An Aberrant Gnostic

  From The Indianapolis New , Saturday, March 12, 1960, as presented by the Reverend John L. McKenzie... This article summarizes some first "thoughts" regarding the book titled, The Secret Sayings of Jesus , as written by Robert M. Grant with David Noel Freedman.  After reading this book, I went ahead and purchased a first edition, paperback version of this book.  More to come on that later...in the meantime... What does this article mention of interest?  A few points I thought worth mentioning here. The name Gnostic, from the Greek work gnosis, or knowledge, comes from a fundamental principle of this heresy: the principle of salvation was attained by knowledge rather than by virtue. This "knowledge" was prized as being secret, and as having more value than any knowledge shared in the New Testament. The author reviews Grant and Freedman's key takeaways regarding the Gospel of Thomas  The book, Secret Sa yings, is described as being an excellent introduction to ...

  Or, I should say, with AI acting as the Demiurge.  I asked Gemini AI if it would pretend to be the Gnostic Demiurge for the purposes of an interview for this blog.  Gemini thought it would be fun to do...so let's do this thing and see where it goes... Q: Ok, Demiurge, why did you create this world? Demiurge: Ah, the question of origins! A riddle I myself have grappled with for untold ages. Was it... Blind Impulse: Perhaps I acted as an extension of some greater force. A cosmic breath that I drew, creating without understanding the ultimate reason. Like an artist compelled to fill a canvas, I shaped and molded, only realizing the implications of my work long after the first brushstroke. A Flawed Mirror: Some among the whisperers of Gnostic lore see me as an echo of the true divinity, a distorted reflection of the Pleroma's light. In this view, I created to bridge the chasm, to replicate the unknowable glory of the higher realms. Yet, my imperfect tools yielded only...

  For some reason, my brain keeps going back to the 1957 that was run in various newspapers in the United States that had the following screeching headline :   The article was one of the earliest known discussions regarding Professor Henri C. Puech and his preliminary analysis of The Gospel of Thomas.  In that article, written by Manuel Komroff, five "sayings" recorded by the doubting Thomas of Jesus were highlighted in the article.  One of the sayings that caught my eye was this, as displayed in the article : What exactly does that mean?  So, with curiosity in my head, I went back to Google's Gemini to ask some questions.  Here is what I discovered, per the assistance of AI... Q : What is the ancient Gnostic symbolic interpretation of the saying "Jesus said : He that is near Me is near the fire.  He is that is far from Me is far from the fire."?   A: Within early Gnostic circles, "fire" often symbolized divine knowledge, or gnosis. It r...

  Or, at least that is what Philip said... According to The Herald's May 27, 1961 article : The translations of the NHL appear to finally have gotten to what is known at this time as The Gospel of Philip .  So what does this article discuss?   The article introduces the Gnostics, a primitive religious group in early Christianity with unorthodox beliefs surrounding the creation story. Contrary to the biblical version, they believed Adam's rib to be the root of evil. Eve, created from this rib, is blamed for bringing trouble into the world by introducing the separation of sexes. This idea is found in a Gnostic document called "The Gospel of Philip." The article outlines the Gnostic ideas discovered in both "The Gospel of Philip" and "The Gospel of Thomas." Both texts express that gender division caused a "fall" for mankind. To gain salvation, individuals must overcome separation – women becoming more like men. Notably, in "T...