Ha. "All these and other problems can only be solved if we accept that Adam and Eve represent the spiritual nature of every individual, rather than a physical man and woman."
http://orthodoxcatholicnew.tripod.com/id6.html ________________________________ From: feste37 <fest...@yahoo.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 7:05 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Gospel of Judas --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@...> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@> wrote: > > > > > > You should consider that gospel as fiction and for entertainment > > > use only. > > > > Finally, someone who agrees with me. The only difference > > between JohnR and myself is that I extend his advice to > > ALL scripture, no matter what its supposed "pedigree" or > > claim to authenticity. > > Barry, > > You appear to be committing the same mistake Adam made in the Garden of > Eden. That is, he thought that he was a god. And the rest is history. Adam thought no such thing. It was Eve who fancied the idea of becoming like a god. Adam just ate the apple because Eve gave it to him. He should maybe have asked her a question or two about it, but he didn't. He was just a simple guy. His mistake was to trust a woman, and we have all been paying the price ever since. > > > > > > > There's a reason why the Christian Church excluded this writing > > Results sectionfrom the official church canon. > > > > If you had actually read the Gospel Of Judas, you would > > know what that reason is. The language he uses clearly > > identifies him as a Gnostic, thus raising the question, > > "Was his spiritual teacher (Jesus) one, too." The Church > > couldn't have that, since they had designated Gnosticism, > > Catharism, and other forms of Dualist thought to be heresy. > > Personally, I have not read the Gospel of Judas. But you have to understand > the history of the Christian Church to see how the official gospels were > formed. According history books, Constantine, the emperor of Rome, requested > all of the Christian leaders, specifically the bishops throughout the then > known world, to gather in a synod to determine the official doctrine of the > church and to determine which existing books were to be included in the > official church canon. For some reason or the other, the bishops rejected > many books that were then existing and excluded them from the official canon. > > From my own readings, I have doubts about the authenticity of this Gospel of > Judas. From the other gospels, we are told that Judas betrayed Jesus and > committed suicide. > > Also, some writers believe that Judas was a zealot who espoused the coming of > the worldly messiah that was prophesied in the OT. When he realized that > Jesus was teaching about a spiritual kingdom, Judas betrayed Jesus for a few > silver pieces. > > > > > > More likely, the source of that writing is questionable. You > > > should do more research on this matter to satisfy your own > > > curiousity. > > > > As <ahem> should you. > > > > It's an interesting text, more so for me than for you, > > probably, because I can easily recognize the Dualist > > elements in it. Were they there in Christ's teaching, or > > did Judas project his own Gnostic "baggage" onto a > > different teaching? We'll never know. > > > As stated above, it appeared that Judas was a Jew who believed in the return > of the old kingdoms led by King Solomon and King David. They believed in a > warrior messiah who would conquer their enemies. Many of the Jews today > still believe and are expecting for this messiah to come. > > > > > > All that we do know is that -- FOR PURELY POLITICAL > > REASONS -- the Church felt that it had to stick to > > the Party Line it had developed in the first century > > after Christ's death. Once the Party Line was in place, > > no "gospel" could be earmarked as authoritative if it > > deviated from that Party Line. > > > It is more likely that the early Christian Church already had a common > tradition and beliefs based on the Jesus experience. The council of bishops > was gathered to sort out which books are consistent with the accepted beliefs > or faith that were formed at that time. >