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  1. T

    If God Created Everything Who Created God????

    you're not going too near the post-modernist thoughts that the concept that there is a correct answer out there is wrong are you? Oh no, no no! Lord preserve me from post-modernism. And just to clarify, I'm not arguing that there must be a First Cause ... well I am I suppose ... but I cannot...
  2. T

    Why Not?

    Your own judgement. This is faith - you have faith in your own judgement. I have faith in mine. What I call into question is the wisdom of relying entirely on the views of the people at Nicene etc in determining your own beliefs. Why? Gnostics rely entirely on the view of others in determining...
  3. T

    Why Not?

    Then what is the mean by which we determine an interpretation true or false? Thomas
  4. T

    If God Created Everything Who Created God????

    The first law of thermodynamics is NEVER permanently violated anywhere in the universe. So, no...its not obvious!!!! The answer to that would be that the universe is an enclosed system created by God, and the laws of thermodynamics apply to the system - not to God. There are many theological...
  5. T

    Why Not?

    Yes, they filtered Christian teaching, but not Christ's own teaching. If you'd like to start a debate thread i could give you the Gnostic interpretation of any quote you care to give. What about the Creed? I pose this because the question is not about the veracity of Scripture, so much as the...
  6. T

    God and the Problem of our Mediocrity

    Why is it that for every extraordinarily gifted person there are countless millions who are just mediocre? This depends upon our qualitative notion of mediocrity. I'm not saying mediocrity does not exist, but the distinction lies between a mediocrity of a potential not realised, and the...
  7. T

    Why Not?

    Gnosticism is far older than Christianity and yes they did interpret Christ's teachings in a different way than the orthodox, Pricisely my point - the gnostics filtered Christian teaching through the lens of their own understanding, and in so doing rejected those elements which did not fit...
  8. T

    If God Created Everything Who Created God????

    If there is room for a Cause without Cause at the end, then there is room for one before then, which invalidates the entire argument. Not really. Put another way, the First Cause is that which is the cause of all, and yet is not itself caused. There cannot be a cause before the First Cause...
  9. T

    Why Not?

    I'd be interested in which is which... Thomas
  10. T

    Why Not?

    The discussion of apocryphal texts is a complex one. If you look at the teachings of the gnostics (ie the 2nd century sects, not the 'principle' of gnosis as such) they invariably try and 'hi-jack' Christian teachings and lead them off somewhere else. Christ taught about love, and a one-on-one...
  11. T

    The Coexistence of Light and Darkness in Mystical Christianity

    The distinction is there is no evil in God, so the argument that God is 'all good' suffers from our perspective which is confined by relativity - yet it remains the case - good and evil as opposites is subsequent to and external to the Divine Nature. 'Good' is a reference according to relation...
  12. T

    If God Created Everything Who Created God????

    Aquinas offered a pretty good argument for the contingency and thus finiteness of the universe – as did Aristotle and others - and the argument still stands. Aquinas, in so doing, also offered a pretty good argument that contingent nature cannot create itself, which still stands, so an argument...
  13. T

    Heaven and Hell

    This is a necessarily long answer, the short answer is the common notion of hell in mediaval times is as simple and as graphic as the common notion of heaven, the universe, and most scientific theory. Remember the sky was a dome, pierced with holes, and it was possible to reach the edge of the...
  14. T

    The soul

    I would rather say the author of this book doesn't know what he's talking about. If we are going to argue - what is the source of the material?
  15. T

    The soul

    This stuff is a reworking of various Hermetic and Platonic texts and although a nice piece of fiction, it is nothing more than that. Sorry. You'd do better to read the Corpus Hermeticum or the Enneads of Plotinus, all freely available on the web. I would suggest the Kaballa but you'd have to...
  16. T

    The soul

    Nefesh, as animal or creaturely soul, contains all that we share in common with the animal domain - flesh, blood, bones, etc. The bible further talks of 'ruach' which translates as spirit, but which means 'wind' (hence the connection between ruach and neshamah) Job 33:4: "The spirit...
  17. T

    Trinity Symbol

    Agreed - and the Doctrine of the Trinity says nothing different.
  18. T

    Trinity Symbol

    So the third phrase of the verse 'and the word was God' is erroneous? And if not, when you said "Obviously the Word is NOT the God he was with in the first part of the verse. (It isn't logical to say that you are with yourself.)" what God is the Word?
  19. T

    Questions about the Pope

    Why is it that the pope has the power to change what is in the bible? He does not have the authority to alter Scripture, nor has he done so. He does have the authority over issues of doctrine, as given by Christ. Why does the pope behave and is treated like god on earth doesn't the bible...
  20. T

    Trinity Symbol

    1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... 1. Obviously the Word is NOT the God he was with in the first part of the verse. (It isn't logical to say that you are with yourself.)
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