Hmm...I wonder......

Published on June 29, 2005 By dharmagrl In Religion

After the discussion about why the bible uses 'let US make them in OUR image' in the book of Genesis, I went and got myself a copy of 'The Other Bible'...it's a collection of Gnostic and early Kabbalahic texts, as well as the dead sea scrolls and some gospels that were ultimately rejected by Christianity.

I started to read The Secret Book Of John, and part way into the first couple of chapters I got another idea as to why that particular phrasing was used

Yahweh, the God that Christianity and Judaism both view as being the one and the only God, the one who created the earth and man....was himself a creation. The offspring of Sophia, mother of wisdom and her consort, the Father of Light (although legend has it that the Father of Light was unaware of Sophia's creation). He is describes himself as a 'jealous God' because he knows that he's not the sole divine power.

Gnostics believe that sin and evil came about not because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, but because of God's very act of creating the world and man...which he did with arrogance, ignorance and vanity. God took light particles from his mother, Sophia, and trapped them inside his human creations...causing them to want to return to the Father of Light. Adam and Eve began the process of redemption with their first act of disobediance to the Creator God by eating from the Tree of Gnosis (knowledge)...also known as The Tree of The Thought of Light.

So, it would seem that some of the ancients believed that God, Yahweh, was not alone. Which might explain why he refers to himself in the plural.

I also found the following in the 'Odes of Solomon':

'A cup of milk I was offered
And I drank its sweetness as the delight of the Lord.

The Son is the cup
and he who was milked is the Father
and he who milked him is the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost opened the Father's raimewnt
and mingled the milk from the Father's two breasts

and gave that mingling to the world, which was unknowing.
Those who drink it are near his right hand.'

(Ode 19, The Odes of Solomon)

Hmm...a God that breastfeeds his creations.....that's something to think about too.....

Comments

AndyBaker

on Jun 30, 2005

So, it would seem that some of the ancients believed that God, Yahweh, was not alone. Which might explain why he refers to himself in the plural.

Dharma, I like that. It's an interesting thought. I've just been reading a book called 'Conversations With God', which says that God has a God. It states that our perception of ultimate reality is more limited we think, and that Truth is more unlimited than we can imagine.

At the end of the day, our religions attempt to speak of the unspeakable, and they give us an ever-so-small glimpse of Infinity. This is why Jesus' statement is so meaningful to me, that a child-like faith is all we need to understand Truth. Regardless of our intellectual capacity, we can comprehend ultimate truth with childlike simplicity and humble trust in God.

I suppose the Hindu concept of multiple-gods is most aligned with the idea that God has a God. Hindus believe in an Ultimate God, (or "the One"), which is like 'the Infinite Everything', which they call Braham, even though at the same time they believe in multiple Gods.

Hmm...a God that breastfeeds his creations.....that's something to think about too.....

Yes, another interesting one. It's a good metaphor, probably more apt with the feminine aspect of the Divine. It doesn't sound quite right with "the Father".

dharmagrl

on Jun 30, 2005

I've just been reading a book called 'Conversations With God', which says that God has a God.

I tried reading that. I couldn't get along with it...

Regardless of our intellectual capacity, we can comprehend ultimate truth with childlike simplicity and humble trust in God.

I think that intelligence can be a hindrance as far as religion and faith are concerned.

I suppose the Hindu concept of multiple-gods is most aligned with the idea that God has a God.

Hinduism also has a trinity - Bhrama, Shive and Vishnu, the creator, preserver and destroyer.

It's a good metaphor, probably more apt with the feminine aspect of the Divine. It doesn't sound quite right with "the Father".

I believe that god has a feminine side too......

zweihander01

on Jun 30, 2005

We weren't banished from Paradise for being disobeideint. We were banished for taking knowledge and not exercising, or wanting, any responsibility about it. God wasn't mad at us eating from the tree, but rather from three things:

1. Hiding from Him.
2. Lying about it when He asked.
3. Trying to pass the blame from Adam to Eve to the snake.

Those are the three things that we were kicked out for, and frankly, they're the root cause of all sin. If Adam and Eve simply went "Shit, God, we kinda ate from that tree. Sorry about that, if won't happen again, especially now that we can distinguish between good and evil. We'll put it to good use, promise" as soon as it happened, we'd be spared all this melodramatic "evil" crap. It fits in with my view of God as an infintely forgiving and loving parent, at any rate. In the movie Dogma, there's a deleted scene were a fallen angel describes this whole thing very well. The file I have of it should fit in an email attachment, so if you want I can send it your way.

Sorry if this got a bit off topic.

dharmagrl

on Jun 30, 2005

That's the christian version of events, Zwei. What I related here is the Gnostic version of what happened and why.

I think that they're both interesting and both make sense....

bakerstreet

on Jun 30, 2005

Look into the Bogomilists or the Albigensians. There were other sects, too, of wavering definition.

There are foundations of belief that hold the god of the Old Testament is NOT the same God spoken of in the New Testament. They say, rather, that god in the old testament is actually Satan, and that his creation of the world was the original sin as you describe above.

For their trouble, they were slaughtered by the Catholics, which, in fairness, wasn't that bad for them considering they believed in ritual suicide and rejection of this earthly existance. lol...

P.S. I'd add that the old/new testament distinction was ALSO used many times to portray Hebrews as children of the devil. I have found such mythologies in Aryan and racist sources. I generally don't delve into it much for that reason outside staid academia, since I don't like rubbing elbows with people who perk up and say "Yes, Jews really worshipped Satan!!". Your own mileage may vary.

dharmagrl

on Jun 30, 2005

There are foundations of belief that hold the god of the Old Testament is NOT the same God spoken of in the New Testament. They say, rather, that god in the old testament is actually Satan, and that his creation of the world was the original sin as you describe above.

I'm finding that too....it's all very interesting. I'm not saying that I believe any of what I'm reading, but.....some of it goes a long way to explaining why things are written the way they are in the bible.

I'm reading about the fallen angels this evening. That's quite a trip too....

bakerstreet

on Jun 30, 2005

Grab a copy of the Silmarillion. I think you'd find Tolkien's creation story pretty interesting, too.

zweihander01

on Jun 30, 2005

Yeah, I realized that. It's just a lot of people tend to confuse the reason, if they even know that much. One of the reasons I've stopped going to church is that it seems kinda dumbed down and repetitive. I've had to shell out money for parochial school to learn about what I said, instead of hearing it from a sermon. Which is kinda where it should be said.

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