| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Echo2Drs" |
| Date: |
17 Oct 2004 10:52:03 PM |
| Object: |
The Secret Teachings of Jesus... |
The Secret Teachings of Jesus
An important Christian Gnostic teaching was the "Logos" which in Greek is
translated as "the image of the Word." It is an important concept found in the
gospel of John:
"In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God." (John 1:1)
Logos is the part of God that acts in the world. It is the perfect unity of the
human and the divine. This is affirmed by John when he wrote that "the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us." When John stated that Jesus is the Logos, he is
stating that Jesus became the Logos, the Christ. The Logos is the divine
"spark" of God within humans that needs to be awakened.
Everyone has the "image of the Word (Logos)" within them and it is for this
reason that Genesis describes humanity as created "in the image and likeness of
God." The Logos is the divine Spirit in humanity. By using the Christian
Gnostic idea of the Logos, John is not only affirming the preexistence and
divinity of Jesus, but he is affirming that all sons of God created in the
"image of the Word" as Jesus was, preexisted in spirit before being born. In
other words, every human is an incarnation of the Logos and every human has to
potential of becoming like Jesus, a manifestation of the human-divine unity.
Every human can be a "Christ" and because of this, every soul will eventually
be drawn back to God.
The Roman Church misunderstood what the Logos was in John and incorrectly
concluded from this that only Jesus is divine - the Word made flesh.
The orthodox Church either rejected or ignored this Christian Gnostic concept
found in John. This may have been a factor when the gospel of John was almost
rejected from New Testament canon when it was being put together. This was
during a time when Christian Gnosticism became an enemy of the organized
Church. Nevertheless, it was the idea of the preexistence of the soul and its
corresponding doctrine of reincarnation that the Roman Church had great
difficulty with.
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
