meet the gnostics

8/13/2019 Meet the Gnostics

1/21

Why be concerned with afictional novel?

The Fact Page:All descriptions of artwork,

architecture, documents,and secret rituals in thisnovel are accurate

(Dan Brown).

Ironically, many people aretaking the fictional novel as

fact.


2/21

Dont Hate,Educate!

A Great Opportunity (Ambassadors)

If a friend asks, What do you think aboutthe movie or novel?

I think it raised interesting questions thateach person must deal with in their ownspiritual journey.

Can we trust the Bible to give us a true

picture of Jesus?

Is Jesus really who He claimed to be andproved to be?


3/21

Faiths Relationship to Reason

About one out of four (26%)

born again Christians believethat it doesnt matter whatfaith you follow because theyall teach the same lessons.

every faith in the world is basedon fabrication. That is thedefinition of faith acceptance ofthat which we imagine to be true,

that which we cannot prove.


4/21

Christianity is Based on a Historical Event

And if Christ has notbeen raised, ourpreaching is useless and

so is your faith.I Corinthians 15:14 (NIV)

Faith is beyond reason, butnever against reason


5/21

Earliest Gospels?

Did the earliest gospels teach only Christs

human traits ? Why were these books neverincluded in the Bible?

Astro: Anyone watched the NationalGeographic documentary on Gospel of Judas?

Alw ays ask When was it written?

The Param esw ara Quest io n Which i s m orere liab le? A do cu m ent w r i t ten by eyew i tnesswh o l ived d ur ing the even t o r a do cum ent

w ri t ten h un dreds of years later?


6/21

Author Book Written Earliest Copy (X)

Caesar Gallic Wars 100 44 BC c. 900 AD 1000 yrs

Plato 400 BC c. 900 AD c. 1300yrs

Tacitus Annals 100 AD c. 1100 AD c. 1000yrs

Pliny NaturalHistory

61 133 AD c. 850 AD c. 750 yrs

Thucydidies

History 460 400BC

c. 900 BC c. 1300yrs

Herodotus History 480 425BC

c. 900 AD c. 1350yrs

Homer Iliad 800 BC c. 400 BC c. 400 yrs

NewTestament

50 100 AD c. 114 fragments c. 200 books c. 250 most of NT c. 325 complete

NT

25-50 yrs 100 yrs 150 yrs 225 yrs

Fact Check: Dating New Testament


7/21

When Was NTWritten?

Nearly all New Testament scholarsagree that the New Testament was

written within 1 st century AD.

Gospel of Mark is between A.D. 50-60, Pauls letters were written

between A.D. 50-66, the Gospelsbetween A.D. 50- 70 and Johns

Gospel sometime around A.D. 70-90.


8/21

Dont Know Much About History

Dead Sea Scrolls are not early gospels. They are about the Essenes, aJewish sect and not about Jesus or early Christians. Valuable to learnabout the background of Israel in 1 st century & a complete text of Isaiah


9/21


10/21

When were theNag Hammadi texts written ?

The Nag Hammadi manuscripts werewritten almost 200 years after the events inJesus life

The earliest fragments of the Gospel ofPhilip dated no earlier than 180-200 AD .

This means that the Nag Hammadi textsdo not meet the criteria of being ancient or

apostolic.

The Gnostic Gospels cannot really becalled Gospels. They do not contain anorderly account of the birth, life, deeds, and

resurrection of Christ.


11/21

Who are the Gnostics? They were people whobelieved that only an elite group of Christians

with mystical experience have secretknowledge or divine. Self-knowledge is the

key to salvation.

The Gnostic Jesus was believed to not free usof our sins, but to free us from our ignorancebecause we dont realize who we really are

we are divine!

God created man and man created GodMen make gods and they worship their

creations. It would be fitting for gods to worshipman (Gospel of Philip)

Meet the Gnostics


12/21

FACT: The Gnostics have a

negative view of the physicalworld . We are pure spirits ,seeking to escape the bodily

prison. (Judas Gospel?)

The world came aboutthrough a mistake. For hewho created it wanted to

create it imperishable and

immortal. He fell short ofattaining his desire. For theworld never was

imperishable, nor, for that

matter, was he who made theworld. Gos el of Phili

Oops! I Did It Again


13/21

FACT: Gnostics have a negative

view of sex and marriage

If there is a hidden quality to the

marriage of defilement, how muchmore is the undefiled marriage atrue mystery! It is not fleshly, butpure. It belongs not to desire, but

to the will. It belongs not to thedarkness or the night, but to the

day and the light.

Gospel of Philip

A Sexier Religion?


14/21

Gnostics: Original Feminists?Simon Peter said to them (thedisciples),Let Mary leave us, for women

are not worthy of Life. Jesus said, Imyself shall lead her, in order to

make her male, so that she too maybecome a living spirit, resemblingyou males. For every woman who

will make herself male will enter theKingdom of Heaven.

The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas (mid-2 nd century AD) sounds chauvinist (not feminist)...


15/21

Question: What Should We Conclude AboutThe Other Books That Were Not Included?


16/21

Were the Gnostic Gospels considered for canon?

Even the Gnostics themselves dont recognize these spurious Gospels?

Ebionites used a shorten form of Matthew (2 nd cent)Marcion used Luke (A.D. 140)

Valentinus (Gnostic) used John (A.D. 110)

Long before Constantine was born, some Gnostic books havebeen rejected i.e. Origen (A.D. 185-254) wrote:

I know a certain gospel which is called the Gospel according toThomas and a Gospelnevertheless among all these we haveapproved solely what the church has recognized, which is that

only the four gospels should be accepted.


17/21

Principles for Discovering CanonicityCanonicity is determined by God and discovered by

man. Criteria:

Was It Written By Apostles Or TheirCompanions?

Was It Written Close To Time ofJesus?

Were the teachings consistent withother orthodox Scripture (OT)?

Were they widely recognized

and accepted by the church?


18/21

Do The Gnostic Gospels Pass The Test?

1. These gospels were written neither by apostles, nor bycompanions of the apostles. All of these people werelong dead by the time these documents were written.

2. They were written in the second and third centuries andtherefore did not exist during the time of Jesus in thefirst century.

3. Their heretical teachings differ from the Old Testament

and the accepted four gospels.

They teach a different view of God, Christ, man,salvation not consistent with the original teachings ofJesus and His earliest followers.

Wh Sh ld W C l d Ab


19/21

What Should We Conclude AboutThe Other Books That Were Not Included?

4. Unlike the four canonical gospels, these gospels werenever widely accepted or recognized as authentic andinspired by the early Christian church.

5. They were never read in Christian assemblies. Theywere not included in the list of accepted books beforeor after Constantine.

7. They are not the subject of commentaries by churchfathers. If we dont have the NT copies, we can stillreconstruct the NT from their early quotations


20/21

Informed Winsome

1. What do you think about theDa Vinci Code?

2. Why do you think speculationabout how Jesus lived stirs somuch passion?

3. Do you think it is possiblethat Jesus Christ could be

something more than man?


21/21

Why It Matters?

If Jesus did not claim to be the Sonof God, why do you think Jesus didnot speak up before Pontius Pilate

put him to death?(If you sense they are open tospiritual dialog ask)

Can I share with you why I believehe did this and why it makes a

difference ?

meet the gnostics

Documents