Gnostic Jesus
Gnostic writings of Jesus portray him as a heavenly redeemer made less of flesh than of spirit. The emphasis of Jesus' importance is not on his physical humanness but rather, on his ability to show people the way to the kingdom. Jesus put on flesh in order to give people gnosis and reveal to them where they come from and where they will eventually return. When it is time for Jesus to return to his heavenly home, he is crucified and resurrected before he finally ascends. His body's lack of importance in some Gnostic texts gives this series of events a different connotation than other versions of the story more common today. The Gnostic understanding of Jesus gives us better knowledge of what will happen to us when we leave the body and world in which we are currently trapped. This understanding also gives us insights into the realm in which we belong. The lack of concern for the body is also connected with the Gnostic view that anything that happens on this earth or in this realm is irrelevant. I will argue that the issue of flesh is very significant in some Gnostic views of Jesus, citing examples from selected Gnostic texts including, the Gospel of Thomas, the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, Hypostasis of the Archons, t
The Gnostic Society Library. "Introduction to the Nag Hammadi Library." 18 August 1997. Online. URL: http://home.sol.no/~noetic/nagham/nhlintro.html (10 April 2000). Many people, however, look at Christ's incarnation in different ways. According to some Gnostic thought Christ comes to our earth and puts on Jesus' human body so that he may walk among us. "I visited a bodily dwelling" (Ehrman, 231). Some of the Gnostic writings show Jesus as an earthly being with a heavenly nature, while others show Jesus as a purely heavenly being with a lack of earthly context. In the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, Christ's incarnation was into Jesus' body in which he cast out the original occupier (Franzmann, 75). Christ's arrival on earth in the Gospel of Thomas is described in a docetistic way, "I stood in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh" (G. of Th, v.28). He is said to appear to them in flesh only in outward appearance (Franzmann, 78). When Christ is crucified in the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, he laughs at those who believe that they are hurting him because they are ignorant. "I did not die in reality, but in appearance." Those "in error and blindness....saw me; they punished me. It was another, their father, who drank the gall and vinegar; it was not I. They struck me Resurrection is viewed by many Gnostics as waking up from death, which is life on earth, and becoming alive in heaven, which is also death on earth. "There was a trembling that overcame the chaos of the earth, for the souls which were in the sleep below were released, and they were resurrected" (Ehrman, 232). Gaining gnosis is the way to resurrection for those who belong in the outer realm. Death, according to the Gospel of Thomas, is life and life is death (G. of Th, v.11). Treatise on the Resurrection refers to resurrection as almost a revelation. "What, then, is resurrection? It is always the disclosure of those who have risen...It is no illusion, but the truth!" (Ehrman, 184). The world is described as an illusion and resurrection is the revelation of what is true. Groothuis, Douglas. "Gnosticism And The Gnostic Jesus". Christian Research Journal. 1994. Online. URL: http://iclnet93.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/crj0040a.txt (20 April 2000) he Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Truth, the Treatise on the Resurrection and the Hymn of the Pearl.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Christianity Christ's, Hymn Pearl, Hyp Arc, , Gospel Truth, Hypostasis Archons, Magdalene Christ, Orthodox Christians, Treatise Seth, Mary Christ's, outer realm, inner realm, hyp arc, dirty clothes, hypostasis archons, forty days, gnostic society, gospel thomas, christ's resurrection, treatise seth, according hypostasis archons, own soul's journey, realm inner realm, mary christ's crucifixion, inner realm spirit,
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Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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