Gnostic texts and hersey

[RileyG]

I wanted to order and read Gnostic prayer books and Bibles/texts out of curiosity, but would this be spiritually dangerous? Does the Church have any official teaching about what religious texts we should or should not read?

God bless

 

[HTacianas]

I wanted to order and read Gnostic prayer books and Bibles/texts out of curiosity, but would this be spiritually dangerous? Does the Church have any official teaching about what religious texts we should or should not read?

God bless

If I may, if you know what they are I've found there's no harm in reading the gnostic gospels. I've read all of the ones that are available. It's really easy to see why they were rejected as heresy. But they have a way of luring you in for a time and then BAM. Gnosticism. They're available online here:

Nag Hammadi Library

If you already know the teachings of gnosticism it's easy to recognize. The idea of two gods, "secret knowledge", etc., you can easily identify it and it's easy to see why the Church condemned them. After you read them, if you want, you can read the Quran, or at least the stories of Jesus in the Quran, and readily see some of the mistakes of Islam.

 

[RileyG]

If I may, if you know what they are I've found there's no harm in reading the gnostic gospels. I've read all of the ones that are available. It's really easy to see why they were rejected as heresy. But they have a way of luring you in for a time and then BAM. Gnosticism. They're available online here:

Nag Hammadi Library

If you already know the teachings of gnosticism it's easy to recognize. The idea of two gods, "secret knowledge", etc., you can easily identify it and it's easy to see why the Church condemned them. After you read them, if you want, you can read the Quran, or at least the stories of Jesus in the Quran, and readily see some of the mistakes of Islam.

Thank you

I actually own a copy of a Nag Hammadi but haven't read much of it. I find it rather dry and difficult to read IMHO.

 

[RileyG]

I also find Neo-Gnostics interesting, but i would never believe in their theology.

 

[HTacianas]

I also find Neo-Gnostics interesting, but i would never believe in their theology.

I get a kick out of modern gnostics sometimes. Their beliefs seem to be "we know that this is an eternal truth but it died out two thousand years ago so we revived it". Not very eternal if you ask me. But you get the same from a lot of protestant sects. Apparently the Church died out with the apostles so they have to bring it back to life. If it's been dead for this long why bother.

 

[chevyontheriver]

I wanted to order and read Gnostic prayer books and Bibles/texts out of curiosity, but would this be spiritually dangerous? Does the Church have any official teaching about what religious texts we should or should not read?

God bless

You can read the Gospel of Thomas for a good laugh I suppose. The one where women are clearly inferior to men. Some of the other Gnostic stuff is equally whacked. A bit of exposure to it may not cause any harm. It’s much like new age stuff, with wildly creative beliefs and rituals lacking rationality or historical roots.

Gnosticism has as it’s root the idea that matter is evil. Christianity in contrast is incarnational. Matter is good enough to be redeemed. Our bodies are good enough to be resurrectable. Sex is good enough that it is expected in marriage. The knowledge of Gnosticism is that matter is evil, our bodies are evil, and that we should be liberating our higher selves from the mud of matter.

 

[Petros2015]

Gnosticism has as it’s root the idea that matter is evil.

I ran into one very modern gnostic here years ago (he didn't name himself as such but after listening for a while I was like... hey waitaminute... I recognize this...). He believed that his consciousness was going to be uploaded into a virtual world. We might see a form of cyber-gnosticism making a comeback as virtual reality takes off. No matter involved. That's their "heaven"

 

[WarriorAngel]

The same type of folks who created mythology are the same who became/created gnostic.
Interesting mythology.

 

[RileyG]

I ran into one very modern gnostic here years ago (he didn't name himself as such but after listening for a while I was like... hey waitaminute... I recognize this...). He believed that his consciousness was going to be uploaded into a virtual world. We might see a form of cyber-gnosticism making a comeback as virtual reality takes off. No matter involved. That's their "heaven"

That doesn't sound very peaceful! Yikes!

 

[BrAndreyu]

I have a copy of the Nag Hammadi scriptures, but I've never sat down and read them for whatever reason.

I also have an English translation of the Quran called "The Study Quran". I read that entire thing about a year ago and the way it was written was flowery and somewhat impressive in it's rhythm & cadence, but the problem is that it's a lot more difficult to understand than even the King James bible and it tends to reiterate previous points--- a lot. Like in every single surah, it reiterates a couple of main points. Muhammad is not really mentioned all that much. Jesus is actually mentioned more than Muhammad and the blessed mother has an entire surah dedicated to her, which I found really interesting. It's like they know that she was special, but they don't understand or grasp the why.

I also have a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita that I tried to read, but it's really nothing more than epic poetry that is boring and doesn't really have any specific life application.

When I was a teenager, I read Anton LaVey's "Satanic Bible" as well. That was childish and stupid and a product of the 60s counterculture, so I actually hated it on that alone. It's basically just atheism/humanism wrapped up in spooky halloween nonsense & I fail to see how anyone could take it seriously.

 

[RileyG]

Is it ok if I read these out of academic interest or should I stay away from them? Opinions please?

God bless

 

[Petros2015]

s it ok if I read these out of academic interest or should I stay away from them? Opinions please?

I'm of the opinion that there is no harm in reading for academic interest in case you meet someone referencing them, you will be able to know where the overlaps and disconnects are

 

[Michie]

Is it ok if I read these out of academic interest or should I stay away from them? Opinions please?

God bless

Maybe ask your priest or spiritual director? They would know if it would be beneficial for you to do so because they know you better. But personally, I think the same as @Petros2015 on this one. It just depends on the reason why you are reading it.

 

[RileyG]

Maybe ask your priest or spiritual director? They would know if it would be beneficial for you to do so because they know you better. But personally, I think the same as @Petros2015 on this one. It just depends on the reason why you are reading it.

Thanks for the recommendation, Michie. God bless