover, the whole foundational concept of Martin Luther that everything in the Gospel is simple and plain -- and meant to be understood by the common believer -- is very much in error.

Additional information regarding the original Hebrew Gospel of Matthew is provided by Jerome in his work, O Illustrious Men, on James the Lord's brother: "Further, the Hebrew itself (or original) is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea which was collected with such care by the martyr Pamphilus. I also had an opportunity of copying it afforded me by the Nazarenes who use the book, at Beroea, a city of Syria".

Of the Hebrew original of Matthew, Gibbon writes: "the fact is attested by a chain of fathers - Papias, Irenaeus, Origen, Jerome, etc… But this Hebrew Gospel of St. Matthew is most unaccountably lost; and we may accuse the diligence or fidelity of the primitive churches, who have preferred the unauthorized version of some nameless Greek". Gibbon rightfully calls our copy of Matthew the "unauthorized version of some nameless Greek", because the only true Gospel attributed to Matthew is the original Hebrew version, which was never given to the Gentile Church, and we no longer possess today.

In like manner, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that all of the original -- more spiritual -- signatures of the gospels were written in Hebrew. This fact is acknowledged by Montague Rhodes James in his book, The Apocryphal New Testament, when he wrote: "Epiphanius goes on to say that he had heard of Hebrew Versions of John and Acts kept privately in the treasuries (Geniza) at Tiberias". These Sacred Writings still exist today -- some remain buried and will be discovered at the proper time -- other copies remain hidden away in the Vatican Library. If, then, you desire the truth, and you are disturbed by what you find in the below Essene Gospel of Peace, you should rightfully be so outraged that you demand that the Church of Rome release these more pure copies of the Word of God so that all may benefit from the True Wisdom revealed by Jesus to his faithful disciples and followers.

Allan Cronshaw

--

 

The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE

Book One

The Original Hebrew and Aramaic Texts

Translated and edited by

EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY

MCMLXXXI

INTERNATIONAL BIOGENIC SOCIETY

Book Design by Golondrina Graohics

Copyright @ 1981, by the International Biogenic Society

Printed In the United States of America-

 

--

And then many sick and maimed came to Jesus, asking him. "if you know all things, tell us, why do we suffer with these grievous plagues? Why are we not whole like other men? Master, heal us, that we too may be made strong, and need abide no longer in our misery. We know that you have it in your power to heal all manner of disease. Free us from Satan and from all his great afflictions. Master, have compassion on us."

And Jesus answered- "Happy are you that you hunger for the truth, for I will satisfy you with the bread of wisdom. Happy are you, that you knock, for I will open to you the door of life. Happy are you, that you would cast off the power of Satan, for I will lead you into the kingdom of our Mother's angels, where the power of Satan cannot enter."

And they asked him in amazement: "Who is our Mother and which her angels? And where is her kingdom?"

"Your Mother is in you, and you in her. She bore you she gives you life. it was she who gave to you your body, and to her shall you one day give it back again. Happy are you when you come to know her and her kingdom; if you receive your Mother's angels and if you do her laws. I tell you truly, he who does these things shall never see disease. For the power of our Mother is above all. And it destroys Satan and his kingdom, and has rule over all your bodies and all living things.

"The blood which runs in us is born of the blood of our Earthly Mother. Her blood falls from the clouds; leaps from the womb of the earth; babbles in the brooks of the mountains; flows wide in the rivers of the plains; sleeps in the lakes; rages mightily in tempestuous seas.

"The air which we breathe is born of the breath of our Earthly Mother. Her breath is azure in the heights of t heavens; soughs in the tops of the mountains; whispers the leaves of the forest; billows over the cornfields; slumbers in the deep valleys, burns hot in the desert.

"The hardness of our bones is born of the bones of our Earthly Mother, of the rocks and of the stones. They stand naked to the heavens on the tops of mountains; are as giants that lie sleeping on the sides of the mountains, as idols set in the desert, and are hidden in the deepness of the earth.

"The tenderness of our flesh is born of the flesh of our Earthly Mother; whose flesh waxes yellow and red in the fruits of the trees, and nurtures us in the furrows of the fields.

"Our bowels are born of the bowels of our Earthly Mother, and are hid from our eyes, like the invisible depths of the earth.

"The light of our eyes, the hearing of our ears, both are born of the colors and the sounds of our Earthly Mother; which enclose us about, as the waves of the sea a fish, as the eddying air a bird.

"I tell you in very truth, Man is the Son of the Earthly Mother, and from her did the Son of Man receive his whole body, even as the body of the newborn babe is born of the womb of his mother. I tell you truly, you are one with the Earthly Mother; she is in you, and you in her. Of her were you born, in her do you live, and to her shall you return again. Keep, therefore, her laws, for none can live long, neither be happy, but he who honors his Earthly Mother and does her laws. For your breath is her breath; your blood her blood; your bone her bone; your flesh her flesh; your bowels her bowels; your eyes and your ears are her eyes and her ears.

"I tell you truly, should you fail to keep but one only of all these laws, should you harm but one only of all your body's members, you shall be utterly lost in your grievous sickness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I tell you, unless you follow the laws of your Mother, you can in no wise escape death. And he who clings to the laws of his Mother, to him shall his Mother cling also. She shall heal all his plagues, and he shall never become sick. She gives him long life, and protects him from all afflictions; from fire, from water, from the bite of venomous serpents. For your Mother bore you, keeps life within you. She has given you her body, and none but she heals you. Happy is he who loves his Mother and lies quietly in her bosom. For your Mother loves you, even when you turn away from her. And how much more shall she love you, if you turn to her again? I tell you truly, very great is her love, greater than the greatest of mountains, deeper than the deepest

seas. And those who love their Mother, she never deserts them. As the hen protects her chickens, as the lioness her cubs, as the mother her newborn babe, so does the Earthly Mother protect the Son of Man from all danger and from all evils.

"For I tell you truly, evils and dangers innumerable lie in wait for the Sons of Men. Beelzebub, the prince of all devils, the source of every evil, lies in wait in the body of all the Sons of Men. He is death, the lord of every plague, and taking upon him a pleasing raiment, he tempts and entices the Sons of Men. Riches does he promise, and power, and splendid palaces, and garments of gold and silver, and a multitude of servants, all these; he promises renown and glory, fornication and lustfulness, gluttony and wine-bibbing, riotous living, and slothfulness and idle days. And he entices every one by that to which their heart is most inclined. And in the day that the Sons of Men have already become the slaves of all these vanities and abominations, then in payment thereof he snatches from the Sons of Men all those things which the Earthly Mother gave them so abundantly. He takes from them their breath, their blood, their bone, their flesh, their bowels, their eyes and their ears.

And the breath of the Son of Man becomes short and stifled, full of pain and evil-smelling, like the breath of unclean beasts. And his blood becomes thick and evil-smelling, like the water of the swamps; it clots and blackens, like the night of death. And his bone becomes hard and knotted; it melts away within and breaks asunder, as a stone falling down upon a rock. And his flesh waxes fat and watery; it rots and putrefies, with scabs and boils that are an abomination.

And his bowels become full with abominable filthiness, with oozing streams of decay; and multitudes of abominable worms have their habitation there. And his eyes grow dim, till dark night enshrouds them, and his ears become stopped, like the silence of the grave. And last of all shall the erring Son of Man lose life. For he kept not the laws of his Mother, and added sin to sin. Therefore, are taken from him all the gifts of the Earthly Mother: breath, blood, bone, flesh, bowels, eyes and ears, and after all else, life, with which the Earthly Mother crowned his body.

"But if the erring Son of Man be sorry for his sins and undo them, and return again to his Earthly Mother; and if he do his Earthly Mother's laws and free himself from Satan's clutches, resisting his temptations, then does the Earthly Mother receive again her erring Son with love and sends him her angels that they may serve him. I tell you truly, when the Son of Man resists the Satan that dwells in him and does not his will, in the same hour are found the Mother's angels there, that they may serve him with all their power and free utterly the Son of Man from the power of Satan.

"For no man can serve two masters. For either he serves Beelzebub and his devils or else he serves our Earthly Mother and her angels. Either he serves death or he serves life. I ten you truly, happy are those that do the laws of life and wander not upon the paths of death. For in them the forces of life wax strong and they escape the plagues of death."

And all those round about him listened to his words with amazement, for his word was with power, and he taught quite otherwise than the priests and scribes.

And though the sun was now set, they departed not to their homes. They sat round about Jesus and asked him: "Master, which are these laws of life? Rest with us awhile longer and teach us. We would listen to your teaching that we may be healed and become righteous."

And Jesus himself sat down in their midst and said: "I tell you truly, none can be happy, except he do the Law."

And the others answered: "We all do the laws of Moses, our lawgiver, even as they are written in the holy scriptures."

And Jesus answered: "Seek not the law in your scriptures, for the law is life, whereas the scripture is dead. I tell you truly, Moses received not his laws from God in writing, but through the living word. The law is living word of living God to living prophets for living men. In everything that is life is the law written. You find it in the grass, in the tree, in the river, in the mountain, in the birds of heaven, in the fishes of the sea; but seek it chiefly in yourselves. For I tell you truly, all living things are nearer to God than the scripture which is without life. God so made life and all living things that they might by the everlasting word teach the laws of the true God to man. God wrote not the laws in the pages of books, but in your heart and in your spirit. They are in your breath, your blood, your bone; in your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, your ears, and in every little part of your body. They are present in the air, in the water, in the earth, in the plants, in

th e sunbeams, in the depths and in the heights. They all speak to you that you may understand the tongue and the will of the living God. But you shut your eyes that you may not see, and you shut your ears that you may not hear. I tell you truly, that the scripture is the work of man, but life and all its hosts are the work of our God. Wherefore do you not listen to the words of God which are written in His works? And wherefore do you study the dead scriptures which are the work of the hands of men?"

"How may we read the laws of God elsewhere than in the scriptures? Where are they written? Read them to us from there where you see them, for we know nothing else but the scriptures which we have inherited from our forefathers. Tell us the laws of which you speak, that hearing them we may be healed and justified."

Jesus said: "You do not understand the words of life, because you are in death. Darkness darkens your eyes and your ears are stopped with deafness. For I tell you, it profits you not at all that you pore over dead scriptures if by your deeds you deny him who has given you the scriptures.

I tell you truly, God and his laws are not in that which you do. They are not in gluttony and in wine-bibbing, neither in riotous living, nor in lustfulness, nor in seeking after riches, nor yet in hatred of your enemies. For all these things are far from the true God and from his angels. But all these things come from the kingdom of darkness and the lord of all evils. And all these things do you carry in yourselves; and so the word and the power of God enter not into you, because all manner of evil and all manner of abominations have their dwelling in your body and your spirit. If you will that the living God's word and his power may enter you, defile not your body and your spirit; for the body is the temple of the spirit, and the spirit is the temple of God. Purify, therefore, the temple, that the Lord of the temple may dwell therein and occupy a place that is worthy of him.

"And from all temptations of your body and your spirit, coming from Satan, withdraw beneath the shadow of God's heaven.

"Renew yourselves and fast. For I tell you truly, that Satan and his plagues may only be cast out by -fasting and by prayer. Go by yourself and fast alone, and show your fasting to no man. The living God shall see it and great shall be your reward. And fast till Beelzebub and all his evils depart from you, and all the angels of our Earthly Mother come and serve you. For I tell you truly, except you fast, you shall never be freed from the power of Satan and from all diseases that come from Satan. Fast and pray fervently, seeking the power of the living God for your healing. While you fast, eschew the Sons of Men and seek our Earthly Mother's angels, for he that seeks shall find.

"Seek the fresh air of the forest and of the fields, and there in the midst of them shall you find the angel of air. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of air to embrace all your body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of air may be brought within you. I tell you truly, the angel of air shall cast out of your body all uncleannesses which defiled it without and within. And thus shall all evil-smelling and unclean things rise out of you, as the smoke of fire curls upwards and is lost in the sea of the air. For I tell you truly, holy is the angel of air, who cleanses all that is unclean and makes all evil-smelling things of a sweet odor. No man may come before the face of God, whom the angel of air lets not pass. Truly, all must be born again by air and by truth, for your body breathes the air of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit breathes the truth of the Heavenly Father.

"After the angel of air, seek the angel of water. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of water to embrace all your body. Cast yourselves wholly into his enfolding arms, and as often as you move the air with your breath, move with your body the water also. I tell you truly, the angel of water shall cast out of your body all uncleannesses which defiled it without and within. And all unclean and evil-smelling things shall flow out of you, even as the uncleannesses of garments washed in water flow away and are lost in the stream of the river. I tell you truly, holy is the angel of water who cleanses all that is unclean and makes all evil-smelling things of a sweet odor. No man may come before the face of God whom the angel of water lets not pass. in very truth, all must be born again of water and of truth, for your body bathes in the river of earthly life, and your spirit bathes in the river of life everlasting. For you receive your blood from our Earthly Mother

and the truth from our Heavenly Father.

"Think not that it is sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outwards only. I tell you truly, the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses himself without, but within remains unclean, is like to tombs that outwards are painted fair, but are within full of all manner of horrible uncleannesses and abominations. So I tell you truly, suffer the angel of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all your past sins, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight.

"Seek, therefore, a large trailing gourd, having a stalk the length of a man; take out its inwards and fill it with water from the river which the sun has warmed. Hang it upon the branch of a tree, and kneel upon the ground before the angel of water, and suffer the end of the stalk of the trailing gourd to enter your hinder parts, that the water may flow through all your bowels. Afterwards rest kneeling on the ground before the angel of water and pray to the living God that he will forgive you all your past sins, and pray the angel of water that he will free your body from every uncleanness and disease. Then let the water run out from your body, that it may carry away from within it all the unclean and evil-smelling things of Satan. And you shall see with your eyes and smell with your nose all the abominations, and uncleannesses which defiled the temple of your body; even all the sins which abode in your body, tormenting you with all manner of pains. I tell you truly, baptism with

water frees you from all of these. Renew your baptizing with water on every day of your fast, till the day when you see that the water which flows out of you is as pure as the river's foam. Then betake your body to the coursing river, and there in the arms of the angel of water render thanks to the living God that he has freed you from your sins. And this holy baptizing by the angel of water is: Rebirth unto the new life. For your eyes shall henceforth see, and your ears shall hear. Sin no more, therefore, after your baptism, that the angels of air and of water may eternally abide in you and serve you evermore.

"And if afterward there remain within you aught of your past sins and uncleannesses, seek the angel of sunlight. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of sunlight to embrace all your body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of sunlight may be brought within you. And the angel of sunlight shall cast out of your body all evil-smelling and unclean things which defiled it without and within. And all unclean and evil-smelling things shall rise from you, even as the darkness of night fades before the brightness of the rising sun. For I tell you truly, holy is the angel of sunlight who cleans out all uncleannesses and makes all evil-smelling things of a sweet odor. None may come before the face of God, whom the angel of sunlight lets not pass. Truly, all must be born again of sun and of truth, for your body basks in the sunlight of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit basks in the sunlight of the truth of the Heavenly Father.

"The angels of air and of water and of sunlight are brethren. They were given to the Son of Man that they might serve him, and that he might go always from one to the other.

"Holy, likewise, is their embrace. They are indivisible children of the Earthly Mother, so do not you put asunder those whom earth and heaven have made one. Let these three brother angels enfold you every day and let them abide with you through all your fasting.

"For I tell you truly, the power of devils, all sins and uncleannesses shall depart in haste from that body which is embraced by these three angels. As thieves flee from a deserted house at the coming of the lord of the house, one by the door, one by the window, and the third by the roof, each where he is found, and whither he is able, even so shall flee from your bodies all devils of evil, all past sins, and all uncleannesses and diseases which defiled the temple of your bodies. When the Earthly Mother's angels enter into your bodies, in such wise that the lords of the temple repossess it again, then shall all evil smells depart in haste by your breath and by your skin, corrupt waters by your mouth and by your skin, by your hinder and your privy parts. And all these things you shall see with your eyes and smell with your nose and touch with your hands. And when all sins and uncleannesses are gone from your body, your blood shall become as pure as our Earthly Mother's blood and as

the river's foam sporting in the sunlight. And your breath shall become as pure as the breath of odorous flowers; your flesh as pure as the flesh of fruits reddening upon the leaves of trees; the light of your eye as clear and bright as the brightness of the sun shining upon the blue sky. And now shall all the angels of the Earthly Mother serve you. And your breath, your blood, your flesh shall be one with the breath, the blood and the flesh of the Earthly Mother, that your spirit also may become one with the spirit of your Heavenly Father. For truly, no one can reach the Heavenly Father unless through the Earthly Mother. Even as no newborn babe can understand the teaching of his father till his mother has suckled him, bathed him, nursed him, put him to sleep and nurtured him. While the child is yet small, his place is with his mother and he must obey his mother. When the child is grown up, his father takes him to work at his side in the field, and the child comes back to his mother

o nly when the hour of dinner and supper is come. And now his father teaches him, that he may become skilled in the works of his father. And when the father sees that his son understands his teaching and does his work well, he gives him all his possessions, that they may belong to his beloved son, and that his son may continue his father's work. I tell you truly, happy is that son who accepts the counsel of his mother and walks therein. And a hundred times more happy is that son who accepts and walks also in the counsel of his father, for it was said to you: 'Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon this earth.' But I say to you, Sons of Man: Honor your Earthly Mother and keep all her laws, that your days may be long on this earth, and honor your Heavenly Father that Eternal Life may be yours in the heavens. For the Heavenly Father is a hundred times greater than all fathers by seed and by blood, and greater is the Earthly Mother than all mothers by the body.

And d earer is the Son of Man in the eyes of his Heavenly Father and of his Earthly Mother than are children in the eyes of their fathers by seed and by blood and of their mothers by the body. And more wise are the words and laws of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly Mother than the words and the will of all fathers by seed and by blood, and of all mothers by the body. And of more worth also is the inheritance of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly Mother, the everlasting kingdom of earthly and heavenly life, than all the inheritances of your fathers by seed and by blood, and of your mothers by the body.

"And your true brothers are all those who do the will of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly Mother, and not your brothers by blood. I tell you truly, that your true brothers in the will of the Heavenly Father and of the Earthly Mother will love you a thousand times more than your brothers by blood. For since the days of Cain and Abel, when brothers by blood transgressed the will of God, there is no true brotherhood by blood. And brothers do unto brothers as do strangers. Therefore, I say to you, love your true brothers in the will of God a thousand times more than your brothers by blood.

 

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FOR YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS LOVE.

FOR YOUR EARTHLY MOTHER IS LOVE.

FOR THE SON OF MAN IS LOVE.

"It is by love, that the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother and the Son of Man become one. For the spirit of the Son of Man was created from the spirit of the Heaven Father, and his body from the body of the Earthly Mother. Become, therefore, perfect as the spirit of your Heavenly Father and the body of your Earthly Mother are perfect. And so love your Heavenly Father, as he loves your spirit. And so love your Earthly Mother, as she loves your body. And so love your true brothers, as your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother love them. And then your Heavenly Father shall give you his holy spirit, and your Earthly Mother shall give you her holy body. And then shall the Sons of Men like true brothers give love one to another, the love which they received from their Heavenly Father and from their Earthly Mother; and they shall all become comforters one of another. And then shall disappear from the earth all evil and all sorrow, and there shall be love and joy upon earth. And

then shall the earth be like the heavens, and the kingdom of God shall come. And then shall come the Son of Man in all his glory, to inherit the kingdom of God. And then shall the Sons of Men divide their divine inheritance, the kingdom of God. For the Sons of Men live in the Heavenly Father and in the Earthly Mother, and the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother live in them. And then with the kingdom of God shall come the end of the times. For the Heavenly Father's love gives to all life everlasting in the kingdom of God. For love is eternal. Love is stronger than death.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I tell what is to come, and know all secrets, and all wisdom; and though I have faith strong as the storm which lifts mountains from their seat, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and give all my fire that I have received from my Father, but have not love, I am in no wise profited. Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not envious, works not evil, knows not pride; is not rude, neither selfish; is slow to anger, imagines no mischief; rejoices not in injustice, but delights in justice. Love defends all, love believes all, love hopes all, love bears all; never exhausts itself; but as for tongues they shall cease, and, as for knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we have truth in part, and error in part, but when the fullness of perfection is come, that which is in part shall be blotted out. When a man was

a child he spoke as a child, understood as a child, thought as a child; but when he became a man he put away childish things. For now we see through a glass and through dark sayings. Now we know in part, but when we are come before the face of God, we shall not know in part, but even as we are taught by him. And now remain these three: faith and hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.

"And now I speak to you in the living tongue of the living God, through the holy spirit of our Heavenly Father. There is none yet among you that can understand all this of which I speak. He who expounds to you the scriptures speaks to you in a dead tongue of dead men, through his diseased and mortal body. Him, therefore, can all men understand, for all men are diseased and all are in death. No one sees the light of life. Blind man leads blind on the dark paths of sins, diseases and sufferings; and at the last all fall into the pit of death.

"I am sent to you by the Father, that I may make the light of life to shine before you. The light lightens itself and the darkness, but the darkness knows only itself, and knows not the light. I have still many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them yet. For your eyes are used to the darkness, and the full light of the Heavenly Father would make you blind. Therefore, you cannot yet understand that which I speak to you concerning the Heavenly Father who sent me to you. Follow, therefore, first, only the laws of your Earthly Mother, of which I have told you. And when her angels shall have cleansed and renewed your bodies and strengthened your eyes, you will be able to bear the light of our Heavenly Father. When you can gaze on the brightness of the noonday sun with unflinching eyes, you can then look upon the blinding light of your Heavenly Father, which is a thousand times brighter than the brightness of a thousand suns. But how should you look upon the blinding light of

you r Heavenly Father, when you cannot even bear the shining of the blazing sun? Believe me, the sun is as the flame of a candle beside the sun of truth of the Heavenly Father. Have but faith, therefore, and hope, and love. I tell you truly, you shall not want your reward. If you believe in my words, you believe in him who sent me, who is the lord of all, and with whom all things are possible. For what is impossible with men, all these things are possible with God. If you believe in the angels of the Earthly Mother and do her laws, your faith shall sustain you and you shall never see disease. Have hope also in the love of your Heavenly Father, for he who trusts in him shall never be deceived, nor shall he ever see death.

"Love one another, for God is love, and so shall his angels know that you walk in his paths. And then shall all the angels come before your face and serve you. And Satan with all sins, diseases and uncleannesses shall depart from your body. Go, eschew your sins; repent yourselves; baptize yourselves; that you may be born again and sin no more."

Then Jesus rose. But all else remained sitting, for every man felt the power of his words. And then the full moon appeared between the breaking clouds and folded Jesus in its brightness. And sparks flew upward from his hair, and he stood among them in the moonlight, as though he hovered in the air. And no man moved, neither was the voice of any heard. And no one knew how long a time had passed, for time stood still.

Then Jesus stretched out his hands to them and said: "Peace be with you." And so he departed, as a breath of wind sways the green of trees.

And for a long while yet the company sat still and then they woke in the silence, one man after another, like as from a long dream. But none would go, as if the words of him who had left them ever sounded in their ears. And they sat as though they listened to some wondrous music.

But at last one, as it were a little fearfully, said: "How good it is to be here." Another: "Would that this night were everlasting." And others: "Would that he might be with us always.Of a truth he is God's messenger, for he planted hope within our hearts." And no man wished to go home, saying: "I go not home where all is dark and joyless. Why should we go home where no one loves us?"

And they spoke on this wise, for they were almost all poor, lame, blind, maimed, beggars, homeless, despised in their wretchedness, who were only borne for pity's sake in the houses where they found a few day's refuge. Even certain, who had both home and family, said: "We also will stay with you." For every man felt that the words of him who was gone bound the little company with threads invisible. And all felt that they were born again. They saw before them a shining world, even when the moon was hidden in the clouds. And in the hearts of all blossomed wondrous flowers of wondrous beauty, the flowers of joy.

And when the bright sunbeams appeared over the earth's rim, they all felt that it was the sun of the coming kingdom of God. And with joyful countenances they went forth to meet God's angels.

And many unclean and sick followed Jesus' words and sought the banks of the murmuring streams. They put off their shoes and their clothing, they fasted, and they gave up their bodies to the angels of air, of water, and of sunshine. And the Earthly Mother's angels embraced them, possessing their bodies both inwards and outwards. And all of them saw all evils, sins and uncleannesses depart in haste from them.

And the breath of some became as stinking as that which is loosed from the bowels, and some had an issue of spittle, and evil-smelling and unclean vomit rose from their inward parts. All these uncleannesses flowed by their mouths. In some, by the nose, in others by the eyes and ears. And many did have a noisome and abominable sweat come from all their body, over all their skin. And on many limbs great hot boils broke forth, from which carne out uncleannesses with an evil smell, and urine flowed abundantly from their body; and in many their urine was all but dried up and became thick as the honey of bees; that of others was almost red or black, and as hard almost as the sand of rivers. And many belched stinking gases from their bowels, like the breath of devils. And their stench became so great that none could bear it.

And when they baptized themselves, the angel of water entered their bodies, and from them flowed out all the abominations and uncleannesses of their past sins, and like a falling mountain stream gushed from their bodies a multitude of hard and soft abominations. And the ground where their waters flowed was polluted, and so great became the stench that none could remain there. And the devils left their bowels in the shape of multitudinous worms which writhed in impotent rage after the angel of water had cast them out of the bowels of the Sons of Men. And then descended upon them the power of the angel of sunshine, and they perished there in their desperate writhings, trod underfoot by the angel of sunshine. And all were trembling with terror when they looked upon all these abominations of Satan, from which the angels had saved them. And they rendered thanks to God who had sent his angels for their deliverance.

And there were some whom great pains tormented, which would not depart from them; and knowing not what they should do, they resolved to send one of them to Jesus, for they greatly wished he should be with them.

And when two were gone to seek him, they saw Jesus himself approaching by the bank of the river. And their hearts were filled with hope and joy when they heard his greeting, "Peace be with you." And many were the questions that they desired to ask him, but in their astonishment they could not begin, for nothing came into their minds. Then said Jesus to them: "I come because you need me." And one cried out: "Master, we do indeed, come and free us from our pains."

And Jesus spoke to them in parables: "You are like the prodigal son, who for many years did eat and drink, and passed his days in riotousness and lechery with his friends. And every week without his father's knowledge he incurred new debts, and squandered all in a few days. And the moneylenders always lent to him, because his father possessed great riches and always paid patiently the debts of his son. And in vain did he with fair words admonish his son, for he never listened to the admonitions of his father, who besought him in vain that he would give up his debaucheries which had no end, and that he would go to his fields to watch over the labor of his servants. And the son always promised him everything if he would pay his old debts, but the next day he began again. And for more than seven years the son continued in his riotous living. But, at last, his father lost patience and no more paid to the moneylenders the debts of his son. "if I continue always to pay," he said, "there

will be no end to the sins of my son." Then the moneylenders, who were deceived, in their wrath took the son into slavery that he might by his daily toil pay back to them the money which he had borrowed. And then ceased the eating and drinking and the daily excesses. From morning until night by the sweat of his face he watered the fields, and all of his limbs ached with the unaccustomed labor. And he lived upon dry bread, and had naught but his tears with which he could water it. And three days after he suffered so much from the heat and from weariness that he said to his master: 'I can work no more, for all my limbs do ache. How long would you torment me?' 'Till the day when by the labor of your hands you pay me all your debts, and when seven years are passed, you will be free.' And the desperate son answered weeping: 'But I cannot bear so much as seven days. Have pity on me, for all my limbs do burn and ache.' And the wicked creditor cried out: 'Press on with the work; if you

could for seven years spend your days and your nights in riotousness, now must you work for seven years. I will not forgive you till you pay back all your debts to the uttermost drachma.' And the son, with his limbs racked with pain, went back despairing to the fields to continue his work. Already he could hardly stand upon his feet because of his weariness and of his pains, when the seventh day was come-the Sabbath day, in which no man works in the field. Then the son gathered the remnant of his strength and staggered to the house of his father. And he cast himself down at his father's feet and said: 'Father, believe me for the last time and forgive me all my offenses against your swear to you that I will never again live riotously and that I will be your obedient son in all things. Free me from the hands of my oppressor. Father, look upon me and upon my sick limbs, and harden not your heart.' Then tears came into his father's eyes, and he took his son in his arms, and said: 'Let

us rejoic e, for today a great joy is given me, because I have found again my beloved son, who was lost.' And he clothed him with his choicest raiment and all the day long they made merry. And on the morning of the morrow he gave his son a bag of silver that he might pay to his creditors all that he owed them. And when his son came back, he said to him: 'My son, do you see that it is easy, through riotous living, to incur debts for seven years, but their payment is difficult by the heavy labor of seven years.' 'Father, it is indeed hard to pay them, even for seven days.' And his father admonished him, saying: 'For this once alone has it been permitted you to pay your debts in seven days instead of seven years, the rest is forgiven you. But take heed that in the time to come you do not incur more debts. For I tell you truly, that none else but your father forgives you your debts, because you are his son. For with all else you would have had to labor hard for seven years, as it is

commanded in our laws.'

My father, I will henceforth be your loving and obedient son, and I will not any more incur debts, for I know that their payment is hard.'

"And he went to his father's field and watched every day over the work of his father's laborers. And he never made his laborers work hard, for he remembered his own heavy labor. And the years passed, and his father's possession increased ever more and more beneath his hand, for the blessing of his father was upon his labor. And slowly he gave back tenfold to his father all that he had squandered in the seven years. And when his father saw that his son used well his servants and all his possessions, he said to him: 'My son, I see that my possessions are in good hands. I give you all my cattle, my house, my lands and my treasures. Let all this be your heritage, continue increasing it that I may have delight in you.' And when the son had received his inheritance from his father, he forgave their debts to all his debtors who could not pay him, for he did not forget that his debt also had been forgiven when he could not pay it. And God blessed him with long life, with many children and

with much riches, because he was kind to all his servants and to all his cattle."

Then Jesus turned to the sick folk and said: "I speak to you in parables that you may better understand God's word. The seven years of eating and drinking and of riotous living are the sins of the past. The wicked creditor is Satan. The debts are diseases. The heavy labor is pains. The prodigal son, he is yourselves. The payment of the debts is the casting from you of devils and diseases, and the healing of your body. The bag of silver received from the father is the liberating power of the angels. The father is God. The father's possessions are earth and heaven. The servants of the father are the angels. The father's field is the world, which is changed into the kingdom of the heavens, if the Sons of Man work thereon together with the angels of the Heavenly Father. For I tell you, it is better that the son should obey his father and keep watch over his father's servants in the field, than that he should become the debtor of the wicked creditor and toil and sweat in serfdom to

repa y all his debts. it is better, likewise, if the Sons of Man also obey the laws of their Heavenly Father, and work together with his angels upon his kingdom, than that they should become the debtors of Satan, the lord of death, of all sins and all diseases, and that they should suffer with pains and sweat till they have repaid all their sins. I tell you truly, great and many are your sins. Many years have you yielded to the enticings of Satan. You have been gluttonous, wine-bibbers and gone a-whoring, and your past debts have multiplied. And now you must repay them, and payment is difficult and hard. Be not, therefore, already impatient after the third day, like the prodigal son, but wait patiently for the seventh day which is sanctified by God, and then go with humble and obedient heart before the face of your Heavenly Father, that he may forgive you your sins and all your past debts. I tell you truly, your Heavenly Father loves you without end, for he also allows you to pay in

seven days the debts of seven years. Those that owe the sins and diseases of seven years, but pay honestly and persevere till the seventh day, to them shall our Heavenly Father forgive the debts of all these seven years.

"If we sin for seven times seven years?" asked a sick man who suffered horribly. "Even in that case the Heavenly Father forgives you all your debts in seven times seven days.

"Happy are those that persevere to the end, for the devils of Satan write all your evil deeds in a book, in the book of your body and your spirit. I tell you truly, there is not one sinful deed, but it is written, even from the beginning of the world, before our Heavenly Father. For you may escape the laws made by kings, but the laws of your God, these may none of the Sons of Man escape. And when you come before the face of God, the devils of Satan bear witness against you with your deed, and God sees your sins written in the book of your body and of your spirit and is sad in his heart. But if you repent of your sins, and by fasting and prayer you seek the angels of God, then each day that you continue to fast and to pray, God's angels blot out one year of your evil deeds from the book of your body and your spirit. And when the last page is also blotted out and cleansed from all your sins, you stand before the face of God, and God rejoices in his heart and forgets all your sins.

He frees you from the clutches of Satan and from suffering; he takes you within his house and commands that all his servants, all his angels serve you. Long life does he give you, and you shall never see disease. And if, thenceforward, instead of sinning, you pass your days in doing good deeds, then the angels of God shall write all your good deeds in the book of your body and of your spirit. I tell you truly, no good deed remains unwritten before God, not from the beginning of the world. For from your kings and your governors you may wait in vain for your reward, but never do your good deeds want their reward from God.

"And when you come before the face of God, his angels bear witness for you with your good deeds. And God sees your good deeds written in your bodies and in your spirits, and rejoices in his heart. He blesses your body and your spirit and all your deeds, and gives you for a heritage his earthly and heavenly kingdom, that in it you may have life everlasting. Happy is he who can enter into the kingdom of God, for he shall never see death."

And a great silence fell at his words. And those that were discouraged took new strength from his words and continued to fast and to pray. And he who had spoken the first, said to him: "I will persevere to the seventh day." And the second, likewise, said to him: "I also will persevere to the seven times seventh day."

Jesus answered them: "Happy are those that persevere to the end, for they shall inherit the earth."

And there were many sick among them tormented with grievous pains, and they hardly crawled to Jesus' feet. For they could no longer walk upon their feet. They said: "Master, we are grievously tormented with pain; tell us what we shall do." And they showed Jesus their feet in which the bones were twisted and knotted and said: "Neither the angel of air, nor of water, nor of sunshine has assuaged our pains, notwithstanding that we baptized ourselves, and do fast and pray, and follow your words in all things."

"I tell you truly, your bones will be healed. Be not discouraged, but seek for cure nigh the healer of bones, the angel of earth. For thence were your bones taken, and thither will they return."

And he pointed with his hand to where the running of the water and the sun's heat had softened to clayey mud the earth by the edge of the water. "Sink your feet in the mire, that the embrace of the angel of earth may draw out from your bones all uncleanness and all disease. And you will see Satan and your pains fly from the embrace of the angel of earth. And the knots of your bones will vanish away, and they will be straightened, and all your pains will disappear."

And the sick followed his words, for they knew that they would be healed.

And there were also other sick who suffered much from their pains, howbeit, they persisted in their fasting. And their force was spent, and great heat tormented them. And when they would have risen from their bed to go to Jesus, their heads began to turn, as if it were a gusty wind which shook them, and as oft as they tried to stand upon their feet they fell back to the ground.

Then Jesus went to them and said: "You suffer, for Satan and his diseases torment your bodies. But fear not, for their power over you will quickly end. For Satan is like a choleric neighbor who entered his neighbor's house while he was absent, intending to take his goods away to his own house. But some told the other that his enemy was ravaging within his house, and he came back to his house, running. And when the wicked neighbor, having gathered together all that pleased him, saw from afar the master of the house returning in haste, then he was very wroth that he could not take all away, and set to breaking and spoiling all that was there, to destroy all. So that even if the things might not be his, the other might have nothing. But immediately the lord of the house came in, and before the wicked neighbor fulfilled his purpose, he took him and cast him out of the house. I tell you truly, even so did Satan enter your bodies which are the habitation of God. And he took in his power

all that he wished to steal: your breath, your blood, your bone, your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, and your ears. But by your fasting and your prayer, you have called back the lord of your body and his angels. And now Satan sees that the true lord of your body returns, and that it is the end of his power. Wherefore, in his wrath he gathers his strength once again, that he may destroy your bodies before the coming of the lord. It is for this that Satan torments you so grievously, for he feels that the end is come. But let not your hearts tremble, for soon will the angels of God appear, to occupy again their abodes and rededicate them as temples of God. And they will seize Satan and cast himn from your bodies with all his diseases and all his uncleannesses. And happy will you be, for you will receive the reward of your steadfastness, and you will never see disease."

And there was among the sick, one that was more tormented by Satan than all the others. And his body was as parched as a skeleton, and his skin yellow as a falling leaf. He was so weak already that he could not, even upon his hands, crawl to Jesus, and cried only to him from afar: "Master, have pity on me, for never has man suffered, not from the beginning of the world, as I do suffer. I know that you are indeed sent by God, and I know that if you will, you can straightway cast out Satan from my body. Do not the angels of God obey God's messenger? Come, Master, and cast out Satan from me now, for he rages angrily within me and grievous is his torment."

And Jesus answered him: "Satan torments you thus greatly because you have already fasted many days, and you do not pay to him his tribute. You do not feed him with all the abominations with which you hitherto defiled the temple of your spirit. You torment Satan with hunger, and so in his anger he torments you also. Fear not, for I tell you, Satan will be destroyed before your body is destroyed; for while you fast and pray, the angels of God protect your body, that Satan's power may not destroy you. And the anger of Satan is impotent against the angels of God."

Then they all came to Jesus and with loud cries besought him saying: "Master, have compassion on him, for he suffers more than we all, and if you do not at once cast Satan out of him, we fear he will not live until tomorrow."

And Jesus answered them: "Great is your faith. Be it according to your faith, and you shall see soon, face to face, the frightful countenance of Satan, and the power of the Son of Man. For I will cast out from you the powerful Satan by the strength of the innocent lamb of God, the weakest creature of the Lord. For the holy spirit of God makes more powerful the weakest than the strongest."

And Jesus milked an ewe which was feeding among the grass. And he put the milk upon the sand made hot by the sun, saying: "Lo, the power of the angel of water has entered this milk. And now the power of the angel of sunshine will enter it also."

And the milk became hot by the strength of the sun.

"And now the angels of water and of sun will join with the angel of air."

And lo, the vapor of the hot milk began to rise slowly into the air.

.."Come and breathe in by your mouth the strength of the angels of water, of sunshine, and of air, that it may come into your body and cast out the Satan from you."

And the sick man whom Satan tormented did breathe within himself, deeply, the rising whitish vapor.

"Straightway will Satan leave your body, since for three days he starves and finds no food within you. He will come out of you to satisfy his hunger by the hot steaming milk, for this food finds favor in his sight. He will smell its smell, and will not be able to resist the hunger which has tormented him three days already. But the Son of Man will destroy his body, that he may torment none else again."

Then the sick man's body was seized with an ague, and he retched as though he would vomit, but he could not. And he gasped for air, for his breath was spent. And he fainted on the lap of Jesus.

"Now does Satan leave his body. See him." And Jesus pointed to the sick man's opened mouth.

And then they all saw with astonishment and terror that Satan was coming out from his mouth in the shape of an abominable worm, straight towards the steaming milk. Then Jesus took two sharp stones in his hands and crushed the head of Satan, and drew out from the sick man all the body of the monster which was almost as long as the man. When the abominable worm came out of the sick man's throat, he recovered at once his breath, and then all his pains ceased. And the others looked with terror at the abominable body of Satan.

"See, what an abominable beast you carried and nourished in your body for long years. I have cast it out of you and killed it that it may never again torment you. Give thanks to God that his angels have made you free, and sin no more, lest Satan return to you again. Let your body be henceforth a temple dedicated to your God."

And they were all amazed at his words and at his power. And they said: "Master, you are indeed God's messenger, and do know all secrets."

"And you," answered Jesus, "be true Sons of God, that you also may partake in his power and in the knowledge of all secrets. For wisdom and power can come only from the love of God. Love, therefore, your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother with all your heart, and with all your spirit. And serve them, that their angels may serve you also. Let all your deeds be sacrificed to God. And feed not Satan, for the wages of sin is death. But with God lies the reward of the good, his love, which is knowledge and power of eternal life."

And they all knelt down to give thanks to God for his love.

And Jesus departed, saying: "I will come again to all who persist in prayer and fasting tAl the seventh day. Peace be with you."

And the sick man from whom Jesus had cast out the Satan, stood up, for the strength of life had come back to him. He breathed out deeply, and his eyes became clear, for every pain had left him. And he cast himself down upon the ground where Jesus had stood, and he kissed the print of his feet and he wept.

And it was by the bed of a stream, many sick fasted and prayed with God's angels for seven days and seven nights. And great was their reward, because t

THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY LIBRARY

The Nag Hammadi Library

The Book of Thomas the Contender

--

Translated by John D. Turner

The secret words that the savior spoke to Judas Thomas which I, even I, Mathaias, wrote down, while I was walking, listening to them speak with one another.

The savior said, "Brother Thomas while you have time in the world, listen to me, and I will reveal to you the things you have pondered in your mind.

"Now, since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine yourself, and learn who you are, in what way you exist, and how you will come to be. Since you will be called my brother, it is not fitting that you be ignorant of yourself. And I know that you have understood, because you had already understood that I am the knowledge of the truth. So while you accompany me, although you are uncomprehending, you have (in fact) already come to know, and you will be called 'the one who knows himself'. For he who has not known himself has known nothing, but he who has known himself has at the same time already achieved knowledge about the depth of the all. So then, you, my brother Thomas, have beheld what is obscure to men, that is, what they ignorantly stumble against."

Now Thomas said to the lord, "Therefore I beg you to tell me what I ask you before your ascension, and when I hear from you about the hidden things, then I can speak about them. And it is obvious to me that the truth is difficult to perform before men."

The savior answered, saying, "If the things that are visible to you are obscure to you, how can you hear about the things that are not visible? If the deeds of the truth that are visible in the world are difficult for you to perform, how indeed, then, shall you perform those that pertain to the exalted height and to the pleroma which are not visible? And how shall you be called 'laborers'? In this respect you are apprentices, and have not yet received the height of perfection."

Now Thomas answered and said to the savior, "Tell us about these things that you say are not visible, but are hidden from us."

The savior said, "All bodies [...] the beasts are begotten [...] it is evident like [...] this, too, those that are above [...] things that are visible, but they are visible in their own root, and it is their fruit that nourishes them. But these visible bodies survive by devouring creatures similar to them with the result that the bodies change. Now that which changes will decay and perish, and has no hope of life from then on, since that body is bestial. So just as the body of the beasts perishes, so also will these formations perish. Do they not derive from intercourse like that of the beasts? If it, too derives from intercourse, how will it beget anything different from beasts? So, therefore, you are babes until you become perfect."

And Thomas answered, "Therefore I say to you, lord, that those who speak about things that are invisible and difficult to explain are like those who shoot their arrows at a target at night. To be sure, they shoot their arrows as anyone would - since they shoot at the target - but it is not visible. Yet when the light comes forth and hides the darkness, then the work of each will appear. And you, our light, enlighten, O lord."

Jesus said, "It is in light that light exists."

Thomas, spoke, saying, "Lord, why does this visible light that shines on behalf of men rise and set?"

The savior said, "O blessed Thomas, of course this visible light shines on your behalf - not in order that you remain here, but rather that you might come forth - and whenever all the elect abandon bestiality, then this light will withdraw up to its essence, and its essence will welcome it, since it is a good servant."

Then the savior continued and said, "O unsearchable love of the light! O bitterness of the fire that blazes in the bodies of men and in their marrow, kindling in them night and day, and burning the limbs of men and making their minds become drunk and their souls become deranged [...] them within males and females [...] night and moving them, [...] secretly and visibly. For the males move [...] upon the females and the females upon the males. Therefore it is said, "Everyone who seeks the truth from true wisdom will make himself wings so as to fly, fleeing the lust that scorches the spirits of men." And he will make himself wings to flee every visible spirit."

And Thomas answered, saying, "Lord, this is exactly what I am asking you about, since I have understood that you are the one who is beneficial to us, as you say."

Again the savior answered and said, "Therefore it is necessary for us to speak to you, since this is the doctrine of the perfect. If, now, you desire to become perfect, you shall observe these things; if not, your name is 'Ignorant', since it is impossible for an intelligent man to dwell with a fool, for the intelligent man is perfect in all wisdom. To the fool, however, the good and bad are the same - indeed the wise man will be nourished by the truth and (Ps. 1:3) "will be like a tree growing by the meandering stream" - seeing that there are some who, although having wings, rush upon the visible things, things that are far from the truth. For that which guides them, the fire, will give them an illusion of truth, and will shine on them with a perishable beauty, and it will imprison them in a dark sweetness and captivate them with fragrant pleasure. And it will blind them with insatiable lust and burn their souls and become for them like a stake stuck in their heart which they can

never dislodge. And like a bit in the mouth, it leads them according to its own desire. And it has fettered them with its chains and bound all their limbs with the bitterness of the bondage of lust for those visible things that will decay and change and swerve by impulse. They have always been attracted downwards; as they are killed, they are assimilated to all the beasts of the perishable realm."

Thomas answered and said, "It is obvious and has been said, 'Many are [...] those who do not know [...] soul.'"

And the savior answered, saying, "Blessed is the wise man who sought after the truth, and when he found it, he rested upon it forever and was unafraid of those who wanted to disturb him."

Thomas answered and said, "It is beneficial for us, lord, to rest among our own?"

The savior said, "Yes, it is useful. And it is good for you, since things visible among men will dissolve - for the vessel of their flesh will dissolve, and when it is brought to naught it will come to be among visible things, among things that are seen. And then the fire which they see gives them pain on account of love for the faith they formerly possessed. They will be gathered back to that which is visible. Moreover, those who have sight among things that are not visible, without the first love they will perish in the concern for this life and the scorching of the fire. Only a little while longer, and that which is visible will dissolve; then shapeless shades will emerge, and in the midst of tombs they will forever dwell upon the corpses in pain and corruption of soul."

Thomas answered and said, "What have we to say in the face of these things? What shall we say to blind men? What doctrine should we express to these miserable mortals who say, "We came to do good and not curse," and yet claim, "Had we not been begotten in the flesh, we would not have known iniquity"?"

The savior said, "Truly, as for those, do not esteem them as men, but regard them as beasts, for just as beasts devour one another, so also men of this sort devour one another. On the contrary, they are deprived of the kingdom since they love the sweetness of the fire and are servants of death and rush to the works of corruption. They fulfill the lust of their fathers. They will be thrown down to the abyss and be afflicted by the torment of the bitterness of their evil nature. For they will be scourged so as to make them rush backwards, whither they do not know, and they will recede from their limbs not patiently, but with despair. And they rejoice over [...] madness and derangement [...] They pursue this derangement without realizing their madness, thinking that they are wise. They [...] their body [...] Their mind is directed to their own selves, for their thought is occupied with their deeds. But it is the fire that will burn them."

And Thomas answered and said, "Lord, what will the one thrown down to them do? For I am most anxious about them; many are those who fight them."

The savior answered and said, "What is your own opinion?"

Judas - the one called Thomas - said, "It is you, lord, whom it befits to speak, and me to listen."

The savior replied, "Listen to what I am going to tell you and believe in the truth. That which sows and that which is sown will dissolve in the fire - within the fire and the water - and they will hide in tombs of darkness. And after a long time they shall show forth the fruit of the evil trees, being punished, being slain in the mouth of beasts and men at the instigation of the rains and winds and air and the light that shines above."

Thomas replied, "You have certainly persuaded us, lord. We realize in our heart, and it is obvious, that this is so, and that your word is sufficient. But these words that you speak to us are ridiculous and contemptible to the world since they are misunderstood. So how can we go preach them, since we are not esteemed in the world?"

The savior answered and said, "Truly I tell you that he who will listen to your word and turn away his face or sneer at it or smirk at these things, truly I tell you that he will be handed over to the ruler above who rules over all the powers as their king, and he will turn that one around and cast him from heaven down to the abyss, and he will be imprisoned in a narrow dark place. Moreover, he can neither turn nor move on account of the great depth of Tartaros and the heavy bitterness of Hades that is steadfast [...] them to it [...] they will not forgive [...] pursue you. They will hand [...] over to [...] angel Tartarouchos [...] fire pursuing them [...] fiery scourges that cast a shower of sparks into the face of the one who is pursued. If he flees westward, he finds the fire. If he turns southward, he finds it there as well. If he turns northward, the threat of seething fire meets him again. Nor does he find the way to the east so as to flee there and be saved, for he did not

find it in the day he was in the body, so that he might find it in the day of judgment."

Then the savior continued, saying, "Woe to you, godless ones, who have no hope, who rely on things that will not happen!

"Woe to you who hope in the flesh and in the prison that will perish! How long will you be oblivious? And how long will you suppose that the imperishables will perish too? Your hope is set upon the world, and your god is this life! You are corrupting your souls!

"Woe to you within the fire that burns in you, for it is insatiable!

"Woe to you because of the wheel that turns in your minds!

"Woe to you within the grip of the burning that is in you, for it will devour your flesh openly and rend your souls secretly, and prepare you for your companions!

"Woe to you, captives, for you are bound in caverns! You laugh! In mad laughter you rejoice! You neither realize your perdition, nor do you reflect on your circumstances, nor have you understood that you dwell in darkness and death! On the contrary, you are drunk with the fire and full of bitterness. Your mind is deranged on account of the burning that is in you, and sweet to you are the poison and the blows of your enemies! And the darkness rose for you like the light, for you surrendered your freedom for servitude! You darkened your hearts and surrendered your thoughts to folly, and you filled your thoughts with the smoke of the fire that is in you! And your light has hidden in the cloud of [...] and the garment that is put upon you, you [...]. And you were seized by the hope that does not exist. And whom is it you have believed? Do you not know that you all dwell among those who that [...] you as though you [...]. You baptized your souls in the water of darkness ! You walked by

your own whims!

"Woe to you who dwell in error, heedless that the light of the sun which judges and looks down upon the all will circle around all things so as to enslave the enemies. You do not even notice the moon, how by night and day it looks down, looking at the bodies of your slaughters!

"Woe to you who love intimacy with womankind and polluted intercourse with them! Woe to you in the grip of the powers of your body, for they will afflict you! Woe to you in the grip of the forces of the evil demons! Woe to you who beguile your limbs with fire! Who is it that will rain a refreshing dew on you to extinguish the mass of fire from you along with your burning? Who is it that will cause the sun to shine upon you to disperse the darkness in you and hide the darkness and polluted water?

"The sun and the moon will give a fragrance to you together with the air and the spirit and the earth and the water. For if the sun does not shine upon these bodies, they will wither and perish just like weeds or grass. If the sun shines on them, they prevail and choke the grapevine; but if the grapevine prevails and shades those weeds and all the other brush growing alongside, and spreads and flourishes, it alone inherits the land in which it grows; and every place it has shaded it dominates. And when it grows up, it dominates all the land and is bountiful for its master, and it pleases him even more, for he would have suffered great pains on account of these plants until he uprooted them. But the grapevine alone removed them and choked them, and they died and became like the soil."

Then Jesus continued and said to them, "Woe to you, for you did not receive the doctrine, and those who are [...] will labor at preaching [...]. And you are rushing into [...] will send them down [...] you kill them daily in order that they might rise from death.

"Blessed are you who have prior knowledge of the stumbling blocks and who flee alien things.

"Blessed are you who are reviled and not esteemed on account of the love their lord has for them.

"Blessed are you who weep and are oppressed by those without hope, for you will be released from every bondage.

"Watch and pray that you not come to be in the flesh, but rather that you come forth from the bondage of the bitterness of this life. And as you pray, you will find rest, for you have left behind the suffering and the disgrace. For when you come forth from the sufferings and passions of the body, you will receive rest from the good one, and you will reign with the king, you joined with him and he with you, from now on, for ever and ever, Amen."

 

The Book of Thomas The Contender Writing To the Perfect

Remember me also, my brethren, in your prayers:

Peace to the saints and those who are spiritual.

 

Selection made from James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, revised edition. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990.

| Nag Hammadi Library | Gnostic Society Library | Gnosis Archive |

 

Antwan Penn <esiasemanuel wrote:

 

Hey Shari and all other Fasters, I look through my old notes and try to post any info i have on the subject.SV <shavig wrote:

 

Not able to put my head around a "dry fast". I thought the rule was 3 minutes without air - dead --- 30 days without food - dead --- 3 DAYS without WATER - dead. I know David Wolfe talks about dry fasting for 3 days and breaking the fast with melon and it causes a tremendous cleanse.

 

I have the Essene Gospels, but I've not ever read anything about 7 days without water.

 

Anywhere I can read about this? Without purchasing another book?

 

Thanks, Shari

 

 

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

"Think not that it is sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outwards only. I tell you truly, the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses himself without, but within remains unclean, is like to tombs that outwards are painted fair, but are within full of all manner of horrible uncleannesses and abominations. So I tell you truly, suffer the angel of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all your past sins, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight."

Here it uses the word "within" more than once. That tells me to drink water on a fast. Still don't see where it says anything about dry fasting.

Shari

 

 

[Guest guest]

, Antwan Penn

<esiasemanuel> wrote:

> A dry fast is a fast from any drink or food. It stems from a book

called the essense gospel of peace or the Book of St. Tohmas the

Contender.

> Its a spiritual fast for a period of 7 days,

>

A fast without water is dangerous- period.

The body needs regular supplies of pure water .

There have been a few developments since the Essenes in our

knowledge of how the body works.

A fast is just as spiritual if it contains water. Its my

opinion of course but it is soundly supported. Here is an

alternative health practicer who would support fasting and other

non traditional treatments but...

- 6-8 glasses a day

Mike

 

From Dr. Batmanhelidj

 

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" When the human body developed from species that were given life in

water, the same dependence on the life-giving properties of water was

inherited. The role of water in the body of living species - mankind

included - has not changed since the first creation of life from salt

water and its subsequent adaption to fresh water. "

 

" The human body has a major problem with its normal water regulation,

caused by a gradual loss of thirst sensation. This problem is

confronted often enough in clinical practice that it does not need

explanation. However, The Lancet editorial of 3 November 1984 and the

20 September 1984 article by Paddy Phillips [should] remove any doubt

on the issue. "

 

" Humans seems to lose their thirst sensation and the critical

perception of needing water. Not recognising their need for water,

they gradually become increasingly and chronically dehydrated with the

progress of age. Further confusion lies in the idea that when we're

thirsty, we can substitute tea, coffee, or alcohol-containing

beverages. This is a common error. "

 

" Not recognising the thirst signals of the body will undoubtedly

produce complicated problems in the present way of treatment of these

conditions. It is all too easy to assume these signals are

complications of a serious disease process and begin to treat

signal-producing dehydration with complicated procedures. "

 

" These chronic pains include dyspeptic pain, rheumatoid arthritis

pain, anginal pain (heart pain on walking, or even at rest), migraine

and hangover headaches, colitis pain and its associated constipation.

The " view shift " dictates that all these pains should be treated with

a regular adjustment to daily water intake. No less than two and a

half quarts (two and one half litres) in 24 hours should be taken for

a few days prior to the routine and regular use of analgesics or other

pain-relieving medications. "

 

" If the problem has persisted for many years, those who wish to test

the pain relieving property of water should make sure their kidneys

can make sufficient urine so that they do not retain too much water in

the body. Urine output should be measured against water intake. With

an increase in water intake, the urine output should also increase. "

 

" It is said that ulcers are the result of infections. My researched

opinion is that the variety of curved bacteria, blamed for causing

ulcerations, are commensals - that is, bacteria that naturally dwell

in the intestines. They may take an unfair advantage from the immune

system suppression that is the direct outcome of dehydration. You see,

the normal intestinal bacteria cohabit with us and produce much of the

vitamins needed by the body. They contribute to our well-being when we

are strong. In dehydration, particularly at the site of the valve

between the stomach and the duodenum, many histamine producing nerves

exist. This particular curved bacterium benefits from the growth

hormone effects of histamine, at the same time that these nerves are

restrictively monitoring the rate of flow of the strongly acidic

content of the stomach into the intestine. "

 

HOW MUCH WATER?

" Your body needs an absolute minimum of six to eight-ounce glasses of

water a day. Alcohol, coffee, tea, and caffeine-containing beverages

don't count as water. The best times to drink water are: one glass one

half hour before taking food - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - and a

similar amount two and one half hours after each meal. This is the

very minimum amount of water your body needs. For the sake of not

short-changing your body, two more glasses of water should be taken

around the heaviest meal or before going to bed. Thirst should be

satisfied at all times. With increase in water intake, the thirst

mechanism becomes more efficient. Your body might then ask you to

drink more than the above minimum. Adjusting water intake to mealtimes

prevents the blood from becoming concentrated as a result of food

intake. When the blood becomes concentrated, it draws water from the

cells around it. Water is the cheapest form of medicine to a

dehydrated body. There is more natural magic in a glass of water than

any medication you are brain-washed to use for the treatment of the

conditions I have explained in this book. And I do not sell water! "

[Guest guest]

I am in the health field and those I asked said you can die in a few days without water. I have never done a fast without water nor will I . I think we need it to flush out the many toxins we are releasing into our system while fasting

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

man thanks for the health dose fo fear! I know your just concerned thou!jennie spooner <jhspooner2003 wrote:

 

I am in the health field and those I asked said you can die in a few days without water. I have never done a fast without water nor will I . I think we need it to flush out the many toxins we are releasing into our system while fasting

 

 

for GoodClick here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

Damn! You are so right, I've looked over it countless times and i can not find where I saw it or thought I saw it. I honestly have no idea where the thought came from. Thanks for your response!SV <shavig wrote:

 

"Think not that it is sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outwards only. I tell you truly, the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses himself without, but within remains unclean, is like to tombs that outwards are painted fair, but are within full of all manner of horrible uncleannesses and abominations. So I tell you truly, suffer the angel of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all your past sins, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight."

Here it uses the word "within" more than once. That tells me to drink water on a fast. Still don't see where it says anything about dry fasting.

Shari

 

 

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.