At the age of forty, Ethel, who grew up in Los Angeles, California, decided to take possession of her true name, Hannah-the name on her Israeli birth certificate. To make a little ceremony of it, she asked the bishop of an esoteric storefront Gnostic church in Hollywood to baptize her. Without preconception or preparation, she found herself pulled into a world of early Christian myths and symbols. The "dreamtime" world that engulfed her after this baptism became her guidance, as marriage and family disintegrated. As Hannah, she was drawn up through church sacraments from a suburban life she'd never wanted to live, through a mystical initiation she never asked for, which culminated in ordination to the Gnostic priesthood. But that attainment was not the conclusion. Hannah Rappaport's memoir of this journey is mystical and pragmatic, heartbreaking and healing. "I am mesmerized by Hannah's story. When a Jewish woman can be utterly transformed by her encounter with an ancient Christian Wisdom Way, and still honor her roots, there is hope for peace on earth. Hannah Rappaport is a living example of the power of the interspiritual life. Highly recommended." Mirabai Starr, Author of GOD OF LOVE: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity & Islam "Hannah Rappaport's uniquely beautiful and accomplished tale of spiritual transformation will serve as guidance and inspiration for those who hear the call of the transcendent in their own lives." Sean Murphy, Author of: Hope Valley Hubcap King, Time of New Weather, The Finished Man, One Bird One Stone

Early Heresiological Works Against the Gnostics

This book is guaranteed to contain some ideas many of you have never heard before. Many of these ideas are directly from the bible, history and scientific research. The book presents facts, theories, theologies, and hypothesis that are highly controversial and will spark your mind into either anger or heavy thought. You will agree with, ponder or hate the bearer of this imaginative and innovative fact finding research. It's the author's hope that whatever feelings you may receive from reading this document, whether it is joy or anger, you will always question what others tell you, no matter how renowned they may be. If you wholeheartedly believe the bible or in a deity then it may be best that you not read this book, as it contains several ideas that will bring into question the validity of the bible and may differ greatly from your beliefs. However, if you have always had questions and not enough answers then this may be what you've been searching for, your entire life.

In this selection of inspired writings - poetry as well as prose - Phillip Medhurst expresses Gnostic Truth as manifested in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, who is revealed as "Gnosis made word."

The Gospel of Thomas contains only 114 of Jesus' sayings, but its powerful message has rocked conventional understanding of who Jesus was and what he taught. In Thomas, Jesus is not a savior, a messiah or a Christ. He does not die for anyone's sins, and resurrection is not even mentioned. He is not considered the only-begotten Son of God, God incarnate or even a master over his followers. If he's not portrayed in any of the roles that are customarily assigned to him, what part does he play? In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is a human who has had his spiritual eyes opened through gnosis, a direct, personal experience of the Divine. His teachings are based on an understanding of the universe that quantum research is currently confirming. When we listen, his words can correct the misperceptions that fill our world with fear. We all have a choice to make. We can take a "quantum" approach to Jesus' teachings or cling to an outdated interpretation of his words that cannot be reconciled with scientific research. We've discovered that the synergy of science and spirituality has the power to transform your life. We invite you to join us in exploring Jesus' parables and sayings from a quantum perspective. But like Jesus, it is not our intention to give you more words to follow, but to offer a reason for you to want to experience the Divine for yourself.

"Everything you ever wanted to know about gnosis, but were afraid to ask " In "How to Think Like a Gnostic," Jeremy Puma builds upon his previous work in Gnostic philosophy, approaching it as a functional worldview for a solitary practitioner. Breaking down the Gnostic myth to its basic components, Puma clarifies the often inscrutable aspects of Gnostic thought without talking down to the reader or oversimplifying the material. Accessible, interesting, and often humorous, "How to Think Like a Gnostic" is a must for the library of anyone interested in the Gnostic Way. ""How To Think Like a Gnostic" explores a genuinely Sethian Gnostic path with plenty of perceptive insights and new perspectives." - Andrew Phillip Smith, author of "A Dictionary of Gnosticism"

The world of Jesus and the early Christians swarmed with prophets and exorcists, holy men and healers, who invoked angels and demons, gods and ghosts. Magic in Christianity: From Jesus to the Gnostics explores that world through the surviving texts of the first Christians and their pagan and Jewish contemporaries. Ecstatic spirit possession, handing opponents over to Satan, sending demons into swine, striking others dead on the spot by pronouncing curses, using articles of clothing and parts of corpses to perform magical healing and exorcism, invoking ghosts and angels for protection-these are all ancient Christian practices described in the New Testament, explained in detail by early Christian writers, and preserved by Christian amulets. Pagans and Jews accused Jesus and his followers of practicing magic and Christians accused one another of sorcery. Both pagan and early orthodox writers describe the rituals of the Gnostic sects in detail, including the magical passwords required to cross through the gates of the lower heavens. Magic in Christianity: From Jesus to the Gnostics examines evidence from the New Testament, the first Christian apologists, early apocryphal works, curse tablets and amulets to reconstruct the apocalyptic magical world of Jesus and the first Christians.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1922 Edition.

The disheveled beggar approached Jo Anna Ford shortly after she exited the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. He had a simple request: Fifty cents for the bus that would take him to a free meal at the Community Center. Jo Anna carried no purse during her evening walks; she apologized for having no money with her. "Then, would you just talk with me for a moment?" he asked. "We could sit on that stone wall and just chat a bit." It seemed to be a simple request, and Jo Anna agreed to sit with him for just a few minutes. Within a few seconds she was listening to a story of hardship, loss, loneliness, and despair. As he finished the brief chronicle of his life, he revealed his most painful secret. He had been diagnosed as "schizophrenic with messianic ideation" and locked away in a mental institution for years. With a determined gaze and a soft smile, he assured Jo Anna that he was not insane. She began to doubt her own sanity when she realized she actually believed him - not that he was the Messiah, but that he was not insane. That strange encounter rekindled her interest in the historical Jesus. It was the beginning of a journey that would lead her to the philosophers and historians of Jesus' time: Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, Tacitus, Seutonius, Pliny, and others. She found the epic poems of Ovid, and Homer, and Euripides. The puzzle pieces each of these ancient sources held eventually led her to a most startling realization. Someone would have to rewrite The History of the Roman Empire to include the amazing feats of the man and woman who played the roles of Jesus the Nazarene and Mary Magdalene. And as far as she knew, she was the only person who had been able to uncover their secret historical identities.

Learn how we got the books of the Bible. There were prophets who proved they were from God by performing miracles and making localized predictions with one hundred percent accuracy. Their long range predictions were then recorded in the sixty-six books of the Bible. We can know this for a fact because over fifty of those long range prophecies have come to pass since the nation of Israel was reborn in AD 1948. The ancient church fathers teach the Gnostic gospels were demonically inspired. They contain no prophecy and their teachings contradict the teachings of the prophetically proven Word of God. In some cases the church fathers record which cults wrote which gnostic books and why they are to be considered heresy. The demonic Gnostic gospels teach reincarnation, that there are multiple gods, and that humans are divine. They teach that the use of sorcery is imperative for salvation. The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God. We do not have a spark of God in us, nor are we evolving into gods. It also teaches that the use of sorcery is a sin that will damn people to an eternal hell, and that everyone will die only once, physically resurrect, and be judged. The Gnostic gospels are summarized in their own chapters showing why these are truly demonic gospels Brought to you by Biblefacts Ministries, biblefacts.org

In this new commentary on the controversial Gospel of Thomas, Simon Gathercole provides the most extensive analysis yet published of both the work as a whole and of the individual sayings contained in it. This commentary offers a fresh analysis of Thomas not from the perspective of form criticism and source criticism but seeks to elucidate the meaning of the work and its constituent elements in its second-century context. With its lucid discussion of the various controversial aspects of Thomas, and treatment of the various different scholarly views, this is a foundational work of reference for scholars not just of apocryphal Gospels, but also for New Testament scholars, Classicists and Patrologists.

THIS 38 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, by G. R. S. Mead. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 092280222X.

2013 Reprint of 1906 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Three Volumes bound into one. Volume contents are: Vol. 1. Prolegomena. -- Vol. 2. Sermons. -- Vol. 3. Excerpts and fragments This work exemplifies all that is best in Mead's dedicated, scholarly, but eminently readable studies of the spiritual roots of Christian Gnosticism and, more generally, of personal religion in the Greco-Roman world. His work encompassed much more than this; Mead was equally at home with Sanskrit texts, Patristic literature, Buddhist thought, and the problems of contemporary philosophy and psychical research. He devoted his intellectual energy to the complex interplay of Gnosticism, Hellenism, Judaism, and Christianity. This three volume set presents his insights into the formation of the Gnostic world-view and establishes him as an outstanding translator of these Hermetic books, and as the first modern scholar of Gnostic tradition.

Gnostics are those who have faith in Grace through Wisdom. They know their Redeemer liveth along with the evil angels of our worst nature. If God existed as a great guru and manic delusion, they would have to kill Him to keep him out of their lives, lest the crux and soul of truth be lost.

From the time of the founding of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, over a hundred years ago, there has been a continued and increasing interest in ancient Egyptian spirituality. Brian Brown's book, written in 1923, is a wonderfully insightful study of the Religion and Philosophy of this ancient people, revealing the astonishing depth and subtlety of the Egyptian world-view. His work covers such diverse topics as Creation myths and sun-gods, through the hymns of the 'Book of the Dead', to Hermetic Philosophy and Egyptian Magic. An invaluable overview of this fascinating subject that will be of unfailing interest to all those drawn to esoteric and occult matters.